Instant Smog Check

The reason this place gets 1 star has many facets. For starters, I first went here 4 years ago. My truck passed and everything seemed good. When I went to the DMV, they told me that they had entered the wrong VIN number and I needed to go back. When I went back, I spoke with someone (I think he was the owner). I told him what had happened. The fix was not as simple as going in the system and changing the numbers, my vehicle needed to be resmogged. He told me that they were pretty busy and that I should come back, as the wait would be over an hour. This would not work for me as I no longer lived near this station (I had recently moved since I did the smog check). Instead of bumping me to the front of the line because of a mistake that they had made, I waited over an hour. The guy was not apologetic at all, but I am pretty easy going so I let it slide.
Well I am back in PB and live only 2 blocks away, so even after that bad experience I decided to give them a second chance. My wife dropped off both of our cars as they both needed smog at the same time. Not really that important but the guy she was dealing with was being very rude in spanish to one of his fellow coworkers (she thinks that they assumed she did not speak spanish).
So they call us back an hour later or so, again not that big a deal the wait. They told us both vehicles were ready. When we got there, they told us that they were only able to smog one of them because their machine broke. Not apologetic at all, does not seem to realize or care that you are now inconveniencing us. We have to now go find a second smog shop to deal with.
Ultimately, I understand things happen. It is just the service was terrible and if it was an isolated incident, I would not be writing this. I work in the service industry, and usually a discount or something is offered when you screw up or are unable to provide the service that is being requested in full.
P. S. (Somewhat of a big deal, when we went to pick up our vehicles, the windows on both vehicles were down. Luckily nothing was missing but this does not seem like a smart business practice. And I highly doubt they would care if something was missing.)

Went here thinking my 2007 HYBRID small car would pass with flying colors. Not only did it somehow fail a smog check (this seems unfathomable to me), but the explanation given was even more confusing. the suggestion for me to pass the smog check («just drive for 60miles and come back») without a guarantee to pass a second time has sent me to my trusted dealership.
Oh — $ 56 to fail
Nice guys, clean space.

Came in at 1pm on a Thursday and was told I would have to wait for the smog tech to come back from his lunch break. Seems like a bad time to take a break if people are trying to get checked during their lunch break. Not to mention only 1 out of 3 guys is actually a «smog tech». It just doesn’t make sense to me. Save yourself some time and go somewhere else, this place is a joke. Guy behind the desk just smiled and told me, «I don’t know what to tell you man.»
Update: After being tested again I was charged a random $ 2.25 for a FREE retest. When I asked him why, he was unable to answer the question. Very unsatisfied!

I wouldn’t recommend renting a uhaul here. I had a reservation to pick up a truck here on a Sunday cause it was very close to my house. We were on a pretty strict time schedule so we showed up and the door was locked, also a sign on the door that they were closed. I spent a while getting transferred on the phone with uhaul and luckily they were able to get me another truck a nearby location. As we were about to drive off some dude swerves in blasting his music and waltzes up to unlock the door. I asked him if he knew anything about the truck I was supposed to get 45 mins ago. He just laughed at me and said «hang on». Real professional.

Super fast and and nice! STAR smog checks (for the new DMV requirements). Great service and great personnel!!! Only thing that keeps it from a 5 star is a little updating on the look and cleanliness. Would definitely come back for an oil change, to say the least.

Bad experience from start to end. Got there because my SMOG guy did not take cars older than 2000. Arrived around noon and the young lady told me that the guy was out for lunch and she did not know when he was coming back. I live close by, so I left the car there since there were no other cars in line. The lady called me 2 hours later to tell me that the car was ready. When I got there the guy told me that he could not pass the smog because a vaccum hose was out. He showed me the hose which I plugged back in, but he said that now I was 3^rd in line so I went home and waited for another 1.5 hours until I was called to go pick up the car. I was charged and extra $ 10 because the car had to pass twice for a total of $ 75 plus tax (my usual mechanic charges $ 45).
The lady did not have any change … Definitely not recommended.

I stopped by Instant Smog Check today (on a Wednesday around 11) was immediately helped. The guy at the front was super helpful and nice. I thought I’d ask just to see if they offered any discounts (for students or anything else) and he said they do if you’ve been to another one of their shops. He said he’d give me a discount even though I hadn’t been which was super nice. I ended up getting the smog check for my car and the certificate for $ 50.49 which wasn’t bad at all. Only took about 10 minutes too! Definitely recommend this place. Thank you guys!

I don’t really trust these guys. Took the car in for a smog check after the car failed the smog test, they offered to buy our car (which is weird, I think our car is maybe worth $ 800 dollars and the replacement for the smog would cost (also according to this mechanic) 350 dollars). It is a very weird situation in which they did not and actually could not explain why it failed when asked. I wish Unilocal could give half stars, because after this situation, one star seems too nice.

I just paid 50 dollars for a cabin filter change that the mechanic refused to let me turn down. Kept insisting I upgrade on oil type. Never coming back. All they want is to make money. Took over an hour for an oil change and I was the only one there. Horrible horrible service.

Awesome guys! Super helpful, honest, prompt and do what it takes attitude! Highly enjoyed the experience and since when is a smog check easy and fun?

Don’t waste you time coming here, Too much grey area in the testing based on ones opinion rather than the actually performance of the vehicle
«If it was me testing it I would of passed it…» Direct quote for the store manager Gary
Drove a few blocks away and passed with flying colors
Shop was busy and they simply wanted me gone found any excuse to get rid of me.

