RALEIGH - If you recently got a new car, its yearly checkup may be a little cheaper. Exemptions from emission tests will go into effect April 1 for cars and light-duty trucks during their first three model years. This is part of a law passed in 2012, but Tom Mather, public information officer for the North Carolina Division of Air Quality, says several steps had to be followed before the change went into effect.

"To do that, we first had to demonstrate that it wouldn't cause any air quality problems and then we had to get that change in the program approved by the EPA in the federal government," Mather says. "That's been completed now so that's why it's just taking affect April 1."

Mather says vehicles rarely fail their emission tests in the first three years but says there's another reason why the exemption was limited to this period.

"One reason we don't want to extend that too far is the warranties on new cars cover all the emission control equipment under federal law for five years," Mather says. "By keeping it at three years, if there are any problems, you could still get that fixed under warranty."

Only 48 of the state's 100 counties require emission tests with yearly safety inspections, which Mather says is done by population and car ownership.

"You get less bang for the buck in the smaller counties because there is an expense to having this type of equipment offered in service stations. The equipment isn't cheap," he says. "You wouldn't get that much additional benefit from adding more counties."

The Division of Air Quality and DENR studied and confirmed that this expanded exemption would not negatively affect air quality and the EPA approved the changes. Mather says, in addition to newer cars being less likely to have emissions failures, this is due to changes in emission technology.

"Part of the reason for that is the newer cars are much cleaner than older cars," he says. "When this emissions testing was beginning in the 1980s, the cars were much less clean. But now, old cars are retired and taken out of service and people buy new cars."

Mather also pointed to changes to gasoline and diesel to make both cleaner, including the removal of sulfur from gas.

In counties that require emission tests, they come as part of mandatory safety inspections and cost an extra $16.40. DENR says this exemption will save car owners $14 million per year. For more information, go to ncair.org.