Many SMOG professionals experience certain types of nightmares when they lay their heads to rest at the end of the day. If you’ve been a waiter, there are nightmares of too many tables and insufficient time to manage all the customer demands. 
For managers, it can be handling angry customers and bumbling employees. In the SMOG testing and auto repair profession, one nightmare can haunt them in the waking world; an accusation from the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
The state entity may be seen as a “sleeping giant” until it is troubled, and then it arises, tearing down everything in its path. Let’s imagine it’s as if being in an old Godzilla movie. Buildings are burned to a crisp, and citizens run screaming for their lives. Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but the feelings are similar. Small auto repair shop owners have worked hard to build a business. The time and money put into becoming a SMOG technician isn’t taken lightly. The threat of losing a STAR certification or SMOG license is a genuine concern. Being accused of misconduct by the Bureau of Automotive Repair can sometimes lead to scorching down a lucrative SMOG business.
Earlier this year, STAR invalidations were renamed STAR suspensions by the Bureau of Auto Repair. Let’s consider the language change. The word “suspend” means dangling, swinging, or hanging down. It’s been “hung up” and left a little out of reach. But that implies it’s still possible to get it back. While the word “Invalidate” means to abolish, quash or nullify. That sounds a lot more permanent! We can’t confirm why the Bureau of Automotive Repair changed the language, but the final objective appears clear to us; a small SMOG testing and auto repair shop can lose everything for good.
STAR-certified SMOG shops have achieved the gold standard in smog testing. That should mean something, but the BAR still sends out up to 1,000 STAR certificate invalidations annually. How does this happen? It has to do with the Bureau of Auto Repairs quarterly reporting. Two consecutive failing quarters result in a STAR invalidation letter.
Reframing the Argument: STAR Suspension vs. Invalidation
This is why it’s helpful to check your STAR scores regularly. If the scores are low, this could give the valuable “heads up” to prepare for a letter from the BAR. Here is a link to our page with a link to the Bureau of Auto Repair STAR score report.
Our lead attorney and founder of Automotive Defense Specialists, William Ferreria, explains how a STAR invalidation case works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziD4jC7aqfw
Remember, if an auto repair shop or technician receives a STAR invalidation letter, the BAR has already decided to not suspend but nullify the STAR certification. The monster has the small auto shop in its sights and is ready to take it down in flames.
But there is still hope.
Some of the most common court cases around STAR Invalidations include;
- Short term measures
- FPR issues
- Previously issued a citation to shop or technician.
The Best Auto Defense Attorney Defends Your Territory
The funny thing about Godzilla is he stops tearing down the world when another challenger comes onto the scene. As a law firm solely focused on protecting California’s small SMOG testing communities, we fight to protect your business. We direct the BAR’s beastly behavior away from an auto repair shop and send it our way. We have years of experience and understand how the large, bureaucratic entity works and where their weaknesses lie.
Several times in court, we’ve proven the BAR’s evidence to be misguided and had the opportunity to stop their argument in its tracks. Putting the monster back to sleep and saving a SMOG shop from being in harm’s way.