No, it is far frombeing free. The cost depends on the vehicle type. My truck 1996 Ford F15 passed last yeand with paying for the certificate it was closeing in on $100, my 1989 Plymouth Colt failed the test at s&g last week, I was told my engine timing was off. I had to pay for the test, $68.75 and told to return for a retest within a allotted period of time and the retest would be free, I would have to pay $8.25 for the certificate (total cost $78) A few days later I went to SpeeDee Oil Change (and auto service) Midas Muffler, short version of name SpeeDee/Midas to get the timeing set. S&G does no repair just testing. I was quoted just under $70 to set the timing and I could wait for it. The service writer ended up telling me the timing was fine and did not need to be set and only charged me $25. Went back to S&G armed with the paperwork from speedee/midas, passed the retest, paid for the certificate. Turns out speedee/midas does smog checks and could have reset the timing if needed.
Still have to pay for the service. But it cheap and you can find coupons everywhere. Check them out on Yelp
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