tub_sephiroth

I just went to get an alignment done. I asked for a lifetime alignment ($179). He said that once they get my car on the machine, he'll tell me if he's able to offer me a lifetime alignment. New guy comes and says that they can't give me a lifetime alignment after they had aligned my car without informing me. Only the one time ($60). I look at the spec sheet. I don't have a camber kit yet. But they only adjusted my front toe. He said they couldn't adjust my rear toe. It's too hard. I already paid the ******. They only did half their job, plus they didn't even notify me that they couldn't adjust the rear. I'm so pissed. What do I do?

dfoxengr

go back and make them do it. or bitch till u get ur money back

Mohudsolo

I'd guess they would not do the lifetime due to the cambe being outside their written spec. As to not doing the back because" it's too hard", that's just stupid! I've adjusted my rear toe in the driveway with jackstands and a tape measure and had it checked later on a machine and it was spot on. It's ONE bolt on each side, how hard can that be? Unless the adjustment is at the limit, it's really easy.

Since you only got a 2 wheel alignment, see if you can get half your money back. Then get it done right somewhere else. I figure if they are too stupid or lazy to do the back, you don't want them doing it anyway. If I'm reading it right, I usually use inches not degrees, you have stock spec on the front and toe out in the back. If you want the car to turn really well, leave it, if you want better stability and tire wear, go between stock and zero.

ChiBoy

If you paid by credit card you could use them to get the cash back. If you paid cash, you'll just have to go back and bitch. "It's too hard" is not a valid excuse.

Is it a chain shop, or just local? If it's a chain, ask to speak to the manager, or district manager. Or start calling the corporate office, that really makes them crap thier pants.

tub_sephiroth

I did pay by credit card. This was at Tires Plus. It's a pretty big chain company. I'll start with the manager tomorrow, then corporate if I fail with the manager.

Mohudsolo

Figure for the little work they did you paid them about $150-200/hour. You did not get value for money at all. Unless they really are the only game in town, let them know you can take your business elsewhere. Squeeky wheel gets the grease and all that. Just annoys me that it's necessary to make a fuss just to get a job done right.

clockworks

WTF? They didn't even do a caster sweep? And what the hell do you mean they said the rear toe is too hard to do? You can't do a productive alignment without first setting the rear toe. Rear toe is what determines the thrust line angle. You want as close to zero thrust angle as possible, meaning the rear toe will be set the same on both sides and cause the thrust to align with the vehicle centerline. The alignment rack will measure the front wheels' toe based on the thrust angle. Trust me, I work at toyota and do alignments all the time, you need to go back to that shop and have them do it correctly or demand that you get a full refund.

tub_sephiroth

He said that adjusting the rear toe is hard enough on these cars (Integra) plus with it being lowered, it's too hard. These were almost his exact words. **** 'em. I'm calling tomorrow morning!

tub_sephiroth

Ok... Talked to the main manager. He said that one of my rear toe is to the max and they can't adjust it back. If they adjust the other side, then my car is going to sway one side which it does slightly already. I got under the car and looked at the rear passenger adjustable bolt (where you adjust your toe). And it was all the way to the left (away from the wheel). Can't they just move it back toward the wheel a little?

The mananger wouldn't do anything. I called the customer service number that he gave me and all they did was call the store manager and asked what he wanted to do, which was nothing. So they foward it to the district manager. Still have to wait for a reply. What should I do now?


Modified by tub_sephiroth at 7:53 PM 6/6/2003

Mohudsolo

You don't want to move the adjuster out any more than it is now, that will give more toe out. For street use zero to slight toe in is best. IT roadracers will grind the slot wider to get more adjustment range. I think I have seen shorter or adjustable toe control links. That is the short link that goes from the trailing arm to the adjustment slot. You could always raise the car some until the toe is correct. When lowering the rear toes out and gains negative camber. Not sure where to get the shorter/adjustable link, try a search? They still should not have just said its too hard, they should have explained what they did when you went back. A good shop should even be able to find what is needed to fix the lack of adjustment.