San Ramon Star Smog

Bait and switch.
$ 16.95 coupon in the mail but total was $ 48.25 when I got there because my 2007 car was a luxury car (?!). No rhyme or reason on how he got that number.

Awesome for a smog check center. The guy was great, super fast and efficient. I was out of there in 5 minutes!

Unfortunately, I’ve received the same price hike as everyone else. The technician said he was new and didn’t know what Unilocal was about. I was quoted $ 90 and paid 28. It’s a shame you have to question these shops.

My review is based on a pre-​sales phone conversation and I did not have my car smog checked.
First to say that every time I need a smog check for one of my cars, it seems like dealing with a circus of dishonest or misleading shops. This whole idea of smog checks is a joke anyway as California politicians think they can save the planet by forcing car owners to get smog checks.
When calling this place to ask about the price to perform a smog check on an SUV, he said «the regular price is $ 90 ! Hmmm, my car dealer quoted less. But before I hung up the phone, he says to wait a second because he «might» be able to find a better deal. Quickly he says he has a coupon there that he can reserve for me and that puts the cost at $ 30.
Folks, things like this should be a big red flag to you, especially in the auto inspection and repair businesses. When the price of a service drops to ¹⁄₃ the price in less than 10 seconds, it should tell you that they want to get you in the door so they can tell you something else is wrong with your car to get the price back up to $ 90 or more.
I didn’t even mention I had a coupon for $ 18.75 which I know from experience that coupons for auto services are usually worthless unless with a dealer. There is a reason that auto discount coupons are called «sucker teasers.»
My advice based on years of experience is to always get a firm price in writing BEFORE putting your care inside the test center. This way I am never disappointed.
I think my wife hit the nail on the head when she said «They chose the name of their company because they pull prices out of the «Clear Blue» ! In my case, 3 different prices.

I bought a Groupon for a smog check at this place last week. Called them today to see how long it would take today, they said 15 mins. When I got there, the technician was very courteous & my car was done in less than 10 mins! I will definitely go back!

They were quick with the smog check, I’ll say that. But BEWARE of the pricing structure. $ 109 for a Toyota Highlander and $ 98 for an Infiniti G35. They guy on the corner charges $ 58. My husband went here the day before and advised me to go here because they were fast. I don’t know why my husband’s eyes didn’t bug out at the price. Nevertheless, we have now discussed the appropriate price for a smog check and both know not to go here in the future. I’d advise any potential customer to be prepared to haggle about price ahead of time or have one of these rumored coupons in hand. As for me, I do not like to be played over something so straight forward as a smog check and will definitely not return.

I have been using this smog station for years. For literally dozens of cars. Bring a coupon and they will honor it. They are fast, efficient, and honest. I had one car that was modified (unbeknownst to me) and he saw it right away and told me before he tested it… no charge. I have never had to wait very long as I have at some of the competition nearby.

Beyond unprofessional the guy worming has a disagreement with the previous customer and decided to take it out on my because I was there I would never come back here even if it was free bad service equals shut down next time be nice to the people who have done nothing to you but pay for a service jackass

Some people at work went here and had a good experience and a great price; but, when I called and asked how much the guy quoted me $ 118!!! Crazy, when I balked at that price he said «well, what were you wanting to pay? I mean if you had a price in mind I could try to match that.» It just felt creepy so I told him I’d call back.
Really? Just set a standard price, don’t try to get away with charging a bunch more because someone may not know how much it should really cost to do a smog. I know it doesn’t cost $ 118, now they lost my business.

$ 17.75 coupon + $ 10 extra for suv + $ 8.25 certificate = $ 36.00 took only 20 min. Why 4 stars? Customer waiting area was dirty. Technically, you are sitting at the garage next to testing area.

I came to Clear Blue because I had a coupon, $ 18.75 for smog check + Cert fee. I first was suspicious for the price. Smog stations around San Ramon always have some hidden fees/​charges. When the technician gave me the estimate, it was $ 27.00 out the door. I was surprised that they honor the price on the coupon.
The smog test was smooth, takes about 10 minutes for dyno and visual test. The technician really did his job and wasn’t lazy. He visually and carefully checked everything under the hood to made sure my car complied to the law. He also laid down to see if I had altered the exhaust system.
I will go back to Clear Blue if I have the coupon.

After going to another smog shop around the corner, and the tech not being able to stabilize the speed, I came here. (Sunday) They have a $ 23.95 plus cert (cash only) coupon.
I pull up, and I have a fairly nice car, nothing super crazy, anyhow, they tech looked at the car, and told me to come back on Monday. He was newish, and didn’t want to break my car. I was pleased that he was honest with me and didn’t try to do the smog check.

