Avoid this place - nasty and dishonest management.
I came in on a Sunday almost a week ago to smog my 1993 Toyota 4Runner. The place was empty save one mechanic, but he was friendly and he tested my truck for the normal price (minus $20 for a coupon I had; total price was $46.75 after the discount). It failed, but that wasn't their fault - the problem was a bad oxygen sensor, which I replaced on my own. So far, so good.
I came in today (a Saturday) for my free retest (part of the original deal). It was busier, and I was number 4 in line. The same mechanic was running the place, he entered my paperwork, and then I sat down to wait my turn in the waiting room. About 40 minutes later, another employee showed up (an older Asian gentleman who was identified as the mechanic's "boss"). Within a few minutes, he walked out to the garage, I heard him get angry about something, and then he came into the waiting room to tell me that the mechanic had screwed up the initial order, the initial price I paid didn't apply to my vehicle, and that they couldn't give me a free retest. I said that it was too late to be bringing this up. I had already done the first test, and paid for it, all with the understanding that I would be getting a free restest (not to mention a physical contract indicating this). The manager then said that for trucks like mine they retest at half price, not for free (see below). I protested that that's not what I was told and that I needed him to follow through with the agreement to retest my vehicle. After a somewhat heated argument (he had lost his temper before our conversation even began), he said he would give me a full refund for my initial test, but that he would not honor Davis Smog's contract to retest my car. He briefly reconsidered when I indicated that I would follow up on this, but abruptly changed his mind, gave me a refund, and told me to leave.
A refund is better than none, but that's not what I signed a contract for in the first place, and not what I wasted an hour of my Saturday to get. I still need to smog my car.
When arguing that I should have been charged a higher initial price, and given an offer of a 1/2 price retest, the manager referenced a stamp on the contract I was given last week. Verbatim, it reads:
"1 Free Retest Next 45 Days for small cars, minivans, & light trucks
other vehicles retest at 1/2 price
Must bring original paper."
I argued that a 4Runner is a light truck (it is), and he disagreed. When I returned home, I looked this up, and dude is wrong. From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_truck, accessed 3 May 2014): "Federal regulations define a light-duty truck to be any motor vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating (curb weight plus payload) of no more than 8,500 pounds (3,855.5 kg)..... ...Light trucks includes vans, pickups, and sport utility vehicles." My 4Runner certainly qualifies for the "1 Free Retest Next 45 Days for small cars, minivans, & light trucks" offered by Davis Smog, and this was denied to me for no valid reason. Even if they had screwed things up in their initial agreement with me, that would have been their fault, and they still would be obliged to honor that agreement.
Overall, I had a miserable experience with a nasty and dishonest manager at Davis Smog (although no complaints about the friendly mechanic). You can avoid this by NOT GOING to Davis Smog. read more
