Auto Start

We take all our vehicles here for smog test and any other work that needs to be done. The prices are good and the staff is awesome! Benny and his crew are great. We wouldn’t take our vehicles anywhere else.

Visited here without an appointment for a smog check, weekday afternoon. It was completely empty but I did still have to wait a short time (under five minutes) to talk to a receptionist. However, everyone was really friendly.
The prices do seem a bit high here, but there happened to be a $ 20 off special (small four door sedan, made after 2000), so it ended up being a fair price of $ 48. I would say call to ask for a quote just to make sure, though.
My car was in and out in under 30 minutes. I haven’t visited other places in Elk Grove since I’m new in town, but this place was very fast and friendly! Just make sure to bring something to do for 20 – 30 minutes, as there isn’t too much nearby while you wait.

Best shop for automotive work in Elk Grove! Excellent customer services, prices and professional work! 48 bucks out the door for smog for suv! The owner Benny is very humble, respectful, and very helpful. He went out of his way every time I came there to fix my car where some people wouldn’t have done that. Also the office lady is very friendly and helpful offered me a 20 dollar off coupon without me having to bring it up so you know your in good hands! Fast and convenient! There workers are friendly and helpful too Mr. Albert the mechanic was very nice and helpful very friendly staff! A+++++.

They were great! Price is good for smog! I have a large SUV also. I called said I would be right over and they got me in & out! Less than 25min from start to finish! They were very busy and still made time for me! Will always take my vehicles here for smog!

Brought my daughters 95 Lincoln in for a failed smog diagnostic at Auto Start, on a Friday morning was not ready until noon Monday. Brian called us and said it was recommended the we replace the three catalytic converters, and to clean the EGR system $ 1500 in work. He asked if I wanted the work done I said no I want to get a second opinion because I have no check engine light on. He is not a friendly person at all. They don’t give you the information to back up the work they are telling you needs to be done they When I came to pick up the car I asked for a print out of the readings of all the test they have done. All they gave me was what they recommend, no testing results $ 125 for nothing. The owner Benny called latter that evening and left a message. When I called back he said to bring it in he wanted to check something else that it might not be the catalytic converters. He told me to bring it in the following Friday. I called Friday morning to confirm to bring it in and he said the smog machine was down and would call me when it was fixed. Im glad I called because I would have just brought the car in. Its been a week and Benny never called me back. That was a waste of $ 125. I was also told by another shop the have never seen all 3 catalytic converters go out at the same time and that if a cat was bad a check engine light would come on. Trust me you do not t to bring your car here for a diagnostic. I will update when I get a second option and see what’s really wrong with my car.

Paid for tune up and when I picked up my car I had no fluids had been topped off, no new air filter, no new spark plugs. Total rip off! Wish their was negative rating since nothing was done!

Fixed the problem

This place provided great customer service for my 05 Odyssey. Needed my front brakes replaced. I scheduled an appointment, Brought it in at 8am and they guaranteed me it would be finished by noon. They called me at 11:30am. After two weeks brakes work good. Definitely brining my other vehicles here. Oh yeah and they use OEM parts. Thanks Bennie, Gerlyn, and the rest of the crew.

This is a mediocre automotive repair shop at best. I will give you the run down on my experience with them.
Pros:
*Their mechanics are ASE certified, which means they know what they are doing.
*They are very good at getting your vehicle in quickly when it needs to be repaired.
*They communicate very well what needs to be done to your vehicle.
*All of their prices are clearly laid out for you on paper.
Cons:
*Unpredictable– your car could be fixed in 3 days, or it could take 10 days. They won’t give you a straight answer.
*They are WAY overpriced for the services they provide. (I paid $ 650 for a new ignition distributor)
*Again, they do not complete repairs in the time they claim.
Summary: Go here if you can’t find anywhere better.

Just got my smog done, very quick and well priced with the coupon. The lady who helped me was very nice and quick with the paperwork too, I was in and out in about 20 min for my first smog.

