Great little shop. Raken is not very talkative, but he is very quick, very focused, very efficient, and very organized. He knows exactly what he's talking about, and he's friendlier and more helpful too than his major competitors at G&G are. Smog Stop has a much more professional vibe and a much nicer waiting room too than G&G does. They have plenty of chairs and even a TV, and it's much neater and roomier than G&G's waiting room, so do yourself a favor and make Smog Spot your go-to spot in Redlands for smogging your vehicle.
My car didn't pass the first time, but Raken kept reassuring me that there were no visible trouble codes which would indicate a problem or a mechanical failure. He advised me to just keep driving the vehicle and promised that it would eventually pass, which it did. I was doubtful, but he was totally right all along. I finally figured out that the key to passing for me was to get my car up to 70 mph and then immediately decelerate to 20, which of course you can't do on the freeway, but driving the back way into Highland over and over again finally got the job done.
I must've gone back to Smog Stop at least five or six times to have Raken rescan my car's computer monitors to see if all my monitors had cleared, but he never complained, although I'm sure he got pretty sick of seeing me coming back so often for a rescan to assess my progress! It took me three weeks to get my car's monitors to finally clear, but Raken was really unbelievably patient with me. I just wish that I had asked him to scan my system prior to testing my vehicle the first time, because I had to pay $50 for the first failed test and then I had to pay an additional $50 because he had to test my car a second time too after all of my car's system monitors had finally cleared, but he did give me a $12 discount on the retest.
They also do other types of repair work at this shop, including smog repairs, but Raken was always too busy and too focused to specify exactly what other types of mechanical jobs they can tackle, although I did ask him twice. The good news is that they do seem to be totally focused on smog checks and not on finding additional mechanical issues that they can potentially charge you for. Just be aware that you will have to pay $38 for a second test if your car doesn't pass the first time. The only good thing I can say about Smog Stop's competitor G&G is that they don't charge you for a second test if your car fails the first time. So if you have recently replaced or recharged your battery, as I did, and if you're not entirely certain about the readiness level of your car's system monitors, please be sure to ask Raken to check your system for readiness BEFORE you pay $50 for a test that will in all likelihood fail. read more