Goodwin is the BEST! Online scheduling was easy and he got us in the same day. I brought my elderly mother in to smog her car. Goodwin got us in immediately, and we walked a block down the street to wait at Starbucks during the servicing. During that time it started to rain, and lo and behold Goodwin showed up at Starbucks with our car because he didn't want Mom to walk back in the cold. So incredibly kind, efficient, and courteous. Highly recommend CarTech! read more

Goodwin and crew have been our goto for smog and servicing our three cars. He is always very fair, reliable, knowledgeable and we highly recommend him. Thank you Goodwin and team for always being a pleasure to work with! read more

Thank you, Goodwin, for making time for me, during a busy Saturday, despite having less than 1-hour before close. Goodwin is the pinnacle of what a great business owner should be - experienced, friendly, and customer oriented. I came in on a Saturday afternoon, with no appointment, and wanted to check to see if there was an off-chance he could help me. My car was in need of a STAR-certified smog check in order to get the 2023 registration sticker. I wanted to support a local business, in Lafayette, that was still opened, and noticed CarTech with the high reviews. I also noticed that Yelp check-in had a $45 offer (does not include the certification and only good for vehicles before a certain year). My vehicle was 2008, which was probably the oldest vehicle, out of the other 3 that were in his lot. Anyways, Goodwin honored the Yelp offer and gave me 40% off the listed rate. He told me that it would be 30-45 minutes (meaning 15-20 minutes after when the business closed) and recommended that I hang out at the Starbucks across the street. Once the vehicle was ready, and passed (YAY!) he gave me a call and said no need to rush as he moved my vehicle to top priority. He was going to then work on the other vehicles, as he promised the owner that it would be ready by this afternoon. A man of his word. Huge respect for CarTech and especially the business owner. read more

Good competitive pricing; checked that the vehicle was in ready state before DMV linked testing to avoid fail; on time testing; responsive by text, but not by phone call. read more

Friendly, fast, responsive, and affordable. Will definitely be back for future smog checks.

Please do not go here! I went here with my mother to help her get a service done for her car, and needed to drive a certain amount of miles and then bring it back to get it cleared. The man was unclear about his instructions and when we came back he was extremely rude and belittling to my mother who was simply confused with what he was saying. He refused to keep working with us when we were simply trying to inquire more about what he meant? I was baffled and have never encountered such terrible and rude costumer service in my entire life! He was acting like we were stupid for asking simple clarifying questions! read more

I would highly recommend CarTech to anyone seeking any services for their car. Very friendly staff and I want to give a shout out to John for taking care of my car when I needed to get a biennial smog check done. It was quite easy to schedule an appointment online and I was able to get this confirmed quickly. Thanks so much! read more

Walked in near closing and was welcomed warmly. Scheduled a star smog check for the next day! great! cathy/ zaida read more

Good guy! I came in an hour before closing with an out of state car that needed a smog certificate. I told Goodwin that I wasn't sure the car would pass bc I thought the charcoal vapor canister was making it difficult to refuel and I had a new one ready to install if needed. We checked it out ahead of time bc he didn't want to charge me if the car wouldn't pass. It all worked out in the end. He gave me a discount for helping him locate the canister, which he didn't need to do. Goodwin is a good guy. :) Note that out of state smog certificates are roughly $30-40 more than a regular smog check, so you don't get caught off guard. read more

CarTech - Auto Repair Near Me - Lafayette, California

Very helpful and was able to do my smog check right away after setting an appointment time via text. (And there's a Starbucks across the street if you are interested in waiting for your car). read more

Great service! Easy to book my smog check online. Professional and got the job done in a timely manner. Owner was extremely nice. Great experience! read more

I took my car in for 25,000k servicing. Goodwin has always been very good with communicating and making sure I am taken care of. He was extremely flexible with me when the pick up time was right in the middle of my kid's nap time and offered me a later time. It's nice to find "your guy" when it comes to car maintenance. It's a relief to not have to hunt around and try different places. I highly recommend CarTech and will continue to bring my cars there. read more

Goodwin was very thorough with repairing my car. He was professional and honest throughout the entire process. I would recommend his business to anyone. read more

I've been a long time Lafayette resident and recently moved away and returned to visit my mother from time to time. I had a Mini Cooper stored in my house a few miles away from Godwin's shop and needed to get it smogged before registering again to drive. It was my second time going to Goodwin to get the car smogged pre and post pandemic, but it was sitting for a bit during the pandemic. Goodwin made sure everything was up to snuff before smogging, and even gave me pointers on how to prepare for it before smogging. He didn't charge me for advice and communicated w/ me over text to make sure I was doing the right things to get a car that had been sitting for a while prep'ed and ready for smog. Thank you, Goodwin for your honesty and professionalism. I appreciate his willingness to work w/ me. Will definitely continue to support this local business... read more

Would not recommend for a smog check. Needed the vehicle 6 hrs?

