Smog Pros Arco

Jagdeep Sidhu did a smog check done on my 1988 Toyota. My usual place would not do the test. I’m so happy that I went to the Arco. Jagdeep is so friendly and nice. Both employees were very friendly. The place is very professional and I got in right away. I’ll keep going there and highly recommend the smog check especially for older cars!

There’s something VERY fishy about this Gas station!!! So, when you swipe your debit card, please make sure you check your account — the card detail gets abused, fraud occurs! I’m dealing with fraudulent charges — the one day I use it at this place that’s not routinely a place i get gas from, this is what I deal with!!!

They are really good honest people!
Highly recommend :)
–fast service

I work right around the corner from this place they don’t take credit cards. As a gas station that’s fucking retarded they will no longer be getting any of my business.

Took my car in for a smog test and told them the battery was almost dead. The tech said let me see what I can do. Started the test and after about a minute said, «There is a problem. The battery is dead so can’t complete the test.» I had a coupon for $ 29.75, and so they charged me $ 29.75 and said I could come back after the replacing the battery and they would charge me the regular price $ 60 and credit the $ 29.75. Of course, there are lots of coupons out there for a $ 30 smog test, so they are offering nothing. At a minimum, the tech should have warned me that the weak battery might lead to no result, so at a minimum poor communication. Certainly not at all consumer friendly, and they will never get more business from me.

My regular smog place’s machine broke down that day. I did not want to take another day off work so stopped by this place. Total price of smog + cert. was $ 79. Most places charge $ 40. Now I see their ad for $ 29.75 + $ 8.25 for cert. Seems like a ripoff. Go anywhere else for a smog check unless you want to pay double or have «their» coupon.

Saw a review on Google exactly my experience. I phoned since I had read the bad review. I asked the price. He asked me the make and year of my car and quoted $ 58 (not sure if that included the «extras») you always seem to get. When I got there he said I had said a different year and it was now $ 78. Not sure why the year matters but I left. He was very surly. Smog checks have become a boon doodle for these garages. They are unnecessary. A much better system is to have a laser at a traffic light linked to a camera. Such a system would have found out VW immediately and all those that drive around without registering. Attempts have been made to get rid of them but the garages lobby.

Gurdip Singh is a rock star. And thank you Dave’s Auto Repair for turning me on to these guys. They are living in modern times. Last smog check I went to they were using equipment from the stone age. Today’s experience happened in about 5 minutes and I was still absorbing the experience when Gurdip said we were done.

Stopped by for a smog check on early nineties car that some other places were literally too afraid to even look at (I guess I look like a state undercover smog check guy or something). When I stopped in, I wasn’t sure where else to turn — it is weird having your car turned away because the smog test people are afraid! There is nothing weird about my car — it is just not a familiar brand. Smog Pros was very professional, and very knowledgeable, and had no trouble at all doing the test (it passed with flying colors). Thanks!

Nice guys staffing the place. (2 of em know me by name) Good prices on gas and it’s located just off the freeway. I wish they were open later. Not much else to add except… I’ll be back! (cuz we all need gas)

I passed! I think these guys are good people. If you are looking for easy in easy out transaction this is a good spot. I was thumbing through some of the old reviews (most are pretty old) and it seems people had trouble when their car wouldn’t pass. I can’t speak to that.
Cheers to one of the dumbest laws California has schemed up, Revenue Collectors!

We had a HORRIBLE experience at this place. Our Jeep failed the smog test, so they told us to drive around a few days to reset some things. When we returned, we failed again and they then sent us on a wild goose chase to figure out the problem. They recommended a mechanic, who in turn sent us to the Jeep dealership for a recall.
When we took our Jeep into the dealership, they told us there was absolutely NOTHING wrong with the Jeep. They ran all of the necessary tests, and then some, to determine why it hadn’t been passing. Everything was up to date, and the problem that had been noted was, in fact, a problem with the scan tool being used for the smog test.
We were furious, and went back to Smog Pros Arco to deal with the problem. They were completely unresponsive to the trouble they had caused us. They were very rude, unsympathetic, and unhelpful. I will never bring another vehicle here again.

It was years ago. The mechanic botched the valve job and I had a nasty oil leak (a cup of oil every time I turned off the engine!). It was a bad gasket on the valve cover, confirmed by Dave at Barron Park Shell, who fixed it cheaply after the Smog Pros Arco mechanic refused to fix it stating that it was a warped head, which was my problem and not their bad workmanship. Very untrustworthy. Bad service, with no responsibility for screwing up. If it is now under new management, my experience may no longer apply. But if it’s the same management, and you want a trustworthy mechanic, go elsewhere.

