1 Stop Smog & Auto Care Centers

Took my mom for $576.00 for a $75.00 dollar part. They had the truck for 3 days for a 1.8 hour repair and it still doesn't run right.



First Day: couldn't get to it to diagnose the problem



Second Day: Couldn't get the part ( carquest had it in stock 1 block west on Rosedale)



Third Day: Picked up the truck ( still has a miss ) suggested 6 plugs and wires $230.00

( I'll do it myself for those prices )



The part was $75.00 (they marked it up to $230.00/ 300%)

The labor was $110.00 an hour and they padded it to two hours

The diagnoses was $110.00 on top of the repair charge ( no credit for repairs )



When I went in to question their charges they acted like they could care less and when I told them they were ripping people off they told me " Gotta keep the lights on"



Stay away from this place in my opinion.

Avoid, avoid, avoid. If you had provided an option for zero stars that is what I would have chosen.



Day 1: I left my pickup there for a smog cert (check engine light was on) on Monday, 6-17-13 at 1:29pm. Within a couple of hours I rec'd a call from them saying I had a bad gas tank neck and the fix would be about $250ish plus the $95.00 diagnostic fee. They also said that there may be more work necessary but they couldn't know until first replacing the tank neck. I ok'd the work even though I was puzzled that the entire gas tank had been previously replaced by Toyota under warranty, and the truck only has about 67000 miles on it presently.



Day 2: The next day I received another call from them, saying that they had misdiagnosed the computer readings, and that what the truck needed was some kind of an evaporative canister that unfortunately would push the repair cost to about ($560.00 more or less) material and labor. It didn't seem like I had a choice so I told them to proceed (this is my work truck and this was the second day they had it tied up). The work was not finished that day (Tuesday 6-18) either.



Day 3: Wednesday 6-19 I called about the status of the truck (twice at different times) and on the last call I was told the technician was out driving the truck after having made repairs to the canister, in order to reset some sensors or something which takes about 50 miles of driving to do. A while later I went down there to get the vehicle and was told the tech was still driving it. I was also told that there were two additional air leaks , the causes of which were not yet diagnosed and that could cause additional repairs and charges. The tech arrived back at the shop with my truck shortly thereafter, and said he didn't get the sensors to kick in because it needed driven some more. I took the truck home at that point, I just couldn't do without it any longer.



Day 4: I put the requisite mileage on the truck and took it back to 1 Stop at about 3pm yesterday 6-25-13, expecting that they would put me first in line since this was my third or fourth day trying to get a simple smog cert. No such luck. Leave the truck or come back another day.



Day 5: This morning (6-26-13) at about 9:30 am I went back to 1 Stop's shop only to be told they couldn't give an estimate of when they would get it finished and to once again leave the truck. The counter person also repeated that there were more leaks to be diagnosed and that the repairs could increase.



This was the last straw for me, so I told them to figure up what I owed them up to that point, and that I was taking the vehicle to another smog shop. I also told them that I wanted the alleged defective part (canister) that they had replaced. I was told that they probably didn't have the part, and I reminded them that by law they were required to keep the part. The counterperson argued that I hadn't requested the used part when I first came in so it was probably gone. I told them that if they didn't produce the used part that my next stop would be at the Bureau of Automotive Repair. At that time, the counterperson went into a back office and made phone call(s), and when he came back he offered to refund my entire $200. deposit I had charged on my AMEX card. I accepted the offer. He than told me the original smog part (canister) was STILL ON THE TRUCK and had never been replaced.



I then took my truck down the street to SPEED A WAY SMOG on 5260 Rosedale Highway and left it. Within two hours I received a call that the truck had passed smog after they replaced the GAS CAP for $16.89.