STAR Certified · Test Only Station

Smog Check in Redwood City

Gas, diesel and hybrid vehicles, for registration renewal, change of ownership, or registering a car brought in from out of state. No appointment necessary.

Call (650) 365-7664 Directions

The Redwood City Smog test-only station on Woodside Road, with its open service bay.

Smog check price

Inspection, 2000 and newer$50.00

California certificate feeincluded

Retest within 30 daysincluded

Filing with the DMVincluded

You pay$50.00

The shop down the road: $49.75 advertised, $58.00 at the counter.

★ 4.7294 reviews on Yelp

22 yrsSame shop since 2004

STARCertified test‑only station

No appt.Drop in during opening hours

Pricing

Two prices. Both of them are the total.

Smog stations set their own inspection price, and plenty of them advertise one number then add the state fee at the register. We don't.

2000 and newer

$50

Out the door · Gas, hybrid and most diesel

OBD-II computer scan

Cars built from 2000 on carry a standardized onboard computer. We read it directly, so there's no tailpipe probe and no dynamometer.

1996 – 1999

$100

Out the door · Tailpipe test required

Tailpipe test on the dyno

The state requires these to be run on a dynamometer with a tailpipe probe. It takes longer and uses more equipment, which is why it costs more.

Why our $50 beats their $49.75

Every passing smog check carries an $8.25 certificate fee set by the state. It is not optional. The only question is whether the shop quotes it to you up front.

Them

Advertised price

$49.75

$50.00

State certificate

+ $8.25

included

What you actually pay

$58.00

$50.00

Advertised prices at a competing Redwood City STAR station, August 2026.

See what's included →

Test only

We can't sell you repairs. So we have no reason to fail you.

A STAR Test-Only station is prohibited by the state from doing repair work. That's the whole point of the license. A shop that tests and repairs makes money when your car fails. We don't. We hand you the result, pass or fail, and that's the end of our involvement.

No repair upsell, by law

We are not licensed to do repairs. There is nothing for us to sell you.

STAR certified

We meet the state's higher performance standard, which lets us test any vehicle — including the high-polluting ones ordinary stations can't.

Since 2004

Same building on Woodside Road for 22 years.

What STAR and test-only mean →

STAR

Your DMV notice says “STAR station required”?

Then you're in the right place. About one in seven California vehicles gets directed to a STAR station at renewal — sometimes because of a past failure, sometimes just by selection. An ordinary smog station cannot certify you. We can.

Bring the notice with you.

How it goes

Three steps, and one of them is “wait”.

Just drive up

No appointment, no booking, no phone tree. Pull into the bay on Woodside Road and we'll take you in the order you arrive.

We test the car

Wait in the waiting room — there's a TV, and parking is never a problem. Most people are done while they wait.

We file it with the DMV for you

Your certificate goes to the DMV electronically the moment you pass. In most cases you don't have to do anything else.

What to expect →