National Smog & Test Only Center

Summary: Guy was unprofessional and a douchebag to my girlfriend.
The story: Needed to get my car smogged in December because, by golly, California requires this racket. I asked the guy that if I failed, I could be retested for free. He said sure, so I come in the next day. Alas, when I see the paperwork, it says something to the effect that I have 10 days for the retest. I told him I was going to be out of the country in less than 10 days, but he made it seem like it was my tough luck. Stupidly, I signed the sheet and hoped for the best.
Alas, my car failed.
When I got back to the US in Jan, I got my sensors fixed and, unbeknownst to me, my girlfriend tried to get the car smogged when I was on a business trip. Now if the business was smart, they would have given us the courtesy for a retest or, perhaps, a discount — after all, he could take our money or we could go elsewhere. But all I know is that she showed him our receipt and said, «We were here before but we were out of the country…»
«Well, good, so you will have to pay again, so you should be thankful that you got the discount already!»
So my girlfriend thanked him and left.
No, this negative review is not because he didn’t give us a courtesy smogging — it’s how he talked to my girlfriend.
And I must say, as my second smogging after moving to California, it’s clear it’s a corrupt system, a virtual money grab for both the state and slimy mechanics. I work with cars so I know a bit about this world and can sniff (pun not intended) out legit people, and this guy is on the opposite end of the pole. With so many smoggers in the area, you have alternatives that know how to treat their customers AND have an understanding of basic customer service.
And what’s with this cash payment thing when using the discount coupon? Sketchy…

The man was SO NICE. I told him I loaned out my printer and he said it was fine, he would honor the coupon. $ 45 for a complete smog check with DMV filing fee! I was floored! These are 1996 prices! The shop is small with 2 banks located south of Palms on west side of Overland Ave. It is totally worth the drive if you’re not on this side of town. I pulled into the driveway, he gave me some paperwork and by the time I was done, he was done. It’s cash only. Bring cash, your DMV renewal and you’re all set to go about your day. I love this place!

The uhaul rental service is terrible and the manager is not honest.
Be careful! The manager faked the odometer reading, which is 4 times higher than the actual mileage I drove and charged me 40 more bucks. I called the uhaul customer service and the company asked me to talked to the manager. However, as I didn’t take photos when returning the van, there is no chance to prove how much miles did I drive actually.
If you really want to rent vans here, remember to take photos of the vans before rent it as they have damages everywhere. When you return the van, insist the owner to check the van together with you and take photos of the odometer and fuel gauge. The owner may find some excuse and refuse to examine the van at the scene so he can play some tricks after you leave. Be sure to have an exact/​less estimation of the mileage you will drive before going there as the manager will charge you based on your estimation ahead and the mileage on your final bill will be even higher!

I’ve been coming here for a couple of years now for smogs, but i dont know if I’ll be coming back. They charged me almost $ 500 to fix the solenoid converter because the check engine light on my stupid 2005 Toyota Corolla keeps coming on and so I couldn’t pass the smog. Long story boring, they supposedly fixed it but my check engine light has not turned off even after they «fixed» it. :-(I still don’t know why the check engine light keeps coming back on. The guy was nice hence the 2 stars, but I wish they would have fixed it considering how much they charged me.

Rip Off, Rip Off, Rip Off.
He would not accept my voucher. Instead, charged $ 20.00 more
than voucher price. Then, he insisted on cash, only.

Okay Unilocalers, I will confess that I am not a smog check connoisseur. But really, I was super satisfied with my experience here, expecially with the great price compared to other spots! I used the $ 40 coupon (cash only) for a smog check found on their website
(for passenger cars 2001 and newer) and they honored it without issue. When I pulled up, I was informed that each car takes about 10 minutes to check, and I was next in line. I sat down on a relatively comfy and clean couch to wait and noted some magazines to peruse on the coffee table — including the publication from my alma mater, go Stanford — and probably answered just a few emails and browsed facebook briefly when he announced that my car was done and had passed! Hooray. Pleasant, quick, no appointment needed, close to home — can’t really ask for much more than that!

Went her to get my smog text. Quick and easy. I had the coupon printed out from online. No questions, no problems. He said give him fifteen minutes and I think he was done in five! Definitely recommend.

