Smog Central Station

Joe was the best! He isn’t just in it for the $ like some automotive technicians out there. He was very informative and made the whole process quick and painless! I was in and out within 10 minutes!
I would definitely recommend going here. very friendly and fast.

I’ve never posted a Unilocal review, but I was so upset with this place that I had to write a review. I passed 2 years ago, then failed after going in this year. They charged me for the first test just to tell me I had OBDII monitors on, but wouldn’t tell me why. After trying to get them cleared and going back they told me the monitors were still on again and that I had to get it checked out again. After going to a good and trusted Volkswagen mechanic and replacing my glow plugs and driving around to clear the monitors I went back just to find out a monitor was still on. The guy there told me that I needed to «do my homework» and that my mechanic should too. I started crying because he was so rude and condescending. I’ve been doing a ton of work these last two months trying to get my car ready for smog and he treated me like I was an idiot, insulted my intelligence, and never gave me a chance. After going to my trusted mechanic he said there was nothing else I needed to do other than drive around more to clear the monitor. I am never going back here again and can’t wait to go back after passing. SO EFFING RUDE.

Terrible service and worse, a bad attitude. The owner, Joe, had a bad attitude and has no experience as a mechanic so if your looking for smog repairs find a better shop. This guy uses the smog checks to demand further fees yet he cannot offer any suggestions on what the problem may be unless you give him a blank check. There’s lots of other Smog check stations in San Marcos. USE ANYONE ELSE!

While they did the smog check quickly what got me upset was the deceptive coupon I downloaded for their shop says $ 30.75 and in very small print + ca certificate fee, which I didn’t notice when deciding on where to go to get my smog check done.
When I got there, I was told the $ 30.75 price was ONLY if you paid in cash, which luckily I had, AND it was an additional cost of $ 8.75 for the certificate which is the whole reason of going there in the 1^st place.
The woman in their office said they are among the cheapest around, which may be true, and that she had no control over the content of the coupon… but IMO they need to be more transparent in their coupon requirements and pricing. There was no mention of the additional costs when I called to make an appointment and told her I had a coupon, nor that it needed to be in cash to get the coupon price.

After being told I’d have to wait an hour at at Smog Central’s competitor, I stopped here and was in and out in like 10 – 15 minutes. With the coupon it was $ 40 on credit card ($ 39 for cash). No complaints here!

Was recommended by a friend’s Uncle. Got quoted at Pep Boys for $ 1400 to do new brakes. Joe was like «pfffft, let me take a look» and he does the whole thing for a fraction of a fraction of the price that Pep Boys was trying to rob me with.
Not only that, I was low on money, but had enough to pay for the diagnosis, then came back the week after, and they honored the price they quoted me, and then some. I don’t work for Joe or anything. This dude is just amazing.

YOU MUST USE THIS MECHANIC! Honest, caring and trustworthy.
I happened upon this company when I had to have my smog system on an older Honda (1994) serviced /​repaired. I got a voucher from the state of California and started looking through their certified mechanics list. They happened to be walking distance for me (very convenient).
I met Joe and he assured me he could get this car to pass smog. Joe is the owner and he is the nicest person, really genuine and helpful. Most mechanics barely meet your eye and grunt at you. Nick and the rest of the staff are very courteous and friendly as well. They even called during the day and gave me updates and this place is a busy shop. The car had to be torn down to do the exam and diagnostic. While apart Joe noticed a major maintenance repair and asked if I would like it taken care of. Since the car was already apart it would save me lots of money in labor cost, two birds, one stone. After the smog diagnostic he thoroughly cleaned the system and informed me that there was only one small valve that needed to be replaced. He ordered the part and Honda was out of stock, so he PUT MY ENTIRE ENGINE BACK TOGETHER, so that I could have it to drive home, and then took it apart the next day at no charge to me. He was concerned that it was my only vehicle. Amazing! A mechanic that actually cares about people! The job was completed the next day, the car passed smog flying colors and the maintenance repair he did will keep me on the road for a few more years. If I hadn’t have done that or if I were at another shop and they just did what they were there for and didn’t tell me, it would have literally destroyed my engine.
Oh! Also bonus, they are open on Saturday and weekdays until 6 PM. I have NEVER seen that before and it is SO convenient
Thank you so much Joe and everyone there. You really helped me out and I will recommend you to EVERYONE. AAA+++

From start to finish was a total of less 15 minutes. I drove up and before I had a chance to park, Nick asked if he could help me, told me to leave the car running and he’d take it in. Once he started the smog check, he went into the mini office to do the paperwork, accepted my coupon and helped another customer. Shortly thereafter, he came back with the results (PASS!), took my coupon and payment. On my way! Very courteous and professional. Definitely recommend you for fast service!

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!! unprofessional all they care about is the all mighty dollar they can careless about you .they will fail your car on visual and charge you.

Very quick and friendly! Made the process super easy

I just moved here from out of state and had 2 cars smogged. Great experience. super fast and really nice people.

Fast — 15 min. Inexpensive. $ 40 with Internet coupon. Would be 5 Stars if owner/​manager were professional. Sarcastic humor on phone when asking if diesels are same price as gas automobiles. Upon arrival, more sarcasm, condescending, belittling, & unprofessional interaction with me and other calls he took. Would return only if I couldn’t find a less expensive option.

Went in today after calling to see if it was busy. It was available in the morning. Went over handed them the car papers and was in and out in 15 mins. Great price with the coupon and the results were sent to the dmv. Could not have been happier with the service, time, and customer service. Will be going here in the future.

Took My 2001 Toyota here today with an internet coupon (total $ 40.00). The young service guy was friendly and answered all my questions. My car passed, and I was in and out in about 10 minutes! No reservation needed.
I recommend this establishment.

Quick, friendly, reasonably priced. In and out. I’ve been there twice and it’s been great. Call first to make sure they are not busy.

Joe took good care of me. In and out real quick. Would recommend this place to other customers.

Fast and friendly both times I took cars in. Probably not the best price in town, but they do have an online coupon.

Very disappointed! Thought I would come right at 8 am on a Saturday to get it out of the way and try to be one of the first customers but no one was there. The garage doors were closed so I thought I would give it 15 min in case someone had a late night. 8:20 am still NO one. Called left a message double checked the website to make sure they were open Sat. and they are supposed to be open 8−1…At 8:36 am I left to go to platinum auto since no one ever showed. Super unprofessional and irritating!!!

WOW. Talk about fast. I was in and out in 8 minutes. The place was really clean and had a nice waiting room with comfortable chairs (not always the case when you are getting your car smogged) Nick was the tech and he was nice and polite. The price was less than I have paid elsewhere. I will definitely be back with my other vehicles.

These guys are very fast. I brought my truck in here to get smogged. Although it failed (I replaced the battery a week earlier and the OBD II monitors had been erased). The technician at the front desk was helpful and explained that I just needed to drive the truck some more and bring it back in. Unfortunately I still had to pay full price (minus the coupon which you can print off their terrible website) but the next time I come in supposedly it’s half-​off.
Will come back as it is a pretty painless and cheaper smog test compared to other options in the area.