Premier Smog

Small shop run by 1 guy. A bit lacking in social graces but the Unilocal coupon is one heckuva deal. Normally $ 79 but down to $ 29 with the Unilocal coupon. Plus $ 8 for a mandatory cert. Since his emissions system directly connects and transmits the results to CA-​DMV, there isn’t a need for the Certificate. Except to burden his wallet. Also the new Certificates don’t contain any specific measurements, just Pass/​Fail, which isn’t also isn’t very valuable. The entire test took about 20m for a 2005 Camry. All in all, a good deal for sure.

This is a shady place. They advertised for $ 35.75, no where mentioned SUV is an additional $ 10. Never believe what they advertised! They are afraid of the competition across the street which charges less for SUV. Also, they took advantage of woman as a consumer. If they offered $ 5 off for other male consumer, why didnt they offer to a female consumer? Gender discrimination for sure!
The place is dirty, the magazines displayed on the table is yellow and very dated. Nothing like the photos they advertised.

After I had a bad experience at Jorge’s (who is very highly rated) .
I had a great experience and even though I didn’t have any coupon I just asked for the best price I could get. The tech was very willing to do a pre-​test to make sure monitors were ready. The price he quoted me. I was so surprised and had to ask twice and I decided to pay 10% more as a tip.
Looks like there are multiple technicians and I suspect some negative experiences may be due to who is at the counter.

These guys do not know the difference between steam and smoke. When you start a cold engine in the cold weather there is some steam that comes out of the exhaust which is definitely not smoke. Stay away from this business if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on your car for no reason.

There is only 1 station available, so it might be risky if you are in a time crunch. Worker was very monotone in his service, but I don’t want to blame him since he might’ve had a long busy day. Came here for the 27.50 $ Unilocal check in discount, but had to pay additional 10 $ for the certificate.

Needed to get smog certificate for our out of state car for CA DMV registration. Was painless and done under 30min. There was only one person ahead of me. I showed them my Unilocal offer from my phone and they adjusted the coupon price accordingly. The smog test itself was done in under 20min.
As long you don’t mind waiting in workshop type waiting area (which is spartan but not dirty) you are good. There was no fan, and it was 90+ outside, but I didn’t feel uncomfortable. There were plastic chairs, and quite a few magazines, so time went by quickly enough.
Also make sure to have cash or debit card with you. They don’t accept credit cards.

Fast service. But make sure you have a coupon. I used smogtips. Without a coupon it will be priced at $ 79.95 plus the certificate fees. Make your life easier and PRINT it out on paper. Seriously.
Also be ready to explain that the date on the coupon is NOT an expiration date but the date printed. Yes. seriously.

Not sure what all the other negative reviews are all about. I printed my Groupon, and was in and out in less than 15 minutes with only the $ 8.25 certificate fee which I paid when finished. The guy who took care of me was nice, quiet and got the job done with no issues. I will return.

I didn’t check the coupon they had so it was only good for a «normal» smog, not a «STAR station smog». So my fault for not reading the fine print. So the test is identical (the guy didn’t correct me when I said, «But you do the exact same test») yet costs more. Then add yet another $ 10 because I have a Suburban. Really? Whatever. And, the WiFi required a password which was no where to be found (I would have asked the one guy who was working there but I didn’t want to slow him down), so, no, there wasn’t free WiFi (put the password on a sign if you intend for the public to use your Wifi).
So then, not guy is not particularly friendly, he charges me more because he can (for the same test, but since my paper from the DMV said I have to go to a «Test-​only STAR Station», I get to pay more), and no WiFi (it was on but no password available). I’ll *definitely* go somewhere else next time. And I’ll read the fine print too.

The comment left by the owner is exactly why I would not do business with him. He doesn’t get it.
My issue wasn’t with a coupon. I never had one. The issue is price gouging and inconsistent pricing. Clearly from the other reviews this has happened to others. The dealer doesn’t charge this much for a standard smog check.
Owner: Standardize your pricing and coupon policy. Put it in writing and then follow it. If you did this you would have far less negative reviews.

They are NOT star certified! Wasted precious time and energy coming out here and they informed me they’re not star certified… False advertisement!!! Maybe they used to be but no longer are? Either way, super annoying. I also called later in the day to double check it wasn’t just a fluke and asked if they were star certified and they again said they’re not.

Dishonest and hostile folk there. I brought a 20%-off coupon for smog check and expected some fair price. But the folks just told me I had to pay around $ 70, some meaningless discount from $ 89. They wanted to charge as much as possible, while you can get a $ 36 dwal on Unilocal or a $ 28 coupon on smogtips.
I would skip this one.

I paid for the Unilocal special. I called before I left because it was a long drive and they said they could get me in. When I got there the employee asked for the Unilocal voucher number so I handed him my phone so he could write it down. He then hit redeemed on my phone without even talking to me. The tech told me he was doing me a favor by fitting me in because he was supposed to leave at 1:00. That despite me calling ahead. He opened the hood of my car and immediately said my spark plugs and air intake were illegal and refused to smog it. I told him that I had it smogged exactly the way it was several times before and he argued with me and said he’s been a tech for 7 years and he wasn’t going to lose his license. Needless to say I left.
I then found a smog station that did star smog near my home who fit me in immediately, didn’t say anything about what was under the hood of my car, and within 15 minutes my car had passed and I was out of there. I’m still fighting with Unilocal to try to get my money refunded from the first voucher I bought. They don’t make it easy to get in contact with them.