Instant smog definitely delivers great customer service. Although they are not a repair shop Greg did not hesitate to help me attach a side mirror that was knocked off. They also were very quick AND efficient with my oil change/​smog service. Overall great customer service and I would highly recommend this place. Kudos to Greg and Mike!

Great service! Went on a Saturday… No line, no wait, plenty of parking. In and out in less than 15 mins.
Very helpful and nice.
I’ll be back!

Went on a Saturday noon-​hour and was done in 15 minutes (actually less, but I think I got lucky) — at $ 60.49, it was just OK for pricing. BUT NO BATHROOM!?! So I hit up Jack Out of the Box a block away, relieved myself for free, and bought a large shake (EXPENSIVE! $ 3.66) — YOU HAVE TO TELL THEM TO HOLD THE WHIP CREAM!
The operator was very helpful and friendly, even after I practically pushed my car at him to get him to take me next.
These privately-​owned smog check places scare the digestive food waste out of me. I’m always hoping they won’t try to rip me off by fiddling with something or failing me for something that was actually fine, just to get more money somehow … delayed retesting or retesting at their buddy’s shop down the street? Who knows? Privately-​owned corporations manipulate consumers ALL THE TIME to increase their profits.
I suppose they’re all pretty grimy and slimy. Strange that the entire state of California would mandate private, smeggy smog shops. No bathrooms? At a state-​mandated facility? That seems criminal.

Since moving to Pacific Beach in 2006, I have always brought my vehicles to Instant Smog Check. Today, I got there about 20 minutes before they opened up. Good thing I did, a few minutes later there were two other people waiting for them to open.
At 8:00 sharp the doors opened, they took my paperwork, did the smog thing to my car and 8:22 I was back in my car, had a passing smog report and was on the way to the office. I don’t know how it gets any better than that.
Thank you. See you next time.

One of the worst auto mechanic experiences I’ve ever had. This is the type of place that makes you lose faith in humanity and the auto/​mechanic industry.
I went to get a smog check for my ’94 Accord here approx. a month ago. As I was already expecting, I failed the NOx (nitrogen oxide) test. I wasn’t too bummed at the time because I was assured that the re-​test would be free of charge + $ 10 for the certificate. Naively, I thought, «Cool», I’ll bring it back here once I’m ready to re-​test. Big mistake.
I took the car to my mechanic, had him clean out the EGR valve, check the electronics and get the car ready to pass the test. In retrospect, I should’ve just paid my mechanic the extra $ 40 to do the smog test through him. Instead, I told my mechanic that I would take my car back to Instant Smog Check because they told me they’d give me a re-​test for free. Big mistake #2.
Here’s where the crap hit the ceiling and I lost perhaps a good 5 – 10 years off of my expected lifespan.
Trip #1: I went back to Instant Smog Check after getting my car’s EGR valve cleaned. Upon learning that I was there for a re-​test (which is Free), they told me to «come back tomorrow, we are really busy today.» I thought, «alright, I’ll come back tomorrow.»
Trip #2: I go back again, to get the re-​test. Again, upon learning that I was there for a re-​test, I was told that «the machine is currently down, please come back tomorrow.» Growing slightly frustrated, I felt like something smelled fishy but gave them the benefit of the doubt and decided that I would come back later.
Trip #3: I go back again to get the re-​test at Instant Smog. This time, upon learning that I was there for a re-​test, they told me to (yup you guessed it) «come back tomorrow, we are really busy today.» Now increasingly irritated, I said «Thank you» and left. Now, here’s where Big Mistake #3 comes in: I told myself that I’d come back (which would require having to take additional time off of work), instead of just going somewhere else. Enticed by the «free re-​test» service that Instant Smog apparently provides and the fact that I was already $ 65 in the hole (from the first test).
Trip #4: I went back today to finally get the re-​test done. HOWEVER, this time, I decided to call earlier in the morning to make sure that they would be able to accommodate me. Me: «Hey, if I were to bring my car around 4pm today (they close at 6pm), would you be able to give me a smog test?» Instant Smog Guy: «Yep, bring her on by, buddy.» I thought, «sweet, finally going to get the smog re-​test done today.» I arrive at 4pm, as initially planned, and the guy at Instant Smog Test, asks me «what can I do for you today?» I tell him I need a smog re-​test done. He says «Oh, let me check on my machine, it hasn’t been working. It’s been on and off. Let me check.’ I think, «…». He goes back, checks the machine, comes out, says, «Yeah it’s not working today. It should be working tomorrow though. We have another shop and I’m going to get the EVAP from there. Come back tomorrow.»
…
Zero integrity. Zero accountability. Looks like they really enjoyed giving me a run around. It’s been 3 – 4 weeks since the initial smog test. I still don’t have my smog test completed. I still don’t have my registration renewed. My registration expired June 1^st.
Thanks Instant Smog Check. You guys are real class acts.
Good riddance.

They are open at 8am on weekdays!
Friendly and fast service.

i have been coming here for years with my ’94 nissan altima, and i have always gotten in and out in about 15 min… getting a smog test is always a nervous experience with an older car, and even though i’ve never failed yet, it’s nice to know that retest would be free!
thanks isc, see u next smog :)

Best place to get a smog check.
It’s an old gas station, so there’s plenty of places to park, it’s got a convenient location, easily accessible, and has friendly service. I’ve taken a couple cars here and each time it’s been easy and great. If you go during the week you’re in and out in 15 minutes.
Highly recommend.

After my 1985 Volvo failed it’s smog check at Convoy Auto Repair I took it to Instant Smog Check. (see my review of CAR)
Gary at ISC got my car to pass without any issues. ISC rocks and I should have gone their first. I didn’t because they were a little more expensive. I guess I should have re read my own review. :)