Goodwin is a great mechanic and a nice guy. His prices are competitive also. Very knowledgeable.

Goodwin is an extremely nice guy ! Easily one of the most polite & professional people I've ever dealt with. Had my truck smogged. Made appt online - very convenient. From the time I met him, the entire smog check service only took about 20 minutes. Very impressed how clean & orderly his shop is. Looking forward to using him to service my truck as well. I would highly recommend him. read more

I can't believe how unwelcoming these people were to me as soon as I walked in the door. The man at the front desk was curt, rude and worst of all a liar. I took my car in to get a simple smog check which went fine but the mechanic broke my gas cap. I noticed the issue as soon as I got home and I knew it wasn't it broken before I dropped it off because I got gas just days before. But the mechanic denied that he broke it. I drove on over to see if he would try to fix it but he still denied that he did it. I would not recommend coming here because of the staff and sloppy work done at this facility and the dishonesty these men showcased. read more

Super fast. Super friendly. Excellent price. Very professional. Was in & out for a smog check in 20 minutes with no appointment! Goodwin is fantastic. read more

My car was found to have some smoke during starting while doing a smog check for registration renewal. I bought it to CarTech for testing and repair. They only charged me half of the estimated checking fee as the smoke and smell were obvious so they didn't even need to turn on other equipment to diagnose. They recommend adding some additive and using better fuels for a month. The smog test passed after a month. read more

Called for a price - wouldn't give me a price on the phone. Started talking about competitors coupons and asking what prices I've seen, etc. I'm local and want to give my business to a local place - wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise - and never did give me a price. His was my first call - I didn't have a coupon - I'm used to asking businesses what they charge and they tell me - weird, right? And then hung up on me! WOW!! Edited - I read your reply, and all I needed was what you wrote there: "...an average of $35 to $50 for a 2000 & up cars, And $75 to $95 for 1976 thru 1999 cars. Or, at my discretion, as low as $8.25 for the certificate only." I was NOT calling around, trying to do anything shady. You were my first call because you're local and you have a lot of great reviews. Maybe your first thought should not have been that I'm a scammer - maybe I was a potential customer who didn't notice the price listed 2/3 of the way down a crowded web page. I just wanted your listed price - it really was that simple. read more

Review for my STAR Smog Check: Easy to make an appointment, professional work, fair price, great service. Goodwin was incredibly helpful, he even spent an extra few minutes trying to determine the cause of a knocking sound in my engine. I'll be back for every future smog check, plus I learned he does oil changes - so I'll be back for those too. read more

Stopped in to Goodwin's place when I had a flat tire and had a long drive ahead of me. He quickly told me what he could do and what the price would be. I agreed and he set about to diagnose the problem. He found a sidewall puncture, which cannot be repaired, so he offered to put on the spare for me and load the flat in my trunk. All of this for just $25, and all done w/in 10 minutes. Since the tire was just losing air slowly and may not have been noticed until it blew out, I believe Goodwin saved me a whole lot of trouble and potential danger. I going back for oil changes, smog checks and other services! Thanks Goodwin! read more

Honesty, integrity, knowledge, compassion and good at what he does are just a few words to describe Goodwin. I had my Honda at another mechanic for 4 months letting him take his time working on it. I picked it up drove it for 1/2 a day and bam same problem same engine light code and a bill just shy of $1000. I willed it to just make it through the tunnel to Car Tech. Without a harsh word about the other mechanic Goodwin explained to me what the other guy did and didn't do and fixed my car and tested until he was comfortable that it was in working order. OK rambling because I am so happy with the service here. Oh and he works on my 2006 Ford explorer and keeps it going. read more

Super friendly guy (owner does everything, literal one man operation). Fast service. Support local business!

