I took my vehicle in to have a smog check. After maybe ten minutes the technician came into the office and said "I can't smog check that. It's a gross polluter." I didn't know if I should pay for the smog check or what, and I asked "So I should just take it and go?" The technician replied that there were hydrocarbons all around it and added "And the choke light is on."
I told him "I pulled out the choke when it was cold in order to start it." He denied having touched the choke, and said "I'm going to die soon enough, I don't need to breathe that."
At that point I gave up and left. It seemed a waste to point out a second time that if he had pushed in the choke knob the choke light would extinguish. I would have expected an automotive technician to be familiar with the operation of a manual choke on a carbureted engine, even though it is outdated. I don't plan to take my vehicles there again.
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