There's a place called "G Win Auto Repair" on Miramar Road that I take all my cars to. If your son heads down Miramar Road he'll make a U-turn at the light where the Carl's Jr. is (Commerce St. I think). He'll make a right turn almost immediately into a bunch of auto shops and see it at the end of the cul-de-sac. It's a bunch of Chinese and Vietnamese people working there with choppy English, but they know their stuff so don't let that scare you.
I had one of the major chains fail my Toyota back in the day, then I took it to G. Win and they told me that the car passed smog just fine. I was pretty pissed at Precision Tune, let me tell you!
This is about a ten minute drive east of UCSD at most. Even if your son doesn't go to this place, he'll notice a ton of smog check stations all along Miramar Road.