I have a question for any California people here...I'm ready to let my 09 HHR go away. I don't need the car. She starts and drives and runs fine still but the nickel and dime stuff is too much now. Now getting 0420 inefficient catalytic. I have quotes of about $1800 from local muffler shops for the CARB compliant catalytic with install. The car has more than 250,000 miles on it. Bad paint, interior seats ok but ... So I am asking what you would do? I have online junk quotes of about $700, just to come get it. If I invest $1800 in order to get it to pass smog, I'm not sure I could get more than $2500 for it on cl. Thoughts?

 

if u are gone sell it in cali , by law u are responsible for a smog for transfer , so don't just sell it too joe , cuz he could dummy up a repair order and sue u for the funds , best to sell it to a scraper and junk it or sell it throw copart or iaa both willl clear u of the smog need gl, or just find a cat for it were in ca are u i maybe able to help u !

 

Riverside County location. I have checked out some websites that offer online quotes from I suppose junk dealers. Their websites say no smog required. If you have a Catalytic solution I'm listening. Thanks.

 

Sell it out of state where they don't care. I think otherwise it's fix it or junk it.

Ira

 

This. The car is drivable. Midwesterners are dying for rust-free cars. Offer it for sale here and on Farcebook Marketplace. I’ll jump on a plane from Ohio come and get it for the right price, certainly a bunch more than scrap, but someone else will give you more.

 

It is illegal in almost all states and especially California to sell a used cat except to a recycler.
Why not ask the folks that do the smog testing?
RJ recently posted a quote from the law; in that it states a car over 10 years old ANY cat will do.

 

I will call my usual smog checker as suggested, but remember we are in CALIFORNIA.....the most regulated place on earth. You can not sell a car here unless you can provide the smog check, period. And only in California the catalytic has to be CARB (California Air Resources Board) compliant. Cats sell on ebay all day long for a few hundred, but not here. My muffler guy told me its only 1 hour labor but the part is over $1600 and prices going up because of thieves stealing cats from under cars in the night.

 

BTW, this car has a rebuilt trans within last 12 months, new struts, shocks, front brake rotors and pads within last 2 weeks. I would get more to part it out but I don't want to mess with it.

 

If you post an ad in our Marketplace you can either part it out or sell it.

 

***But, as Donbrew pointed out, if the car is 10 years or older then a C.A.R.B. cat is not required.