Quick and friendly smog service, but I feel like I certainly could have paid less elsewhere for less than 15 minutes of smog testing. I paid ~$ 75 bucks to smog test a 2008 Toyota in great condition. On the plus side the staff was friendly, and they had a nice waiting area with a lawn table and chairs in the sun in their parking lot.
I have certainly paid less than $ 50 to get my car smog tested before, so I’m going to price search next time rather than simply finding the most convenient testing center.

STAY AWAY from this place– they rip people off!
I stopped here for gas. Gave the guy $ 10, and he supposedly set the pump to give me $ 10 of gas. As I was getting ready to pull out, I noticed the pump had stopped at $ 9.65.
Yes– it shorted me only 35cents worth, but it definitely gave me less than I paid for!
I said something to the guy that his pump wasn’t working right, and you could tell by his reaction that he knew it had shorted me. He didn’t apologize, and said if I wanted to come inside he would give me my change. I was late, so I left.
This place probably does this all the time– and with hundreds and thousands of transactions, it adds up. And it’s DISHONEST and WRONG!

Came here back in 2012 for a smog check since my car needed it to renew my registration, they got me in and out in a good amount of time and my car passed with flying colors, they are a little pricey but after all, they are in Palo Alto where it’s mostly rich people so they are going to charge a little more for their services but I came here since I had an Arco gift card. They did a good job but I probably won’t be back here for my next smog check since it’s out of my way, I live in San Jose. Thanks Arco Smog Pros!

Courteous and quick. I called 10mins before I arrived for a smog check. It was an easy-​to-​take-​care-​of task. They even offered me a chair for sitting in the sun while I waited the 10 minutes (I’m from SF — sunshine was a plus!)
$ 58.20 all in

My mechanic recommended this place since he was too busy. Dropped vehicle off at lunch without notice (had bike, rode to work), told them no hurry, was ready when I left work at pm (I’m sure they can do it fast when needed or with an appointment, etc). Good phone communication when it was ready. Still had my camping gear in back, but they kept it secure. They got my old truck to pass, reasonable price, good location (for me at least). I’m pleased and will go back.

My mechanic recommended these guys for my car, and I was glad he did. I went around 1 pm on a weekday and the car was out in 20 minutes. Apparently, they do not take reservations, so you just walk (or drive) in. Decent price, although there are much cheaper places in Sunnyvale if you’re willing to drive the distance. The staff is courteous and friendly.

Made me real happy to hear the guy mumble quirky little remarks about how old and crappy my car is while he worked on it. I almost got deluded enough to think I was driving a Rolls Royce, thank you! I needed to be reminded that I drive a POS salvaged vehicle, otherwise I would have started referring to myself as the Great Gatsby, so thank you. Beyond making me feel like a total bum, he vaguely explained what I need to do to fix my smog, and overly was not all that helpful. All I know is I will not be going back to this place for smog or any kind of work.
I will say the second time I went there to finalize my smog, there was a different guy working and he was more professional. So I guess you just gotta get the right guy.

It’s this simple:
1) I called and made an appointment.
2) I showed up on time.
3) They were ready for me.
4) They smogged my car in 25 Minutes as promised and for the price quoted!
5) I wish all things in life could go as smoothly as this did today.

Face it: if you have a recent vehicle and you maintain it, a smog check is just a biennial inconvenience. You know you’re gonna pass; the real concerns are, can it be done quickly? Is the price not a gouge?
These guys meet those criteria. Quick, price as low as can be (and lower than most of the shops in SF), friendly. I didn’t give 5 stars only because they didn’t do anything heroic… but then, how heroic can a smog check be?

I saw this place on my way to Costco, and since I needed to smog my car, I decided to stop by. I arrived without an appointment, and was greeted quickly. There were two other cars ahead of me (pretty busy place I guess), but they still managed to get to my car quickly. The technician was friendly, and the whole smog was done in about 10 minutes. I would definitely recommend them, and I will be going there for any future smogs.

I took my car for a smog and it failed so I fixed the car. The recheck was supposed to be free but since it took me a little more than a month to bring it back they told me I had to pay full price even though I offered to bring in my truck to be smoged as well. Very rude guy. Not interested in business so bring your car elsewere, there are so many smog test places around…

The mechanics here are excellent and very honest!

The smog techs there are top-​notch. The shop is well organized and clean.