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  1. #16
    Oneheadlite's Avatar
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    Re: Alignments & Repair - How far do you drive

    Quote Originally Posted by mobiledynamics View Post
    ... But yeah, anytime I got some extra weekend rainy day fund, I love me alignments. Just wish there was some sorta flat rate deal if I just it tweaked...
    Hard part is, the work required for doing a full alignment from way out of whack or just teasing numbers around is generally the same.

    Quote Originally Posted by mobiledynamics View Post
    Dont All the rear pumpkin seals and PS hoses weep...
    The part that ticks me off is that they`re not pulling this stuff with low dollar items; it`s oil pan gaskets ($1500+ dollar fix) and rear pinion seals (don`t have the number in front of me, but not a couple hundred bucks). It`s maddening they`re just looking at these cars as a way to get a paycheck vs "Hey, this is Jim`s X5, and maybe $1500 is actually a big deal for him and we should think about what`s right here."

    I`m gonna step down from the soap box, I could keep ranting about other stuff I see shops/dealers pulling...

  2. #17

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    Re: Alignments & Repair - How far do you drive

    Quote Originally Posted by Oneheadlite View Post
    Hard part is, the work required for doing a full alignment from way out of whack or just teasing numbers around is generally the same.
    Yeah, I learned that when I was a kid, when the Goodyear place had a "lifetime alignment" and I always wondered why my free alignment never seemed to change anything.

    Quote Originally Posted by Oneheadlite View Post
    The part that ticks me off is that they`re not pulling this stuff with low dollar items; it`s oil pan gaskets ($1500+ dollar fix) and rear pinion seals (don`t have the number in front of me, but not a couple hundred bucks). It`s maddening they`re just looking at these cars as a way to get a paycheck vs "Hey, this is Jim`s X5, and maybe $1500 is actually a big deal for him and we should think about what`s right here."
    I think with the dealers, it`s because they can`t make any money selling cars anymore (because of the internet), so they have to make it somewhere. I think there is also the mindset of they aren`t ripping anyone off, because they are actually doing the work ("hey, he has a new oil pan gasket, as opposed to the 6 year old one he used to have").

  3. #18

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    Re: Alignments & Repair - How far do you drive

    I work at a dealer and anymore it’s my oil change or normal mechanic said I have a leak but should still be under warranty.

    The brake story. Well people around my area mostly don’t like noisy brakes. New ones would have fixed her problem. I imagine shortly after still not liking that noise she went back and got them replaced.

    We put new brakes on vehicles all the time for noise; some are nearly new after market gooped up pads off with subpar rotors off cause they squeak and already pulsate.

    Dealers aren’t all bad. There are terrible and shady techs everywhere. Darn near every shop that had at least 10 employed probably has 1-2

    We are the place the outside shops send the ones they are clueless about.


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  4. #19

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    Re: Alignments & Repair - How far do you drive

    Per usual, I gotta say that the three dealerships I do business with almost always leave me completely satisfied. I`ve experienced the horror stories too, but my current guys (only specific employees are allowed to even get close to my vehicles, let alone touch them) are great. Credit where credit is due and all that...
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  5. #20

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    Re: Alignments & Repair - How far do you drive

    there are flipsides to every establishment. For the consumer who doesn`t wrench on the car, the spend may be more at the dealer but the turnaround on a dealer is faster than a Indy, don`t have to wait for parts, etc, and you get a free loaner until the repair is finished.....so there are tradeoffs on the price paid at the dealer but account for the loaner if one does not have a spare vehicle.

    I`ll have to put on my thinking cap to reply back in a more defined post, but there is warranty book time, labor job book time, and customer pay book time. Both of which the shop mechanic that is assigned is benefitted, along with the Service Advisor...

    This is a brief reply that can be expounded much more ...

  6. #21

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    Re: Alignments & Repair - How far do you drive

    mobiledynamics- Yeah, wherever you find the right guys/services *for you* is the best place, and that can sure vary between customers.

    On the different "times" and how that can affect things, it`s good to remember that *somebody* at any shop can do whatever they want to. I`ve had the owner tell his guys to take care of me and eat the cost; I`ve had owners (and even mfrs. reps) tell me to [kiss] off over stuff that should`ve been warrantied..it can cut both ways.

    When you find the right place, stick with `em and hope they don`t change (just get me going on what happened when [certain individuals] bought previously good shops ).
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  7. #22

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    Re: Alignments & Repair - How far do you drive

    gawd. the things we do for a trusted indy. My tire guy is booked and my schedule doesn`t allow for the 1 1/2 hr drive and his open slots.
    So I go searching on yelp, the forums, etc and one guy that is about 45 minutes away seems somewhat reputable - has a Roadforce balancer, lotsa + reviews on wheel refinihsing. Open early and close late. I get there - yeah, they got a roadforce balancer but the machine is a old school coats. I`m spoiled by having wheels/tires mounted/dismounted off a all rubber wheel/rim holder machine. I walked out as soon as I walked in and saw the old Coat`s machine.

    Granted these are just tools and it`s up to the operator.

  8. #23

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    Re: Alignments & Repair - How far do you drive

    Yeah but if you want the tires done a certain way on a certain machine then hang on for that way to be done

    Maybe hunter can provide a few local places that have the newest equipment and you can check them out




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  9. #24

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    Re: Alignments & Repair - How far do you drive

    The places Hunter listed in my area were shops I wouldn`t set foot in, but eh...that`s just my area and maybe things have changed since then. It`s like the places the TireRack recommends...ZERO chance those [individuals] are touching *anything* of mine, ever, period. In both cases they obviously put zero research into it, or else they don`t know anything about what is/isn`t acceptable. Not even *close* to being decent places, more like radically negative examples.

    EDIT: Major shout-out/props to Chuck Mallett of Mallett Cars. When he built my `vette I watched him mount/dismount/remount the tires so there were minimal weights needed. Zero issues, nothing, perfect work. Took him a while, and he was *working*, but that was a real eye-opener. "aren`t you messing with the beads and taking chances redoing them like that?" Nah...

 

 
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