Frequently Asked Questions
What is a smog check?
A Smog check is an inspection of your vehicle. We mainly check component related to the vehicles emissions like but not limited to: PCV system, EVAP system, Fuel system, and dedicated sensor like the EGR, Oxygen sensor.
What is a Star-Directed smog check?
When it comes to a Star Certified smog, It means that that star certified smog check station has maintained a score rating at or above the minimum requirement. What affects the score is how much has that station deviated from other smogs performed on that vehicle or others like it. Also how often has a vehicle fails its next smog, the more often the next smog fails the lower the score gets.
Is there a difference between a regular smog and a Star- Directed smog?
A regular smog is the exact same one as a Star Certified smog. The DMV is only sending you to a Star-Certified station at random. That’s why here at A Smog Testing we don’t charge extra for a Star-Directed smog cause there’s no difference, we have to put the same effort into a regular smog as we do a Star-Directed smog.
What sets A Smog Testing apart from other smog shops?
Here at A Smog Testing, we take pride in offering a clear price, an accurate and fast 5 - 10 minute smogs with a smile! While other shops make you call in to get pricing, we post our prices in the open for all to see. When you call other shops they’ll ask endless questions so they’ll know if they can you charge extra, not here! No need to call us for price cause we have all laid out for all to see! But if you do call, all we ask is what year your vehicle is, and that’s it!
Do you REALY not charge any kind of fees for smogs?
That’s right, we don’t! We just charge for the labor and a certificate, and that’s only when it passes! Other than that, We don’t charge extra for Truck or SUV’s cause at the end of the day they are all the same smog, the only thing that makes a difference is the year, and that why we only charge differently by the year! As for other common fee other shops charge like electronic transfer fees, Debit/Credit Card fees, We eat those cost cause it’s an insignificant amount, we would rather not nickel and dime you so we offer a simple straight forward price!
How come other shops charge extra for Star-Directed smogs?
Other shops claim they need to be more thorough when performing a Star smog. But the fact is, they should be just as thorough with a regular smog, as a Star-Directed smog! There’s no extra equipment needed, no extra knowledge needed, no extra certification needed on the part of the technician. So that’s why we don’t charge extra for Star-Directed smogs, there is absolutely no justification to charge for it.