Went here this week for the required (dreaded) smog check. I expected the worst, since the exhaust smell has been more noticeable. But the 9 year old car passed OK!
Even though they are first come first served, there was no wait!!!
When you come here, tell ‘em you’re paying using the Internet special ($ 40 CASH ONLY) instead of the full $ 50 !
Highly Recommended!

Rented a u-​haul truck here and had a great experience. They even let me keep the truck longer without charging extra. I also recommend it for smog checks.

Worst smog place ever. Passed last year at another smog place just fine and this (George) fails many people I found out after from a smog review site to take your money rather than telling you something fails visual ahead of time to waste no time or money.

What can I say about George and his wonderful business… he and it both rock! :) I received my registration renewal in the mail, and of course, was immediately not stoked, but I called National Smog & Test Only Center, and was so happy with the wonderful phone service I received, I decided to make an appointment. Upon arriving at his clean and welcoming smog center, I felt so relaxed and very happy he had cold beverages and a comfy couch while waiting, awesome! The whole process took just a few minutes, was so seamless, and affordable, Thank You George! My sweet Toyota and I will see you in 2016, no doubt! :)

This is the 2^nd car I take to George for a smog. I had a stupid sensor that needs to be replaced in a tire, so my TPMS light wont turn off. Took my car to 3 places to get smogged and they couldn’t do it. NOT GEORGE! YAY! When I took my husband’s truck in he also helped me get it smogged and got me an estimate on a new radiator. Service is always fast, honest & reliable!

Wow. Just called to get a quote on a smog check and the guys says «I’ll do it for $ 70.» I reply with «Oh, your website says $ 29.95?» And he quickly cuts me off and with an attitude says «well why wouldn’t you mention the website» UHHH how about because I figured you would quote the same price on your site as there’s nothing that says mention the website or that it’s a special?! What a bunch of crooks and assholes! I’m steering clear of this scam

THIS PLACE HAS MOVED FROM IT’S SEPULVEDA LOCATION!!! Please go to the Overland address.
Not too difficult to find.
Rarely a wait.
Friendly staff.
Restroom available.
Waiting area complete with TV
Offers a deal if you pay in cash and mention Unilocal.$ 40 as opposed to $ 60.
Please come here if you want your smog check hassle free!!!
Oh yeah… free retest if you fail****
Without a doubt– the place to go if you’re due.

This place was just really bad. I’m not one to usually bash on places, but this place deserves it.
I went to get my car smogged, which I knew it would’t pass because my check engine light was on. It’s ok though because I figured it was my O2 sensor and that was an easy fix. Plus it was a free retest, so I figured I’d have them tell me what was wrong, they could fix it, and I’d do the free retest and be on my way!
2 results came back with 2 fails: 1 Modified Catalytic Converter, 2, O2 sensor heat fail (ODB systems checks) He tells me that he can fix it no problem, but it’s going to be upwards of $ 650. WHAT?!? He points out that the government assists people, up to $ 500, to get your car to pass smog, but there’s a things to fill out, mail in, a long process that I did not want to deal with.
So I took the results to a friend, he tells me the O2 sensor can be bought at autozone for $ 50. We do that, take it to another mechanic who charges me $ 20 and takes 20 minutes. No more check engine light. YAY.
So i figure since I still get a free retest, I’ll go back to get the certificate. I go back, the guy tells me it’s been over 10 days so I don’t qualify for the free test anymore. I tell him OK, Im going to take it somewhere else then. He throws back my receipt at me, says fine and walks away.
I take it to another smog, and tell the guy my story. He immediately goes to my car to check the catalytic converter, that I was told was modified and would have to be replaced in order to pass smog.
He tells me that it is not modified, and as this is a «visual inspection,» the guy before was basically being shady. I knew this because I bought my car from a mechanic, who confirmed that it was not modified, and I have definitely not touched it since owning the car.
Anyway, this place is sketchy, a rip off, and trying to cash in on tax payers dollars by making unreasonable quotes and then playing the «good guy» by saying — hey, get the government to help with this huge, senseless bill, and you will only end of $ 200 out of pocket! I spent $ 70 total on parts and labor… this guys charges $ 700… go here at your own risk!!!