Haven’t smogged here yet but talked to a guy named Benny, I think, about my last smog experience, and how they just gave me papers and said ‘here you failed, fix these parts and then come back.’ That’s it, no explanation, but then I asked this guy a few questions, and he just shut them down with all this information for me, why it failed, what could lead to it, what they check for, why the numbers mean, this guy was awesome. He’s the reason I’ll be coming back to get smogged. So far 5 star service.

my vehicle is worse than when i brought it in. paid top dollar and gave 2 weeks to work on it and now everything is falling apart. they seem to be decent on mechanical but electrical is a whole nother game. don’t bring your vehicle if your vehicle is over heating.

I just got a smog check here and this place was easy to do business with. I called to get in the next day. They got me in at the time I asked for. I showed up a little early (was not sure exactly where it was, so I did not want to be late) and they got my paper work going. I sat in the waiting room, used their free Wi-​Fi to work from my iPad and in 20 minutes my car was done. The staff was fun to talk with and I left feeling like I could not wait to post a good review for them. I guess quick and friendly service goes a long way with me.
Veronica Burke ~ Hairstylist ~ (530) 774‑3327 ~ Nathan Michael’s Salon

This place does decent work nice bunch of fellas. But are they freakin slow. The time it takes to gather your info till you get out the place. Give yourself time a whole day for an oil change. I can write pages about this place as i sit and listen to there conversation. I would know every individual and life story before i get out of here. I am feeling myself aging waiting here. Im gonna go home and realiZe my kids all grew up and moved out. This was an oil change that became a fight of mental patience.

I had to get my car smogged and this was the cheapest place to get it done in Elk Grove, and I also had a coupon. I stopped in, they were reasonable as far as how long they took to get it done. They send your smog certificate to DMV automatically, a plus in my book. They provide a drink and a snack for free if you want it. FYI, If you have a bigger car, truck, van — they charge 10 dollars extra. I was charged 38 dollars. Still pretty cheap compared to other places that does smogs.

Went here to have led gauge cluster replaced, as well as the back up sensors. Spoke with this white guy with tattooes and he seems very accommodating and nice enough. We were told that if we had the repairs done with them, he will waive off the $ 90 diagnostic fee. So we decided to have it done there, left the van overnight and got it back 3 days later with the sensors working. They said they have to order the cluster and that we have to come back with the van after 2 weeks. 2 weeks later of no contact, we called them and this guy Bennie said it is still on order and that we have to wait another 2 weeks. Fine, we are not in a rush. Another 2 weeks and they said it is still on order. Another 2 weeks went by and the first guy with the tattoo called, left a message and said that they have it and that we should bring it back. I was not able to call them back that same day coz I was at work, so I called them the following afternoon, and Bennie informed me that they returned it since I did not call back… WTF!!! He said he can order again and have the replacement in another week… WTF!!! I said yes and called 3 days later and spoke with the tattoo guy and he promply told me that he was waiting for me to call because he has the clusters since last week… again, WTF??? I said Bennie told me that Auto Start already returned it, and he sounded flustered and then assured me that it was still there. So I scheduled the repair in 2 days since I cant bring the van due to work. He said yes. On the day of the supposed repair, I called ahead to let them know Im coming and spoke to Bennie, who said the cluster is not there yet. I told him about what the tattoo guy told me and he said that is not true… WTF!!!
To make the long horror story short, our van’s cluster was not replaced. And this Bennie guy had the gall to tell me it was my fault for not calling. He said all he can do is to just rebuilt it… which he could’ve offered 2 months ago. Oh, and these lying bastards billed my warranty company and included the $ 90 fee that they promised to waive if I had the Van repaired by them, which they did only half the job…
Yeah, have that Filipino guy do the talking… all he can do is to point the blame… you don’t know sh_​t about communicating with your own guys…

While I was here last time, they pointed out that one of my belts was cracked, I went home changed all my belts and found one hose ready to break, changed both hoses. They saved me a lot of trouble, I was getting ready to drive up into the mountains.

Been going to them for years. Not the cheapest place but very fair and extremely good quality. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.

Well, I wouldn’t take my car to anyone else! He installed my sons HID headlights for free when the Infinity dealership was going to charge him $ 300+! The best in the area period!!!

The service was good and they made a very honest assessment of the car problems I was having, no beating around the bush.