15 Minute Smog Test and oil change repair station
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Services Offered
Verified by Business
Review Highlights
“Would not hesitate to hire Jose to do brakes and other maintenance jobs.” in 403 reviews
“Fast and easy service, saw my out of state plate and automatically knew what I was there for.” in 124 reviews
“Needed a quick, economic, but most importantly thorough and reliable Star certified smog test and certificate.” in 91 reviews
About the Business
Business owner information
Jose C.
Star Certified Station! Out of State, regular, and Star directed vehicles. Change owner. Diesel smog and gross polluted cars. Cars, trucks, suvs and Rvs. Premium oil changes too!
Location & Hours
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Amenities and More
Ask the Community
Q:
Is this a STAR location for smog checks?
A:
Q:
Is this business shut down? As of today (July 28) phone number goes to a voicemail saying they would be closed on the weekend (July 14-15) and re-open Monday July 16 .. over a week ago. Drove to the address and found everything locked up tight.?
A:
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Overall rating
1211 reviews
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1 star
Cautious O.Albany, CA0194May 6, 2024I have been taking my car and telling friends to go here for many years. Everyone is satisfied. Still no stress and no undisclosed smog test additional costs, fast service. Also recommend oil changes while you wait. Would not hesitate to hire Jose to do brakes and other maintenance jobs.
I have been going here since the business was on University Ave. many years ago. Long time Berkeley business, strong reputation.
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M.j. W.Oakland, CA166513Apr 15, 2024monday afternoon, arrived on-time to appointment, waited 10 minutes for car to be serviced, then 10 minutes to finish, approximately 20 minutes in all but spent 10 minutes cleaning up my steering wheel because the mechanic drove my vehicle with greasy gloves he wore to work on all the cars -these are blue disposable gloves that looked liked they'd been used since last friday.
he drove my vehicle without changing his gloves, no seat protectors, no care or concern for interior.
this place is a dirt and gravel shop, old cars in the parking lot, smelled like a port-o-potty urinal dunk where i waited under a tree...
i've never needed a smog test, so nothing to compare. but i have dealt with mechanics and dealerships--- they should always take care of the interior and never get grease or fluids inside!
unprofessional.
yes, cheap and the service explains why.... change your gloves! they are disposable!!!Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 1Business owner information
Jose C.
Apr 16, 2024
We do a lot of smogs and I am Jose the one who does the smogs. I always wear gloves the same as the other technicians. I moved the car to exit door and I am the one who charge you at office and when you mention about the gloves, I had gloves like the other technician, I show the gloves look dark but they won’t get dirty anything, even I run the glove on a white paper and mention if i can go to clean the car myself with special cleaner. I offer to clean it like few times. We used this blue color gloves because they are really good and antibacterial.
Bruce G.Miami, FL022Apr 5, 2024Stopped by for a smog check, Jose was done in 20 minutes, with a smile and an amazingly positive attitude - what a treat - to be made feel like a appreciated customer, and with a nice sense of humor.
This is my new shop for smog checks and now I'm going to get my shock absorbers done there, too.
Previous shop charged me $10 to remove plastic cover off the engine block, and last week when I stopped by the owner made us wait for over an hour (20 minute lunch break) and then told us he's not taking any more cars that day.
Don't pay extra for bad attitude - give Jose a try - you'll be amazed!
GOOD SERVICE STILL EXISTS.Helpful 0Thanks 2Love this 0Oh no 0
Atlanta R.Oakland, CA314Aug 8, 2024Amazing service, fair pricing, and fast. Repaired my front brake pads with no trouble!
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Rose B.Berkeley, CA3527Jul 22, 20241 check-inQuick, efficient and well priced! There looked to be a long line of cars, but they had me pull right in and it was ready 15 m later. Plus, Jose was friendly. All good!
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Nicole W.Hacienda Heights, CA62147Jul 15, 20241 check-inService was quick and easy! There is a cute cafe down the street where you can wait. I used the yelp account for a discount too and they honored it. I also didn't bring my paperwork and they did it for me for a small fee. Thanks!
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Simba G.West Berkeley, Berkeley, CA184178Jan 30, 2024Updated reviewAttended 15 minute smog test and oil change again today. Efficient. Knowledgeable. Saves me well over an hour at the dealer. Never me any unnecessary maintenance issues unlike the dealer.
I have been a customer since Jose began at 76 in Berkeley.
Went to Toyota for 2 years during my free services.
15 minute smog and oil change is the best I have used.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Aug 17, 2023Previous reviewI was unsure considering the amount of 5 star reviews. Reasonable prices and better service than dealers.
You will undoubtedly save money AND TIME.
Angelisse K.Oakland, CA525217Feb 29, 2024This is NOW my top favorite Star Certified SMOG station!!! Fastest, friendliest and most inexpensive!!
After going to my old standby and finding out the smog technician wasn't even there until Sunday, I called 5 more top rated places and was either quoted high prices ( $98 or $78) or told their technician only work Friday Saturday Monday Tuesday etc .
But when I called here they quoted me $40 for 15 minute smog and they delivered!!Helpful 1Thanks 1Love this 0Oh no 0- Duane T.Alameda, CA50358Jul 6, 2024
Service was quick, took only 45 minutes to complete, and my truck passed with flying colors!
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Dec 5, 2022Updated review
I think his name is Jose (owner/manager), from other yelp reviews. Unfortunately, I didn't get his name, but the guy's great! He's really engaging, and what blew me away was that he remembered the conversation we had last year when I dropped by and what we talked about! Honestly, I didn't remember at all until he reminded me. This guy's not just a solid shop owner, but a cool person!
This year, I brought my mom's car in, and he and his crew finished in 10 minutes, short of the advertised 15! So really an in and out experience. It was also the lowest price in the Oakland area, from all my yelp quotes.
It's in a no-frills location; it looks like a typical mechanic shop. But don't let the externals fool you. You'll be in, certified and out in nether time.Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 2Oh no 0Jan 11, 2018Previous reviewI needed to do the tedious smog check thing this year, even though I know my ride will absolutely pass like it always does. To take the sting out of the tedium, I embarked on my self-imposed challenge of trying to find the absolute cheapest shop to fulfill my 2018 resolution of remaining in a year-long thrift mode...at least for a week.
I get ready to do the hours long dial job and notes jot, when I notice the "request a quote" tab for the first shop. Hey maybe this will save my breath and fingers from dialing stress at least for this one. After I hit the button, lo and lock in, there is an option to blast a fair smattering of shops with quote requests all at the same time! Not only do I get to fulfill my cheap resolution but also my seek more leisure (be more lazy) resolution.
After hitting the blast button, within a few hours, I had 9 quotes...and easily the cheapest was 15 min. Smog, by a whole Hamilton ($10). $30 for the smog check and certificate--total. (That's as of this writing for a car, year 2000 or newer.) Some places were actually charging $20 more! I mean what more could we possibly get for a double Hamilton? Free tix to the musical?
I set up an appt. and arrived at my slot. The site said it would take 10 min. to check a car that was year 2000 or newer, but that was not the case...it took only 5. I barely sat down and fired up my phone, and it was done.
There's a reason I actually spent time to review a smog check station...and it has nothing to do with any resolutions.
