Car - 93 Civic coupe EX

Okay, here goes the story. I went to NTB (National Tire & Battery) for a wheel alignment and to get my wheels balanced since I needed it.

So going in I asked how much would it cost. They dude said $60 for alignment and $30 for wheel balanced.

Okay, I go for it. 1 and 1/2 hr. later he comes and says .... Here's the technical issue...

They guy said:

Since your car is lowered (1.5" drop) your going to need a camber kit all around.

Now I know I read somewhere on here that said that if I'm not lower then 2" then I don't need a camber kit.

So I tell the guy that and he said no, YOUR WRONG! After that he also goes, oh yeah, You need a Left front inner TRE (Tie rod end). Mind you that I replaced that 4 months ago. I was like wtf?

So all in all this is what he quoted me for...

LF Inner TRE - $78.82
Upper ball joints 3 deg - 2 for $321.24
Rear Shim kit - 2 for $ 39.98
Labor - $154

I ask is that the price, the dude said NO! It's a guesstimate!! I think it should be around $700.

I was like WHOA! Guys, AM I BEING RIPPED HERE?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ki3t &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was like WHOA! Guys, AM I BEING RIPPED HERE? </TD></TR></TABLE>

I think your totally being ripped off. I dropped my car 1.75" Thursday and went for an alignment yesterday and my camber is at 0. But I DO need a camber kit since I autox and need to be able to adjust it in. Did you get a spec sheet when they were done? Can YOU tell if your TRE needs replaced? Did they do all of that work?

 

I know my TRE does not need to be replace. I just told the dude can I have my car back and left. $700 friggin dollars!

No spec or analysis sheet was given to me either.

 

if you have a firestone around...I suggest you go there instead.
I have always gone to them (several different ones at different times) and they always have teated me right.

 

yo...when i drove behind you...ur car did look like u needed a camber kit. imo he was right...the price is high....i dont doubt that...but u do need a camber kit. so order one online and do it urself.

 

I lowered my car about 1.5-2.0 and i needed a camber kit. it would eat the inside of my 17's in about 7,000 miles. that **** gets expensive.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ki3t &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
LF Inner TRE - $78.82
Upper ball joints 3 deg - 2 for $321.24
Rear Shim kit - 2 for $ 39.98
Labor - $154

</TD></TR></TABLE>

What exactly is that? Just go somewhere else and ask to get your TOE aligned and nothing else.

 

He doesn't need a ******* camber kit. You should of asked the shop for a print out of your specs?

I would have loved to see how much "negative camber" you had where you "needed a camber kit". :rolls eyes:

Just take it somewhere else. As long as your tie rod end was installed properly then it's fine. Take you car somewhere and tell them adjust the toe and caster to factory specs and call it a day. I'm sure you camber is fine.

The only reason you would need a camber kit is to dial in MORE negative camber. That's the only reason I needed them.

 

i just came from getting my wheels aligned after lowering (2" all around) my car. even after the alingment, it still pulls to the right. should i go back and have them redo it or will it be remedied with just a front camber kit?

 

yeap

Take that **** back

 

cool, thanks. bump for the original poster.

 

fine...i dont know if he needs a camber kit... but his rear wheels were definately.... / \ so go and fix that problem kiet. ur wheels definately looked like that when i drove behind you the other day.

and i dont know why u would roll eyes at me...but wutever...im his friend..i'm just telling him wut i saw when i was behind him.

 

If it's the rear wheel then throw on some washers. That'll fix that.

I go to honda and have them set my toe at 0.
You have to ask them for the print out too.

 

I work for a NTB and i know how the work. The sales person is just telling what the tech told them not, to say that the tech wasnt trying to get more commision out of you cause i've seen that a couple times. The camber will depend on a cuple of things. The bigger the rims the more camber your going to have. The second is the ride height of the car,my civic is lowerd 1.5" and the camber is out but not enough to worry about (the tires dont wear excessively). I have also seen stock height civics with camber problems. Honda just didnt put camber adjustments and what NTB probily did was give you a quote for front and rear witch you might not even need.The other thing is they should have given you a print out the specs if one side camber is alout farther out then the other side that can give you pull.

 

If you drop your car at any angle depending on the wear and tear on the busings and other compoents you might need a camber kit. Now given the info so far You need to post the alignment specs of what was measured before we can judge whats going on.. I dropped my car 1.5 inch and it needed a camber kit (off by 2.3 degrees) So just because you dropped your car like 1" does not always mean you dont need a camber kit.

As far as your tie-rods and upper ball joint. Did you ask to see them to verify the damage to them? If this was california he can get introuble and you can report this to the BAR, given you have to verify the damage yourself.