Neighborhood Auto

Smog check… we are new to Ca. and to the smog check process and requirements. After stopping by a few local smog shops, we happened upon Neighborhood Auto. They offered to get the car smog checked in 20 minutes on a Saturday which was great. When I approached the gentleman that worked there I told him that other locations were charging $ 40 and he was charging more. He replied with an annoyed short, ‘ya’. Puzzled, I replied that we would not be getting a smog check there. He said fine and promptly walked away and then yelled over his shoulder that the other guys would lure us in by not telling us about the certificates, etc that are also needed. And with that, he was gone.
He was rude and short with us unnecessarily. Had he taken one minute to educate us on the smog check process and fees, we would have happily stayed and paid, what was probably, the same fees as ‘the other guys”.
Honestly, I would rather be «lured» in by a shop that has better, nicer customer service than not lured in by a rude one.
Would have given one star, but they offered to get us in and out quickly. That was nice. This shop may offer quality auto repairs, but they are lacking in basic customer service skills. Too bad.

After vowing never to go to the «dealership» again for oil changes, minor repairs and smog certification (since they have burned me one too many times), I went to see Tom at Neighborhood Automotive. What an incredibly nice guy, HONEST and reliable. He reset my «check engine» light at NO CHARGE and said it was a simple vacuum leak. I’m sure the «dealer» would have nailed me for at least a couple hundred dollars. Tom @ Neighborhood will have my business for life. I highly recommend Tom at Neighborhhood Auto — good name because it truly feels like Tom is your «good neighbor».

I drive by this business all the time, but this was the first time I have been to this place. I brought my wife’s SUV in for a smog cert at 4:40 pm on a weekday, and they had me out of there before 5 PM. You can’t ask for more than that.
The price of the smog check was pretty reasonable, so no complaints there either. No complaints at all and I will definitely go back to Neighborhood Auto the next time we need to smog one of our vehicles.