Brandon Auto Smog Repair Center

Reviews

Reviews are sorted by relevance, with the most helpful and insightful feedback listed first for easy reference.

  E E
6 months ago
I had a great experience at Brandon Auto Smog Repair! The team was polite and knowledgeable, and they did a great job on my Toyota Tundra brakes and Smog Test. I will definitely come back for future service and also will refer my friends and family. Great job guys!

  intrec
5 months ago
I repaired my rear bumper and the guys put an nail in my tire and refused to deal with the flat tire. This guy is very disrespectful. I attached my receipt and my panel picture. The mileage is the same. I didn t leave the shop but they refused to be responsible for it.

  Tynee Bubbles
2 months ago
Got my smog here for the 2nd time ( the first time 2 years ago). I showed the shop a smog coupon I saw on their website, and they honored it even though it wasn't printed. Both Jay and Brandon are good people. They're both very polite and efficient, and you get your car back within the time frame that they say you would.

  Derek Harris
2 months ago
I went here to have my breaks repaired. And come to find that Brandon (Jason) lied about repairing my breaks. I was told by another mechanic that Brandon's Auto Shop didn't fix my breaks. I wouldn't recommend anybody coming here for car service because Brandon (Jason) is a good talker.

  Mr Miles
4 years ago
While meeting my wife from at the tire shop in the same lot I parked in an unmarked stall because their parking lot is narrow and it was the easiest to get in and out of with my truck. Another bay in the neighboring building wasn't occupied by a business so there were other spaces available to leave vehicles waiting to be serviced. Still, they blocked me in with a vehicle they weren't working on and got hostile when I inquired about the vehicle behind me. They told me I'd have to wait for the manager to move the vehicle though there were at least half a dozen people standing around.Total wait time was over 30 minutes.

  Veronica Mendez
a year ago
Went here today for a smog. They were pretty busy. I was there for about an hour. Not too bad considering how busy they were. I would say they have the best prices for smog. Next door was about double the price.Update: Call ahead if you need a STAR certified smog station. We went back and they were no longer STAR certified. This was been a few months back. Not sure if it has changed.

  Rommel Bhargava
5 years ago
To the point customer service. The owner makes some short jokes or tries to be funny not sure. But good and professional. I went here for smog check. One thing i like was honesty.

  hum tum
10 months ago
If I had a chance to put below 1star I would have done itThe owner of this place he is a fraudAnd disrespectfulHe thinks he is the only person in the whole San Diego to do the smog testLast week I did smog test he passed it but he didn t change the kilometers to miles so the dmv passed itWhen I went today to correct it he was so disrespectful and harsh to speak and literally showing attitude that he cannot convert km to milesIs he a mechanic or barber who doesn t know how to convert itAnd he was telling that it s not his job then who s job was itAll of sudden an another guy came from inside and he figured it out how to convert and the owner was asking me to pay again for the testWhy would I pay again? When I already paid for itWhen I refused to pay it I didn t know what he did within 2minutesHe came back telling that the engines lights are on I need to fixed it then only he can pass the smog testHow rude he wasBeware before going thereAll he wants the payment in cash if you even refuse to pay by card again he will show you attitudeService: Smog certification

  Lai Stephen (Steviewonder)
2 years ago
As soon as I walked into the front office I knew I went to the wrong place because the office looks like a wreck a tornado just went thru. But anyway I just took a chance. It was a big mistake. The tech just running around just like a chicken without a head. First he started my car then he wandered away because someone just dropped by and complained his car not running right. So he drove with this person and drove for around to somewhere and the meantime he still had my car still running with his monitor hooked up. Hello the gas is so expensive . It is more than 5.30 per gallon and you drove around with another customer without shutting off my car.And my car was still running wasting gas for 20 minutes. After he finished testing and it was an hour later ( it was the longest smog check I had ever been to).and then he told me his credit card machine was out of order and asked me to pay cash only. I know it was a lie because a customer just before me paid with credit card. But anyway I just paid cash and wanted to get out asap. If you want to have your car smog just stay away as far as possible.Service: Smog certification

  Katie Matthews
a year ago
Jason is gone forever. First they said he was on vacation, then the next day they said that he sold the place 3 weeks ago and went back to Vietnam. I should have known when I showed up and everything was clean and organized. I m not sure why they lied about it. Jason s style was to only do the minimum necessary maintenance, i had to beg him to do preventative maintenance. So that s what I was expecting and with the new management we had some major miscommunication and they wound up doing work I didn t want them to do (replacing air filters I recently changed myself, replacing engine coils I had replaced recently) I think they do good work at a fair price from what I can tell, but just heads up it s not the same as Jason s style

