All - Before this "comment and/or debate" gets fully revved up, make sure you know what you are commenting on! There are hundreds of thousands, maybe a million "old" cars in California (older than 1980), all properly registered without much grief and not much expense. Smog tests DO NOT apply to cars older than 1974. There are no "safety tests/checks." If you don't register a car every year OR notify the state it's "non operative", you can get stuck with back registrations and penalties. The smog "buy back" isn't a great idea, but it doesn't apply to cars that don't need to pass the smog test. There are many charities seeking car donations, but it's an auction scam that has nothing to do with state law. I have a few old cars and find registration, insurance, etc. to be painless and not very expensive. There are hundreds of car clubs in California, hundreds of events, several world class car museums, many great places to drive...it may be a car hobbyist's paradise! On second thought - keeping spreading the bad news rumors...it may keep the population down! Bob > I would think that this is an explanation as to why there are so many > charities advertising in California that they will take an old car off your > hands in exchange for a tax write-off. They probably collect these old cars > with the write-off, haul them out of state, and sell them to used car > dealers and scrap yards. It is odd that there would be such a problem with > registering a car as old as a 73' Imperial, I thought that they had a smog > exemption for cars over 25 years old?