things shops tell newbs or unaware people

That I understand, but how does that make the emission equipment on the car faulty? See what I am to get at is just because you have a SES light tripped that does not mean the vehicle’s emissions equipment is faulty. As long as the emissions equipment checks out with the OBDII test and the car passed the visual and safety check then the vehicle should get a good sticker. Sorry I should have worded my original post differently.