Valley Smog & Auto Repair

I have to agree with the other reviewer that this shop has gone downhill since ownership changed. They have serviced my truck for years but the last time I took it there they told me they didn’t have the equipment to properly diagnose the problem. I truly miss Bob, Lucy and Jim. Time to find another mechanic.

Wow! This place is the best auto repair shop that I’ve used, period.
Before they even started working on my car, I received 3 calls making sure they had all of my requests correct. Tell me, where do you get that type of service? It’s unheard of.
My car needed a new exhaust manifold, the existing one had a crack in it and needless to say, the fumes were coming inside the car. The estimate was $ 2800, with the smog check, the tech joked. Then, here is where the magic started. He told me he has a mechanic that is ‘very good at welding’. Very good is an insult of the man’s ability. He is a super welder. Again, where I ask, do you get that kind of service?
The answer is simple, NO WHERE!
The car key was also stuck in the ignition switch. The same story started, ‘you need a shifter’ he said. But…‘the problem is this small sleeve, it fell down and won’t let you take the key out. I can fix that, but no guarantees’, and he did.
If you need a great auto repair shop, Valley Smog and Auto Repair should be your first and only stop. Listen to them, they know their stuff.

HONEST. ON TIME!
My F150 is 11 yrs old. Im a contractor and i need my truck. Early january took my truck to valley smog and auto repair. It was having trouble starting and check engine light was on. Matt, new owner, went above and beyond to make sure i was not without my truck for too long.
At one point i questioned matt and got a second opinion from PS ford. Ford suggested the same work as valley smog and auto repair. The difference was ford wanted $ 881 to replace the relay switch and valley smog/​auto repair wanted $ 577.
Having had ford confirm the integrity of valley smog/​auto repair and knowing their prices are fair and reasonable … I wont go anywhere else. Finding a trustworthy mechanic is priceless.

Way overpriced smog check $ 57 total rip off I will never go back… Unilocal durected me to this one as a discount smog check yea right

One year ago I took my copper in as the passenger door would not open
They repair it for 159.00 with a two-​year 24,000 mile warranty
One year later it doesn’t work again this time they wanted $ 500
I went to another shop and had it fixed for $ 30

I got the car back from smog. Ran very bad. They said it needed to run on the freeway for a while and put new gas in it. I did that. Called them back later and they said they would charge me for a diagnostic to see what is wrong. HOW DID THIS PASS SMOG???
I was able to find out that the spark plug wires were in the wrong place and I personally fixed it. Runs fine now, but they should have stood by their work. I will NEVER go there again and I don’t recommend the place to anyone.

I have to update my review because things have changed at this repair shop. I don’t feel like I can trust them anymore. Even when we spent over $ 1,500 on a timing belt and some other repairs on our Saturn Vue, they STILL charged us $ 45 for a brake inspection. They told us if we actually NEED brakes, they will deduct the $ 45 from the repair — but guess what? They said we don’t need brakes, so they get to keep $ 45. I just think after the THOUSANDS of dollars we have given this shop over the past 5 years, they could cut us a break, you know? They also don’t do nitro for tires, which in the desert, I think is a NECESSITY. Bottom line — Jim, the man behind the desk, is gone. The guy there now is a DOOFUS (sorry — I know he’s new but he doesn’t know anything) and I’m taking my car to Pete’s Automotive in Thousand Palms. Time to give someone else my money. Jim was the man at Valley Smog. Too bad he didn’t own the place.

I have been bringing my cars here for about 5 years after the general manager of the local Volvo store recommended this place. Probably not to the cheapest place around but definitely not price gougers. My most recent trip was for a car smog inspection that cost me a total of $ 52.00.
What I like about this place is that they never pressure me to fix the number of things wrong with my older model car. They seem to understand what needs to be done when it needs to be done. Also once the work is competed that’s it. I have never had to come back asking them to check the same issue twice.
It is tough to find a good mechanic, but for our family, Valley Smog is the place.

My transmission started smoking after driving up the trolleyway and I was terrified to drive back to Los Angeles without having my car checked out. Valley Smog was the only auto repair shop in the area that had time to take me at 9am on a Monday morning, and so we (very cautiously) drove the 4 miles to Valley Smog from our hotel. Jim was really courteous and asked all the right questions without making me feel stupid for not knowing things about my car, so I felt perfectly okay with leaving my car in their hands. We walked down the road to get some breakfast, and by the time we came back, they’d changed my oil, checked my antifreeze for leaks, and found several previously undiagnosed problems. Jim actually came to where I was sitting in the waiting room to explain exactly what was wrong with my car, and because there hadn’t been an issue with my oil, they charged me half the price of their usual diagnostic service. Jim reassured me that I’d be okay to drive up to Los Angeles, so off we went feeling a lot less freaked out. I’m really glad these guys were around to help me on such short notice! If I’m ever in need of auto repair in the Coachella Valley, this is where I’ll be heading.