  J C
3 years ago
I came here because I saw a coupon online advertising an $11.75 smog check, so I called ahead before driving to this location and was assured that I'd only be charged $20 (I assumed that included the $8.25 processing fee most locations charge)I arrived and confirmed with the person I spoke with (I'm assuming he's the owner because he certainly acted like it!) that I'd been quoted a certain price. I will say that I didn't wait super long however that wasn't my issue.When the person I spoke with and attended me finally came back to their waiting room he didn't really greet me or thank me for waiting instead he jumped right to accusing me of "disconnecting my battery."I said, "excuse me?", rather surprised and he changed his tone to ask me if I'd "disconnected my battery or something."I had no idea what he was talking about however he let me know that my car didn't pass the smog test. When I asked why he said because the battery had been disconnected. I let him know that I'd done no such thing. I'd taken my vehicle to the mechanic 2 days before for a tune-up because my check engine light was on. I'd already identified the check engine issue at Auto Zone and took the print out to the mechanic. When I got my car back the check engine light was off and I just assumed the issue had been fixed. I said as much to the guy and he just kept looking at me suspiciously and told me I should have told him that before he started because now I was "in trouble". I asked him what he meant and he said that the mechanic must have disconnected my battery (still not confirmed that this was actually done, however I did read online that is a tactic sometimes used by mechanics to clear a check engine light. I'll have to talk to my mechanic but seriously the absolute certainty used in his accusatory tone was not needed especially because I took my car to a mechanic specifically to pass a smog test if that was going to cause an automatic failure I wouldn't have allowed that to be done!) and since my battery had been disconnected I failed the smog and needed to drive my car at least 100 miles before testing it again. I told him that wasn't me "being in trouble" and if I had to drive my car some more that wasn't an issue I'd driven about 50 miles since the tune up and I could just come back. He continued to harp on my battery having been disconnected and just had this attitude of treating me like a small child who'd been caught cheating on a test when all I did was take my car to the mechanic. He made some other snarky comment and I just decided I'd go drive the extra miles necessary and then go somewhere else for my re-test. He mentioned something about when I "came back" I said I wouldn't be returning and that's when he told me that I "didn't understand what he meant."So I repeated that I completely understood however all I'd done was take my car to the mechanic, if I needed to drive it further before returning for another test that wasn't a problem however to be told I'd done something that caused me to "be in trouble", was beyond ridiculous and I wouldn't be returning. He then charged me $15.75, instead of $11.75. At this point I was beyond annoyed and wasn't going to argue over $4 but the amount wasn't relevant. It was the principle. I could've just put that money towards paying a bit more at another facility who re-tests for free without the lecture, instead of wasting my time and gas driving all the way over here!!!

  Angel Mis
4 years ago
Good work, cheap, and with brief interaction. I just parked near the store, walked into the office, and was out in 30 mins. At the end, the attendant was clear and charged me roughly 20 for a basic smog checkNot a good recommendation if you don't know what you're doing and want to ask questions. Also a bit in the back so it can be hard to find.For what I paid, it was completely worth it. Would come back again.

  Pat Neil
4 years ago
I m very happy with the service I received. I brought in my 25 year old Ford for a timing belt and A/C compressor replacement. They did the jobs as requested at a reasonable price. What more can you ask?

  Syed Rizvi
2 years ago
These guys are honest. They only perform the necessary work and charge a fair price. The mechanics are competent and do it right the first time. I am so glad I found them.

  dooleycat8
2 years ago
This is hands down the BEST place to get your (non star*) DMV mandated SMOG certification. Literally the lowest prices anywhere (even without the coupon!) Fast, efficient, knowledgeable staff*I only say, "non-star" because this year the DMV did not require my Prius to be STAR certified (probably because they required it the past 2 years and it's a Prius... ) so that's not to say Brandon's doesn't offer STAR certification it simply means I didn't check to see whether they did or not being that it wasn't a concern of mine this year. Its definitely worth checking into as I would imagine if they do offer STAR certification it would also be a presumably much lower cost than any competition.I definitely recommend this place for when that dreaded time of year comes.

  jOhN'tHa JoHn
5 years ago
Been trying to use coupon for an oil change. Called and was told, "no appointments, call back to see for availability." Been calling for a week and finally (at 3pm on 6/21/18) was told to come in at 3:45pm by Jason who then asks the year and make of car. Coming down from San Marcos with traffic building up I get to Brandons Auto to be greeted and assisted by Jason who tells me that they don't have an oil filter for my car. I ask when they may have one and was told maybe next week. Then I was told that I can sell my car to the Gov. for $1500 dollars for low income.Personally, my experience with Brandon's Auto was not good. I wasted my time, gas and got stuck in traffic to be insulted. Yes, I have a 1990's car, that isn't as pleasant to the eye as a newer car. But that's my choice and regardless of age or appearance of vehicle, I'm a paying customer coming for service that was treated extremely poorly and felt rejected due to the year of my car. It'd be different if asked about a Government car buy back, but to assume a low income status based on my car is straight wrong. Financial status should have nothing to do with my car being serviced.In conclusion, I cannot speak about their work or pricing because I was discriminated before any service was conducted. Although I had a coupon, there prices do seem decent. But the feeling of being less than felt like racism in a different form.

