Fremont Star Smog Check

Excellence service. Got a better deal without using Group on coupon. Definitely recommend doing that. I had a 2011 car and needed to retest smog so it worked out well with Groupon. It’s only a one time check and wouldn’t have worked out.

I arrived, parked and walked right in to speak with the smog technician. They took my information, I pulled up the car and it was done within 10 minutes. Reasonable pricing and great service. Thank you so much.

TLDR: High chance of failing smog checks due to faulty equipment, cost is high even with a Groupon. I went in for a smog check here based on reviews. I bought a Groupon and understood the fine print. The total cost for my SUV including the Groupon was close to $75 which is much higher than what most places charge. Next they told me that my vehicle is failing the test as it is not providing all the data. They asked me to drive more miles and come back and pay another $40 to retest. I haven’t had any repairs or battery resets in the last one year. I checked with my mechanic and he was able to see all the data from the computer. I went to another test location and they were able to complete the test and update the DMV. It cost me $40. This place is a complete ripoff, stay away.

I was charged $59.75 for labor plus $8.25 for the state certificate (total $68) for a smog check on my 2008 Honda Accord. Some shops will honor a coupon even after the fact if you show it to them, and good customer service usually includes adjusting the price in situations like this. Unfortunately, this shop refused to do so - it felt like poor customer service. To me, requiring customers to visit their website to obtain a “voucher” without mentioning it otherwise feels like a deliberate tactic to charge more than necessary. It came across as greedy and misleading. (Update: After filing a complaint with the California Bureau of Automotive Repair, the shop issued a full refund of the entire amount. Resolved financially, but the initial handling was disappointing.)

Purchased a Groupon deal. Paid 31.2 dollars. And paid another 18.5 SUV cost + California star certificate at the station. So basically still paid 50 dollars for everything. I wish the price on Groupon is more honest. This trick here is like Black Friday, the merchant raises price from $50 to $100, then marked 40% off. But the price is still more expensive than usual. The service takes 15 mins. The station is not too big. Call to ask the price before you come.