Over the years living in South Bay, I had my share of horrible experiences with smog stations. After I found one that I could trust, I gave up trying to find the best bargain every year, and simply took both my cars to the same shop for 5 years, even if someone else was cheaper that day.
When we moved to the East Bay, I had another forgettable experience with an attempted bait and switch. A friend then introduced me to this shop which he has trusted for some time. Since then, I have got all 3 of my vehicles done there by a young lad, Harpreet. Each experiences was hassle free and handled efficiently and quickly, the price was true to their current coupon and there were no surprises. I think I have found my long term shop; as long as this tech remains in place.

I went here on a Friday afternoon with a coupon for $ 25 to have my 15 yr old car smogged, all the while, keeping my fingers crossed that it would actually pass. Well, the emissions passed but my timing was off by 7 degrees and as a result, it failed. I was disappointed but made an appt with my mechanic in Walnut Creek for first thing Monday morning. The gentleman at the smog shop said he would check the timing on it before he ran a full retest just to be sure though when I returned. However, my mechanic (a VERY trustworthy man!) could find nothing wrong with my car’s timing! But now, I was out $ 25.00 for the original smog and $ 55.00 for my mechanics time and still not a good smog test. (Not to mention my time and effort to deal with it all)
Back I went on Tuesday afternoon only to have the tech tell me the timing was still off. I called my mechanic and HE called the guy at the Smog shop and also told me to come back on Wednesday to check the car again!
So back to WC on Wed and my guy said there was NOTHING wrong with the timing! So he took it to the smog place next to him and had it done for $ 40.00 total, and of course, it PASSED!
So why the 5 stars??? Well, my mechanic told me that the Smog guy seemed to know what he was doing and maybe his equipment was off. Lo and behold, my mechanic called me on Saturday to tell me that the Smog guy had called him (I guess he didn’t recall my name and number) to tell him that HIS equipment was indeed off and that he wanted to offer me a refund. I guess my guy told him I should be reimbursed the extra $ 55.00 I paid him too (and my guy told me if the Smog guy didn’t give it to me, he would refund me himself… I told you he was an amazing mechanic, didn’t I?) So one more time, I go back to Clear Blue Smog (luckily, I live down the street!) and the guy takes one look at me, smiles and within 1 minute, hands me $ 80.00 cash! He gave me a FULL REFUND for his work AND took the $ 55 hit as well! Now that, is a GOOD and HONEST man! :-D

I took my car here for regular smog test, the technician gave me failed result with bad ignition timing, then I had to take my car to Dublin quality tune up to repair and test. Surprisely my car passed the test at quality tune up without any change to ignition timing. I would really advise against going to this station for smog test.

My review comes from having taken a total of four vehicles to this location over the past two years.
My prior 3 visits were very good experiences. The guy doing the service was friendly, and very quick and accommodating. Even when one of my cars didn’t «pass» he pulled a sheet off the computer, explained it to me, and indicated that my mechanic could easily fix the issue (it was a computer module that needed to be replaced, and that truly was the issue). All of my services were $ 69 each after a $ 20 discount from AAA (which is across the street).
On 11÷20÷10, I took another vehicle (my last one finally) for a smog check. There was a ‘new’ guy in the bay this time. Friendly enough, and the service was quick. BUT, the charge was $ 102 and that was with the $ 20 AAA discount!!!
I told him that I had been there just two months prior, and it was $ 69. He just gave me a «you’ve been screwed» smile, and said, «yes, the price has gone up».. . by almost 40% in two months???
I drive past this shop on a regular basis, and if I see the guy in the bay that I am used to seeing, I will definitely be stopping to ask him what he is charging.
With the charge being that steep, I will be seeking a better deal. I can handle any kind of longer wait or bad attitude in order to save some cash once every two years.

I was in and out in 10 minutes. The man was very nice and helpful! Printed out the coupon and paid 55 for my smog test. My son and I waited by the chairs and just watched him do it. Two other people came and he didn’t get frazzled or bothered. He finished mine then brought the other car in and allowed me to pay. I would come again! everyone was very nice!

Make sure you bring your competitor’s coupons b/​c they can match. HOWEVER, one thing that made me very suspicious about their service was when they failed me for a disconnected air injection (which miraculous somehow got disconnected… um, maybe during the test when I wasn’t looking? I’m still wondering about this…). It costs $ 20 bucks when it fails and another $ 30 bucks to re-​test. So basically my coupon for $ 19 bucks was worthless since I was out of pocket $ 50 bucks.
So if I were you, I would watch the mechanic carefully while he tests your smog on your car b/​c who knows what he might’ve been doing when you weren’t looking. And it’s really unfortunate I have to warn people of this.