  Bonnie Riehl
3 years ago
No nonsense, quick smog check.Update - I've been here a few times now and always have a good experience. The owner is professional, friendly, to the point, and prices are fair. He goes out of his way to make it convenient. What else can you ask for.Services: General repairs & maintenance, BatteryServices: General repairs & maintenance, Battery

  Yerlan Kubenov
a year ago
Worst service I have ever have. I called and they said first come first serve. I waited for 30 min for someone can come to me and ask what I wanna do. Then manager said he dont care and I have to wait for 1.5 h. Ridiculous!Service changed after J left this place.

  RJ tv
5 months ago
Best place to get your car fixed

  Gary Colborn
a year ago
I recommend Brandonn's to everyone, they do excellent work for a fair price, and don't lie to you, they listen to you when you explain your problem and after diagnosing the problem, gives you fair quote, and when you except the quote and agree to have work done, they get right on it and work on car problems while waiting for needed parts to be delivered, and the wait is not long, after repairs are done, the amount do is less than the quote, I will recommend Brandonn's to everyone I know,Service: General repairs & maintenance

  Adlan Chinchirayev
a year ago
Jason is gone forever. The new management is very bad! I had bad experience with them ,they have bad service! I don t recommend you this repair shop because It s terrible management , baddest management! I wasted my time and my nervous

  Michael Bush
a year ago
Great service. Great price. Quality workmanship. Highly recommend taking your Toyota here.

  Harsha B
3 years ago
I strongly recommend this place. Always had my vehicle serviced with no problems. Their smog check is one of the most inexpensive services I have ever seen.

  Robert Kent
5 years ago
This shop has always done a great job for a reasonable price. I have never had come back work or had something else mysteriously break after they worked on my ride. Solid crew.

  KL Clarke
7 years ago
I took my SUV in for a tune up, paid over six hundred dollars and after a week or so my car began to leak oil, my service engine light came on, I took it back they said the tightened everything I left with my vehicle only to have to bring it back, fluids leaking service engine light, and now it's running hot... My car has always been a reliable source of transportation I've never had any issues I've always kept the maintenance up with the dealership, but I heard about this great place who would do a great job and I took a chance... Now I have to worry about getting from A to B until I figure out what they did wrong, I took it back to them to check it out again but at the risk of my transmission completely shutting down.. I decided to walk away, I can't trust that they will fix what they've broken... I'd advise anyone who just needs regular maintenance on their vehicles to take it the dealer it might cost a little more but it's better safe than sorry ... Like I am, I hate it when people take your money and ruin your things just for more money... It's awful CONSUMERS BEWARE!!!!

  J LUU
8 years ago
I am new to San Diego and was desperately seeking a good mechanic to work on my 2003 Infiniti G35 (It sure is tough finding a good mechanic. It is like finding a needle in a haystack.).The top of my radiator (plastic piece that surrounds the top of the radiator and attaches to the hose) had developed a small crack and was slowly leaking coolant. I KNEW THAT THIS WAS A TICKING BOMB. It was a matter of time before I would end up overheating the engine and doing great damage to the engine.I checked with the delaer, PepBoys, and several other auto repair shops before deciding on Brandon Auto Repair Center. I checked on the internet for pricing of parts and they quoted me a reasonable price for both part and labor. The other places quoted me two or three times what i considered reasonable.Being a former U.S. Navy Engineering Officer and having supervised mechanics, I was curious about how the mechanic would go about replacing the radiator. He did an excellent, meticulous and thorough job.I would not hesitate in going back to Brandon Auto for further servicing of my car. You cannot beat the reasonable price and quality of their service.

  Ben Chapman
7 years ago
I've been going here for going on 15 years. They always do exactly what they say they will do, and charge what they say they will charge. Which is generally not a lot. They've kept a string of beaters on the road and smog ready. I recommend them to everyone.

  Joe Connector Kennedy
7 years ago
Brandon Auto Smog Repair Center has worked on several of my vehicles and has provided quality service for reasonable prices. I recommend them to my friends and family.

  Leo Getz
7 years ago
I've been bringing my car here for many years and I'm always happy with the service. They are honest and always save me money on repairs. I highly recommend Brandon Auto Repair!!!

  Idris Popal
a year ago
I went in at 4:55 and wanted a smog. They told me that they are closed at 5 despite the fact that they advertise that they close at 6. A waste of gas during rush hour traffic.