Went here this morning for a smog check and was helped right away. It was super quick and it passed. He initially charged $ 60 and was going to accept my credit card, but when the internet coupon/​deal was mentioned, he said it would be $ 50 if we paid cash. I only had a smog check once before and it was only $ 40, so I wish the prices were a little lower here, but I appreciated the very fast service. I would say I was there for no more than 15 min. (late morning on a week day)

I have really mixed feelings. The guys are quite pleasant and efficient. The place may not be a five star hotel lobby, but it’s cleaner than a lot of small auto businesses, and the slumpy couches are comfortable.
They have two pages on Unilocal under different business names with the same address (the other one is «Overland Smog Center»), which seems weird.
I looked on the STAR website, where you can see the public records of how honest California thinks each certified smog place is, and their test results are exceptionally average state-​wide, which probably means unusually honest. All the other local smog test places I checked had worse-​looking results. This is great for trust, and trust is really important when someone is both failing your car and naming a price to fix the problem so they can pass it.
My car has passed smog consistently. But this time, it failed «visual inspection». They estimated $ 78 which they said would include any simple repairs. Later, over the phone, they said the fuel tank gasket was leaking and it would cost $ 200. I said OK, and mentioned that as long as they were dropping the gas tank, could they investigate why my gas gauge is sometimes wobbly and inaccurate? He said he would check it out.
Sad story, but about 10 years ago I was taking my car to a place where they would fail it every time, charge me to «fix» it, and then fail it for a different reason next time. Maybe I’m too suspicious, but it led me to feel like the whole test-​and-​repair thing’s a racket.
I figured this gas tank repair is probably fine, but if they fail it again next time, then I’ll get a second opinion!
When I picked the car up, I was charged $ 200 for labor, $ 78 for «diagnostic», $ 50 for parts, AND $ 10.05 for «Re-​Test» (which is just the DMV cert fee and ETF, but it is labelled as «re-​test» on the form, which looked like I was being charged for the free re-​test itself — even more maddening at first blush!). Plus $ 4.50 sales tax.
Maybe they just don’t have clear enough policies about explaining exactly what things are going to cost over the phone. It makes a difference to me! Somewhat because of the actual dollars, but more so because of the need for trust. Trust means repeat business and stability. We have three cars in all, and of course most friends have at least one. I was a regular customer who would refer people and now I’m skittish.
They lowered the price a bit when they saw how shocked I was. That was decent of them. But I went in thinking I’d spend around $ 50 on a smog check and I ended up being out around $ 400. Since picking the car up, the engine has stalled on me in traffic once, and the gas gauge is wiggling all over the place. Maybe they forgot to investigate the gauge problem, or maybe it behaved when they were looking, or maybe it’s outside their expertise. It would have been nice to get a followup about that.
But the price jump rattled my confidence, and I feel unsure about going back.

Hey it’s right up the street from my house so an extra star for convenience. Wasn’t a wait when I arrived so I was out of there in 20 minutes. Wish I had seen these earlier reviews mentioning the internet/​cash special. Well there’s always next time. Smog testing isn’t rocket science and there’s tons of these places so as long as the price isn’t ridiculous I’m fine with it.

While this is not the «classiest» of establishments (but what were you expecting, really?), this place is quick & efficient. The guy was pretty straight forward and I didn’t have to wait around for very long.
Also, if your car fails the smog check, they’ll tell you what the problem is, and you can come back to retest your car free of charge.
Oh, but unfortunately, the online discount is now only $ 10.

Wow! I am so glad I followed these guys to the new location (used to be in the alley on Culver/​Sepulveda which is where I went for years). Super friendly on the phone (spoke with Andrew) and in person. No BS, lean & clean shop, tested and passed before I could finish checking in on Unilocal!Ah and I got my cash/​Yelp discount ($ 45 for my Allroad).
Could not have been a nicer experience. Thanks!

Best price (if you mention the internet cash price deal — go to their web site above to see the details), and fast service!
What more can you ask for from a smog check place?
I took my 2007 Civic in today and was in and out in 15 minutes! Cash price was $ 40 with the internet special and that’s $ 10 – 20 cheaper than other places in this area.
Just what I was looking for!