Contra Costa Smog

Don’t waste your time. I found a coupon online. The email said present this email to service writer. I got there and the guy said it had to be printed even after I showed him the email. He gave some excuse about the accountant requiring it. I asked if I could email it to him so he could print it for me. Nope. What a jerk. He could have made money and decided to say no.

DON’t GO HERE! Horrible customer service. Mister sunshine told me I needed to print out my smog check coupon. When I showed him the e mail that said present this e mail he said, «that must be old». Just walked out. Don’t need bad customer service.

I’ll give credit where it’s due: I had a Check Engine Light on and mentioned it to Andre, who said to pull my van in and he’d check it. He hooked up the meter and found a code related to the coolant, put some coolant in himself, cleared the code, then gave me some advice on how long it probably would take for the computer to completely reset. It ended up being a lot more complicated and a pain in the rear (not his fault, but overly strict B.A.R. protocol). I had a deadline to get it smogged and register it ASAP. They couldn’t handle it since it had a code still showing, after I dropped by 3x to see if it was ready to be tested. That being said, Andre, then Bart, showed good customer service to me; I wish I could have returned the favor and pay for the smog there, but they couldn’t accommodate me. They weren’t offended… it’s the nature of the beast in B.A.R.-Hell. Still, I appreciate their help very much.

I had a similar experience here as other people at this store. They filled out the paperwork with the price before they did the service and had me sign before they did the service.
When I signed they didn’t make it clear that I was practically agreeing to a price before the service was complete and the price was a lot more than I was expecting. I had a coupon which on the website said it could be either printed or presented on your phone. However, when I showed them it on my phone, they said it had to be printed off and they also said that since they already did all the paperwork, they couldn’t do it again so I had to pay the high price.
They also said my hose to my engine was about to collapse but I had it checked out at another place and they said it was fine.
All in all, I do not trust these guys and will not be back. Poor customer service. If you can, go to a different shop.

Bart may be a quiet guy, but he does solid, honest work. The other mechanic spent time with me going over the repairs to my car, and talking about some recommendations too. I had a good experience at Contra Costa Smog.

Guy at the desk Bart wasn’t too personable. I came in for a smog check and he asked me standard questions. Then he printed paperwork out for me. I assumed this was to verify that it was ok to do the work. I noticed it had a price on it, that’s when I told him I had a coupon. He chuckled and told me I had to tell him, I just did. He said he had to put it on the paperwork. I told him I didn’t know what he was doing and that I figured you present a coupon at the time you pay. He asked how I was going to pay. I said credit. He said it was a cash only coupon. Really? I don’t recall seeing anything about that, but luckily I had some cash on me I was going to take to the bank. So that saves me a trip… But apparently my recently serviced Acura didn’t pass. They said it’s a crank case hose… The place they called didn’t seem to know what it was. They showed me the «hose», it’s not broken, no crack. He said it was bent. It’s a rubber hose!!! I’ve never had an issue anywhere else with this car passing smog. And this has never been brought to my attention by anyone else before. So I’m irritated by this information. It just feels a bit off. But according to Acura it is a bad hose and was at some point replaced wrongly, great! At least he wasn’t making it up. But Acura is having a hard time figuring it out… Plus the guy said they wouldn’t do a free recheck. Every place I’ve been to has done free rechecks if needed, luckily I’ve never needed it. The reason was because I «used a coupon and it would be like getting work really done for free.» Because, you know, it’s super hard work hooking a car up to a computer and running the program.

I went here for a smog check!
Andre was super friendly. They had a coupon for $ 19 smog check!
I was in and out. This will be my future smog check place!

This guys are scam. They have lowest price on line coupon for $ 18.95 plus $ 8.26 certificate. I spent my time and gas to come in, and they told me you need to have some form from DMV, then you do the smog and go back to DMV again, stated you will have hassle for this discounted price. SO if you don’t want hassle then pay $ 69.85 regular price. I had done this a few times in different locations and never heard anything like that. So I went to a” 1 smog check repair & lube «on Parkside dr, in Walnut Creek and got it done in 20min for $ 20.95 NO HASSLE AND NO BS.
So stay away from «Contra Costa Smog» BS…

I found a $ 20 off coupon online so I called and asked how much a smog test cost. I was told $ 69. I went there the next day (Saturday, hours 9 – 5 according to website), I arrived at 9 sharp and waited until 9:15 when someone showed up to open.
I gave them the paperwork and the coupon and was given an estimate for $ 79. When I told him I had been quoted $ 69 the previous night he said it must have been another employee but he would honor it. The $ 20 off coupon was only good off their listed price of $ 99.
These guys do not seem to know what a smog test costs or how to use an alarm clock.
I ended up finding another on line coupon which clearly listed the actual prices and got my «Smog Test Only» car done for $ 48.75 tax, certificate and everything. (It would have been $ 10 less if my car had not been «Test Only» mandated)
Bottom line, keep looking these guy are no bargain.