36 living social + 8.25 for magical fees = $ 44.25 for 30 minutes of star smog check
Dropped off car at 11:30 and had a wonderful lunch at the sandwich spot. When I finished lunch, my car was ready and I was off. EAAASSY PEEEASY

I recently brought my car in for a smog check. It is a 2007 car so it was for a regular inspection. I was in and out within 15 minutes in spite of not having an appt. Very efficient and courteous. I got a coupon off the internet that made this the best deal around. I checked other places and no one came close to the price.
I will be taking all of our cars here for smog testing from now on. Highly recommend. Great value, great service.

Came here right before lunch on a Monday! There was no one there so he took me in right away. This place is by the Walgreens so there is plenty of parking and easy to find.
the first thing I asked him was about the Unilocal deal since it was the reason why I came in. He was very helpful and honored the deal! he said «yeah no problem»
at that time i haven’t bought the deal yet, I wanted to make sure he was going to take it before i buy it, and since he honored the deal!!! I was in!!– I was hesitant to come here since i read the past Unilocal reviews!– my experience was very pleasant and good.
my car is also an SUV, there was an extra $ 10.00 charge since the deal only applies for Sedans… but he took five bucks off for the extra charge, since i didnt know that the deal only applied for sedans. he was very nice and polite! And he said if my fiancé gets his smog test there too my fiancé will get the deal too!!! I will definitely come back! Great and quick service. Overall I paid 49 bucks with tax, from originally an 89 dollar value!!!

Came here on a Sunday morning at 10:45am. No wait. Was done in 15 minutes. By the time I did leave, however, three other customers came in and they had to wait in the open area office where they have chairs and magazines. Note they take cash or debit, but no credit card. Great customer service, fast, and efficient. Tip: Buy the $ 36 Unilocal deal and get the redemption code before going. It will save you from paying full price of $ 89.95+. You will have to pay for the smog certificate of $ 8.25 in person by cash or debit. Total came out to be $ 44.25.

Speed, efficiency got weighed down by confrontational and paranoid employees. I would have given this place a 5 star for one of the best price in the bay area and speed in which the smog test was performed, but on the day I went, Jamal the employee said their credit card machine was down so only form of payment accepted was cash. Nonplussed, I took a picture to post on Unilocal,when Jamal went ballistic and started to harass me on why did I take a picture. Another guy came out and said why do I take picture and how about they won’t do the work and I get the **** out of here. I started to explain that there is such a thing as free speech in U.S., and that others deserve to know. I had a Charlie Hebdo moment in which I thought they were going to beat me up or trash my vehicle. Their boss came, apologized, set things right, the boss was the only decent human being there.
I did get my smog check done after all, one of the fastest I’ve ever had! But until those employees learn manners and how to behave with decency, I don’t think I’ll be back.
The special deal for the web was $ 17.95, $ 10 extra for mini-​van. $ 8.25 and all that, final cost out the door was cash $ 36.20 for me. A good deal except for the aggravation in dealing with nasty employees. People need to learn that not always are they going to get a bad review when someone whip out their phone and take a picture, unless they know deep down that they are really really truly bad, and know themselves that they are going to get a bad review.
Update: these guys called me up while I’m at work and won’t let go of the matter, I’m downgrading to 1 star.

Short story — buy the Unilocal deal for $ 36 + $ 8.25 state fee ($ 44.25) before physically coming here for a smog test because this is a convenient, clean and efficient shop.
Long story — I came here because the DMV required Star Certified smog test for my 2004 Pontiac Vibe for upcoming year’s registration and Premier has this certification. Staff is friendly and professional, explained they have to meet higher standards and told me it’s $ 89.95 + $ 8.25 state fee ($ 98.20). I agree and then realize I should check Unilocal — find the online deal and ask if I could get a refund after paying. Staff says it’s too late. I sit in my car beginning to write a different Unilocal review and then staff comes to my car and says he’ll call owner to see what he can do. I initially get a $ 30 credit, drive away, and post my first review — this is my 3^rd edit.
An hour later after posting on Unilocal,the young man who completed my transaction calls me up. He tells me the owner has decided to provide a full refund and apologizes for what happened in the morning. When I drive back after lunch, the staff member walks out to greet me and apologizes again. He asks me what can they do to prevent this type of misunderstanding in the future. I suggest that the owner should train staff to recommend any coupons or offers prior to taking a customer’s cash or credit card, and give staff privilege to refund customers when something like this happens. In the end, I did get refunded the $ 68.20 balance, so thank you for that, but this made for a longer than necessary experience.

Quick, professional and made my very first smog test experience very smooth.
The Unilocal deal was also honored despite me not having brought it. This will be my go-​to smog test center as long as I live in the South Bay.