These guys had a great opportunity to take advantage of my auto repair ignorance but didn't. My car engine was emitting a "burn" smell so of course I was concerned. It turns out that I didn't re-insert the dipstick properly into the receptacle after I checked the oil earlier this week. Talk about #dipstick. The owner, Goodwin, easily could have claimed an expensive repair but instead charged me $0. It turns out they are a one-stop auto repair facility including smog checks and tire replacements. I will be back! read more

I came here for my smog test recently and I was very pleased with the overall experience. I called to see if I needed an appointment and was told to come after 10. I came in after 10 and voila less than an hour later I was done! No pain, no drama and great overall experience. Some things to know 1. This place is part of the Shell gas station although the gasoline part and the car repair part are two separately owned businesses occupying the same lot. There are two doors - make sure you go into the one for Car Tech and not the gas station one. 2. This place is small, so if you are waiting around for your car, you can sit outside on the bench by the garage bay, or the nearby Starbucks about 400 feet away. Or if you dread seeing the bill for your car repair, you can stop by El Charro almost next door and have a margarita first. 3. This is a one man shop and the service is great. You deal directly with the owner and he is great to work with. Unlike another smog place very close by, you don't have that kind of drama to deal with. The owner does all the work and doesn't rely on other people. 4. The owner used to work at Orinda Motors and if you know Orinda Motors, you know they do good work there. So I have no problems coming here given the owner has that kind of pedigree. I highly recommend Car Tech for your smog and car repair needs. read more

So I did go back for other services 2 weeks later. This time I had to drop off my car for a longer period of time. I was thinking how long it would take for me to walk home (probably 30-40mins) but Goodwin offered to take me back my place and picked me up few hours later for my car! Super friendly!! The quote he gave me for the services was reasonable too! Overall excellent customer service and reasonably priced for the work. I would definitely come back! Thanks Goodwin!! read more

I came here for a smog test. It went smoothly. He offered a discount because I am a resident of Lafayette, a local. It was hustle free!

Goodwin is such a professional & so helpful. He took care of my smog inspection in no time & provided me with a list of potential car issues that I should be aware of so I'll be scheduling a follow up. Thank you! Highly recommend CarTech! read more

Moved here from out of state. First time getting my car smogged, but it was a pretty painless experience. Well, truth be told, I was mal advised at another shop (not CarTech) so I decided not to give them my business at all. Wound up at CarTech using their online special for Smog. Got in quickly, Goodwin was really knowledgeable and easy to work with. I am pretty certain I saved money that I probably would have been spending at other places trying to take advantage of me (youngish female who came to a car shop alone with little knowledge of the CA smog process. Gasp.) I'll be back next time I need my car worked on. Thank you Goodwin for a pleasant experience! Mahalo. read more

Great local spot for getting your smog check or oil change. Feels like a very honest establishment where you're treated like a knowledgeable consumer. Highly recommend. read more

very courteous and nice! I had to wait a little longer coz there was another car Goodwin was working on when I came in. No appointment needed but I guess he can get busy... seems like a 1-man operation there. So I took the chance to walk around and get my steps for the day. When he said it'd take 1hr, I come back on time and everything was ready. Filling up forms & Payment process were very simple and quick! Even got to use my online coupon for a discount I'd definitely come back! read more

Thank you Goodwin!! I know I dropped in, but you offered thorough and efficient service!! Everything was clean, and I like that he suggested I enjoy the Starbucks patio one door down! read more

Good guy doing the work here. He helped without an appointment almost immediately. Super friendly and seems to be genuine and honest. You do need to print the coupon but I'm ok with that. All around positive experience. I'll go back for my next smog read more

Made a smog check appointment. The service was fast and polite. It's a couple doors down from Starbucks, so you can get coffee while you wait. read more

My first visit and found Goodwin was kind, courteous and professional... Was looking to get a smog done for my car and was pleasantly surprised about the very very decent price... Love his personality and energy... A good honest family man will good values... Looking forward to continued business with him and future referrals... Thank you... read more

Very happy with this place! Called this morning and got a same day appointment for my foreign car. Goodwin was the man--said it would take half an hour, and that's exactly what it took. He even pumped up my under-inflated tires, all four of them, no charge. Then he gave me a discount without barely asking just cuz I live nearby. Definitely going back there! read more

Just went in for a smog check, and Goodwin was fast and friendly, even accommodating for my two toddlers' curiosity.

Love this place! Goodwin checked my car in, did the smog check, and had me out of there in about 40 minutes. And, I didn't even have an appointment! read more