My ratings on Mr. Tran & Jose are: Honesty = F Service = F Workmanship = F Simply put, I did not experience a single good thing from this neighborhood garage, because both Mr. Tran and Jose were not capable of repairing vehicles appropriately. Most importantly, they were NOT honest individuals, but a couple of wolfs in sheep's skin. Facts: Thanks to one of my Vietnamese friends at work, I came here to install both Power steering wheel pump and high-pressure hose approximately 3 weeks ago. Initially, Mr. Tran gave me quotes with Honda parts and Aftermarket parts (non-Honda). Specifically, he quoted $630 for Honda parts and $462 for non-Honda parts. Furthermore, he insisted using Auto Zone auto parts as opposed to my favorite O'Reilly auto parts, so I went with his recommendations for the aforementioned parts. My Honda civic, after getting my Steering wheel pump replaced with Auto Zone parts, started to make a wheezing sound that is so loud that I thought that my Civic was about to explode; however, Mr. Tran and Jose (the only mechanic who worked on my vehicle) insisted that the noises will go away after driving my car for at least 2 weeks or so. Because this replacement of a pump and high-pressure hose was the only repair done outside of a Honda dealer for the last 9 year period, I went back to my reliable Honda service consultant, Mr. Guillermo Hernandez at Honda World Downey and had him check the work done by Garfield smog check. Findings were the new steering wheel pump turned out to be a defective auto part. Back to Garfield smog check, I presented the official findings from Honda World Downey. Mr. Tran did, reluctantly, obtain a new part from Auto Zone to have Jose install the pump the 2nd time; however, the high-pitched whistling (or wheezing) sound was even louder and scarier than the previous version. Once again, Jose in the absence of Mr. Tran, tried hard to convince me that his Cadillac had the identical issue of an awful noise; however, he was able to get rid of the sound after driving about two (2) weeks. To give this gentleman the benefit of the doubt, I agreed to drive extensively to see if the awful noises would go away. For this round of testing, I took my Honda Civic to Yosemite national park on September 15th, 2018 to test a long-distance drive to comply with Jose's request of driving test and another week of driving locally; however, the wheezing and whining sound did not disappear at all. Back to Garfield smog check on Monday, September 24, 2018, I sat down with Mr. Tran and asked him to replace the faculty Auto Zone parts with Honda parts. His estimate was about $500 over his original estimate, so I went to O'Reilly's auto parts to get Honda re-manufactured parts for both pump and hi-pressure hose for less than $200 and asked him to replace them. Now, he wants me to pay for both parts and labor - total highway robbery. All the defective and faulty parts can be returned for a full refund; however, he still wanted me to pay for parts twice and additional labor when I did not cause any of the aforementioned issues. He may well be the wolf in sheep's skin - appears to be courteous by acting like a Hollywood yes-man; however, when he makes mistakes, he comes up with all sorts of excuses to ask for additional charges. He was far from being honest, and his only mechanic, Jose was only good at wiping out oily surfaces of some of the old parts, not addressing the root causes of the burning issues concerning customers. read more

I always come here for all my car needs. Tran is honesty about his advice and doesn't try to cheat people. He takes good care of me and my friend's cars. He keeps cost low and helpful in advice. read more

I did my smog check there, paid, passed, and this place never sent it to the the dmv. I'd been a 6 year long costumer of this place, and when I asked them about about this issue the owner treated me pride and scorn. Be aware! read more

This place is always busy with happy customers when I'm here, so it surprises me there isn't a single review! Perhaps the local peeps aren't big on writing Yelp reviews, so allow me to speak on their behalf - because I can feel their neighborly love and respect for the services rendered here. First of all, yes, it's in *Downey* and I drive about an hour in LA traffic to get here. Tran is the only mechanic I trust to do anything with my car - be it an oil change, new brakes, new radiator. I wouldn't drive that far for any service unless I really trusted it. I've spent most of my life getting robbed when it comes to anything to do with my car. A family friend of mine recommended Tran over 7 years ago, and I've been coming here ever since. I have peace of mind bringing my car here. Tran's the man! read more

Garfield Smog Check is a great place for repairs and maintenance, not just Smog Testing. I came to Garfield Smog Check on the strong recommendation of a friend and colleague of mine. My friend was absolutely right. Mr. Tran is an ASE Certified Master mechanic, has excellent diagnostic skills, but most importantly is honest, fair, and kind. I have a technical and automotive background and I appreciate how Mr. Tran is able to pinpoint the root cause of problems I was having with my car. I have had a valve job performed by him and a hard to find oil leak repaired right the first time and at a very reasonable cost. It is hard to find an honest and competent mechanic. read more

Report Card for Garfield Smog: Technical Expertise = A+ Service and Quality = A+ Price and Time = A+ Integrity = A+++ Three generations in my family take our vehicles to Garfiled Smog. It takes an hour for us to get to Downey but the high quality of service and the honesty/integrity make every minute worth it! Tran is honest, dedicated, and a technical expert. I can't imagine taking my car to anyone else. I've taken my car in for regular maintenance only to have him fix other (minor) issues at no charge. The service prices are lower than most mechanics shops. Tran obviously cares about his work and it shows in the quality of service he delivers. This has been our experience every singe visit to Garfield Smog (3 generations = 15 cars visiting 2-3 times a year) Now that's an amazing track record!!! THANK YOU from a very happy customer. read more

These guys suck. This was my 3rd time coming here to smog my 1990 vehicle, which has always passes smog. First time was $60. Next time (2yrs later) the owner, Tran, tried to jack up the price because "my vehicle was so old". But when I showed him my receipt from last time, he charged me $60. This time, Tran wasn't even there and some other flunky was finishing up another car, but said Tran needed to do my vehicle and I should come back in an hour. I come back and Tran says it's now $130. I ask why? He says prices go up for vehicles my year. I told him I paid $60 last time, and he says he can give me $15 off, but he need to recalibrate his machine, and I need to come back tomorrow. LOL. I said "Ok I'll be back tomorrow Tran!" and then went to straight Oscar at Downey Express. I was done in 30min for $50. Hey Tran, if you're going to make up stuff, at least be a good liar. You can't even do that right! read more

I've been coming to Tran (owner of shop) for at least 5 years now. Courtesy = A+ Price = A+ Honesty = A+ Service = A+ It's always hard to find a descent and HONEST auto mechanic, who will do good work on your vehicle, until I came to Tran. He was referred to me by a family member who informed me that he had done service on their vehicle and was very pleased by the work and his prices. What I truly love about Tran he will show you exactly what the problem is, like literally take you to your car and show you what's wrong versus like other places that just tell you anything to get your money. I have had EVERYTHING done by Tran when it comes to my vehicle. His worker Josè is also a great mechanic, who is very honest and works well like Tran. I referred my sister to Tran because she received a quote from another mechanic who tried to make her get things done that she didn't need. The mechanic quoted her an approximate total of $3500 of repairs. When she went to Tran for a quote he showed her WHAT SHE ACTUALLY NEEDED and ended up not paying no more than $1200. The only down side is he does not work weekends but that's because he is a devoted family man, which is completely understandable. But I don't mind taking a day off to get affordable/reasonable and accurate service read more

I totally agree with the other reviewer. I've been going to Tran's for over a decade, and he's fantastic. Honest, good work. Very reasonable prices. I too commute from downtown LA to Downey just to take my car to Garfield Smog Check. You should too! read more

The guys that work here are great and honest. I've been coming here for 12 yrs and they never fail to do their best.