21st Avenue Smog STAR Test Only

Found this place while waiting for another smog place to open. Since 21^st avenue smog place didn’t open at 8:30 am, I decided I’m going to go here instead. Good thing I found this place. Not only my 200k car passed the smog I was out of there in less than 10 minutes.

No nonsense smog check for about $ 50 (after the Unilocal Check-​in discount). Waited only 20 minutes without an appointment to get my car tested. Not as crowded as some of the downtown San Mateo smog check locations! If it ends up being a long wait, there are lots of places to eat along El Camino.

HORRIBLE customer service. The technician was very unprofessional and not very engaging. I dropped my car off and failed the test due to not having my CARB sticker available. I told the technician I would go home and get it and come right back. I came back in about 15 minutes and he was gone but the garage door was wide open. I waited for 30 minutes before he finally showed back up.
Waiting room is right inside the garage so bring a jacket if it is cold outside.
A plus is that once you get your car in for the smog test, it goes quickly.
If you want a smog test done by a moody/​rude technician but want it quickly, this is the place for you. As for me, I think I will find another smog place.

For the most part I recommend this smog station and have used them more than once. They are fast and efficient and get the job done. However, the technician responds in one word answers, never looks at you, never smiles, and can barely be heard when he speaks. Also, don’t expect a thank you. Maybe I expect too much.

An update to my very first Unilocal review!
UGH. Smog test time again. This is NOT something you want to waste a chunk of your day doing. I remembered that this shop had handled my test pretty quickly, and so I rang them up to see if they had slots. They said yes, «If you can bring your car in by 4:30.» No problem. I drove down and there was no line! (Though someone did drive up about a minute after me!)
The guy (different from last time) said it’d take about 10 minutes. Well, I’m pretty sure it was actually less than that. But yep – done in under 10, and then I was on the road to pay my registration. It makes me wonder why this process used to take HOURS!
As others have mentioned, this space is super low-​frills. BYO coffee, and bring a jacket if it’s cold (as the waiting area is right by the opening to the garage). But they do have magazines. However, if you hit them at the right time, you’ll barely have enough time to even worry about being bored. Because there’s no real waiting *room*, and you can’t wait in your car, I’d avoid bringing small kids if you can.
It does appear that they now have a bigger, better sign pointing you to where they are, and it’s especially noticeable if you turn right from El Camino onto 21^st.

Been here a few times over 6 years. I had a similar experience… called the day before, guys says they open at 8:30. So I go there at 10am and no one’s there. The previous owner from a few years ago had a better attitude. He was the guy who cooked his own lunch in the back of the garage …
The current person is not friendly and lacks customer-​facing skills. But he has a large clean shop with plenty of parking. With the coupon, probably the cheapest in the area.

What a easy and quick experience. Service was quick I was in and out in 20 minutes and since I checked in with Unilocal I got $ 30 off of my smog. $ 40 for everything including certificate.

This is the only smog test station I’ll use — always fast and courteous, with a reasonable price. Sometimes there’s a bit of a line, but it never takes too long. Coming back at odd hours definitely helps with that, if you can’t spend time hanging around.
On my older car, which is sometimes a bit of a hassle to get to pass smog, I’ve always appreciated the extra understanding with the need for multiple discounted retests. Would recommend to anyone needing a good smog place in San Mateo!

I typically don’t write Unilocal reviews, but I thought I needed to say something here.
I’ve been going to this smog center for years without problems. The technician might be moody on given days but I figured that’s because of all the customers he has to deal with.
This time was no different, I was in and out within 20 minutes. The only thing I noticed was that he was struggling with something under the hood, but I figured he knew what he was doing; he had smogged my other cars before. However, when I got back to my house and parked the car, I heard a pop and a lot of smoke coming from the hood. Coolant was leaking everywhere and I quickly opened the hood to check what was going on…
My car has a cover over the radiator hose which I guess he had removed to smog the car. However, he didn’t replace it and instead left it on top of the engine and closed the hood. When he closed the hood, I guess he clamped down on the radiator hose… there was even a yellowish mark on the cover that coincides with the yellow inner lining of the radiator tube.
I included pictures of the whole thing (minus the smoke because my first instinct during the ordeal was not to take out my phone and snap selfies with my burning car). Of course that’s probably not enough proof to go back to the shop, and I’m not sure why it happened after I parked it instead of right after I left. I doubt they care. Plus, I can’t drive my car back there now until the tube is replaced. I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet and replace the radiator tube and coolant. I’m definitely not going back there for my next smog though.
All in all, bad experience. We had a good thing going 21^st Ave smog, until this happened. Other people needing smogs be warned… I hope radiator tubes for older mercedes aren’t too expensive.

Voicemail and Internet are saying opens at 8:30 am. I waited till 9:30. No one showed up. Neighbors told me then the guy won’t show up before 10 am. What a .:

Call ahead! The owner is a man of few words, but I called and arrived within the 30 minute timeframe he gave me. 25 minute wait at most, and that was with one customer ahead of me.

Great place for Smog tests. I think calling ahead might provide you with the optimum experience.
Can sit and write scathing Unilocal reviews of other businesses while your car gets tested.

Seamless operation: I was able to get in and out in less than 15 minutes. When I arrived, I didn’t have the saving coupon with me. He was nice by honoring the comparable Unilocal coupon to me though he didn’t have to.

I drove in without an appointment and was serviced and out in 10 minutes. Do yourself a favor and get their online coupon– substantial savings.

Henry got us in and out in no time. Very attentive and helped us with everything we needed. I recommend 21 Ave smog

First, he opens the store on time. We went several other store close to us, all nobody show up at the business hours. No body picked up the phone.
Easy form to fill and quick service.
Thank you!

The smog guy was a bit surly, but fast and efficient. 60 $ cash for test and certificate for car from the 90’s (there is an extra test for older vehicles). Plenty of little shops nearby to browse during the 20 min it took.

It says it is open at 8:30… Got there at 10 and it wasn’t opened. Thought I’d give it a bit and come back. Came back at 10:20 and it was still closed. There was another customer waiting but that customer also decided to leave. I don’t suggest going here just because they aren’t opened 2 hours ish after it claims to be opened…

Fast service! We came in without an appointment and we were in and out in less than 25 minutes! The actual smog check was 10 minutes.

Called ahead for a price quote and was quoted $ 45, all-​inclusive (which works out to be cheaper than the -$ 28 Unilocal check-​in discount). Showed up at around 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon, and there was no wait. I noticed on the initial invoice the price was $ 78, but when I asked about this and mentioned the price that was quoted over the phone, the technician crossed out the price printed on the invoice and wrote $ 45. He then said it would take 10 minutes, but after what felt closer to 5 minutes later, I was paying and all done. Two days later, I went to the DMV to update my car registration, and it looks like the smog check information was successfully received.
The employee who I spoke to over the phone (and probably the same one who serviced my vehicle) wasn’t the most enthusiastic person. There was also the price discrepancy issue which had to be cleared up, though that was quick and painless. However, despite these minor flaws, I have no problem giving this establishment one of my uncommon 5-​star reviews. Between the price and expediency of the whole experience, I would definitely recommend this place to anyone in the area who needs a smog check.