Be aware the above advice applies where deafsmogtech is but there are places, like where I live in Southern Illinois, where there is NOT such a thing as a "recent smog certificate".
Correct and Buying houses he is wrong also.
You can sue a previous owner who doesn't disclose an issue/problem that was knowingly omitted up to 10 years after purchase. it can be a new home vs contractor, a used home vs previous seller(s)
The only eception is bank foreclosures/repos because they sell them with a clause in the contracts of "unknown conditions" when a previous owner knows their home and cannot use that clause. I have bought and sold houses, flipping them, and my current home was my first total gut rehab.
If I am ever to sell this house, I am 100% liable to disclose everything from new screws to dust in this house.
Do you remember me saying and showing pictures of the wiring that had nails driven through it, a fire hazard? Well, if I bought this house from an "owner" there would have been some liability issues that they would have been paying for as it was hidden and found during the gutting luckily... But because it was a vandalized foreclosure, I was SOL on the issue and so now, everything is new and safe in this house. I know every nook and cranny here, before I drive a nail/screw I know approximately where every wire and pipe is ran in the walls/floor.
Buying a used car, if you can prove and have proof the dealership lied, which we do its a different story under FEDERAL guidelines. From a small car lot, those little shady places, they will just change ownership or join LLC...ect... to avoid dealing with or being prosecuted.
Dig a little deeper, you will find more info and your rights as a consumer under the federal laws on certain things, Why do you think the Highway patrol is investigating them now?