Do I really have to get a smog check?

I do think I recall reading that you have to get an out of state car smogged when you bring it in. Even so, I really doubt that you'd have any problems passing the test. Right now I'm exempt for the first 5 years of the car's life or something like that. Even if it does fail if your under 80,000 miles it's all warrantied anyways.

You might consider yourself lucky though that california just checks the gas output from the tail pipe. Arizona recnetly switched to a new test for anything newer than 96. They plug in to the obd and if you have *any* code what so ever you fail. It could be a transmission code, you fail. Kinda stupid.

Hmm, interesting. I was unaware california did that. My parents have a shop which specialiazs in emission repairs so I always get to keep up to date with any changes to the system in the Phoenix area anyways. In a way I guess the obd testing is good because it keeps the vehicles in polluted areas having to run at spec.