Alignments & Repair - How far do you drive

M

mobiledynamics

New member
I drive quite a hike for things even like my auto alignments or balancing. There is probably a easy 20+ shops in my 10 minute vicinity I frequent but I`d rather drive the 1 hr plus to my tire guy much farther away. Mount/Balance is complely touchless with rubber tools aiding in breaker the bead, etc. For my alignments, I drive over to the next STATE to get my alignments.

I`ve been hemming and hawing as I bought new tars and am debating which of the alignment shops to go to..
Both are a state over and between time, gas and tollls.....dude, one of the tolls over the bridge is like $18 these days.

All 3 of these places I go for a couple reasons (the equipment being used - roadforced, the sensors for alignment are clamped ON the tire and there is no metal to metal contact). One alignment I use is more performance tuned - corner balancing, etc. More expensive

The latter is comparable, a bit further, won`t be lazy and say we can`t do it, seized rods, you need new ones. They are GUNG HO guys. Breaks out the torch and makes it work.

Curious any fellow OCD autopians go the extra mile for your Indy`s.

Pricing is so varied between said shops.

Tire shop only place - $25 per wheel on M/B
Alignment place - $40 per wheel
Alignents - $150-$185 on average.......


I`m a stickler for tires and nothing is better than a fresh aligned car.
I go through new tires and alignment every 18 months or so.

Ha, I know others may never even do that in the ownership
Rubber is very important as part of the car driving experience....
 
Before I decided on a shop to do the work on my Camaro, I first looked for a place to get AMSOIL. Then when I found it was a performance shop, I researched my year Camaro and went back to the shop loaded with "questions." I asked them several of them that I already knew the answer to and they were spot on with everything. Then while a was there, an older woman came in to get an estimate on her brakes. The dealer had just told her that they were shot and she needed all new everything. After examining her car, they told her she was fine ... her brakes were better than 70% good on the front and over 80% good on the back. They said the noise she was hearing was a light rust on the rotors that had formed and that it would wear off with a little use (the car was only lightly driven).

Their honesty with this clueless woman and their accuracy about my car sold me on them. There are shops that are a bit closer to me and cheaper, but I would rather travel a bit and pay a bit more to get the "good feel" of having my car taken care of correctly.
 
Where do you live where there is an $18 bridge toll? That sounds like around here.

My tire/alignment place is 30-40 mins depending on traffic. I take everything there, even a flat. Problem is you have to have an appointment...sometimes even for a flat fix. And I`m always worried next time I call they will be out of business, because they are small and specialized.
 
VZB.

There are some additional merit points I forgot to mention as things I also take value from my alignment shops. Daily Driver or Weekend Rat. They they the time to ballast the car before they go to town. I don`t ask for it -- it`s part of my vetting process on how I determine shops I like.
 
I generally go to whatever lengths necessary to get required work done right (only one car is serviced locally), but I do draw the line at some point.

At least some of you guys *CAN* find people to do the tire mounting right, my experiences are hit-or-miss even with my best options.

For tricky alignments, I`d be sure to have the desired specs in-hand to be sure the shop doesn`t just do what`s easy for them.

Don- That was great to hear about the woman being treated fairly.
 
Accumulator - sucks you don`t have a decent tire guy ! If you have not seen the newer machines, it makes it really easy for any tire tech . Roll wheel to machine. Push Pedal . Damm thing lifts the tire up. Easy on the ~techs~ body over the long term.

The wheel and bead setter/breaker are all rubber these days. Makes mounting stiff tires on big 21" wheels seem like nothing.
It really has made the process easier, SAFER and faster
 
Actually...now that I think about it, my local Chevy dealer (of all places) did get one of those recently and they used it on the Tahoe`s wheels when I got new Michelins this spring. Completely slipped my mind, so they must not`ve done any damage or I wouldn`t have forgotten about it.
 
And for anyone reading this and spend the spend on alignment, do yourself a favor and deal with any rear/front suspension end work that may be needed. You`re just throwing wasting money getting a alignment if you are getting new tires, etc if you end up throwing off your alignment by worn suspension components. Just for the wiki I suppose
 
I still can`t completely decide whether I miss having a lift or not...nice to *not* have to work around it but putting the cars up (at least twice per wash) without one gets old.
 
Hunter`s newest tire machine literally does the tire for you. I`m sure I`d love it if I got to try it, but the idea just creeps me out. With the power the machines have now days, they`ll tear a bead without hesitating if you`re not careful. (We`ve been fine here, but I`ve heard stories from dealer friends...). I don`t know if the fancy automated machine does the little stuff like rolling the beads after mounting to help cut down road force.

Our alignment prices are $120 for standard cars, $220 for cars with aftermarket parts needing different adjustments (camber plates/arms, etc). I think our tire pricing is somewhere around $40/tire, but while we do tires we`re definitely not a tire shop. I`m sure these numbers vary wildly based on location and the type of shop you`re going to. We`re basically a 2 brand specialty shop, so we`re not interested in competing with your corner garage.

Don - Glad to hear that kind of story. It always drives me nuts to see/hear some of the stuff that goes on in the industry. I pride myself on the reputation I/we have here (my name comes up in some of our reviews); but if someone`s only had negative experiences they bring their bias against all mechanics to you as well. We are never afraid to bring people back to show them the repairs they need, where I know at the dealer for example I hear of many times where they won`t. Nothing like having a first time customer come in for a second opinion on a leak - you take them back under their car, point to where "they" quoted a repair being a major repair needed, and go "I think this is what they`re referring to? That`s called a seep (or worse when it`s only starting to sweat), not a leak. Let`s just keep an eye on it."

MD: Glad you`re happy with your guys as well. Are you just aligning to factory specs, or have you shifted numbers around for tire wear/handling at all? How bad are the roads there? Not downplaying the importance of tires and how they point, but 18 months seems pretty frequent.
 
I`ve shifted #s on the trakrat but after having the kiddos` I have not done any for the last couple seasons. The dailys I generally will have plates up front if someone`s making them .I don`t fudge much with OE #`s aside from tweaking - up front, and dialing out the toe a smigen from OE. Once the plates are are, it does get fudged in the ~red~ already upfront. I take it ur that guy that will ballast it per OE specs ;-)

3-4 year leaser. If I had to do a rough average, lets` say $350 per tire, $30 M&B. (tire shop A is like $25, my alignment shops run $35 or $40)(tire shop A has fancy hunter rack too but I don`t think they are skilled ....). It sounds kinda expensive, but I notice the difference in fresh rubber and driving home where it feels effortless on a fresh alignment. It`s a loss on rubber but I make some money back - either a forum member or CL will scoop them.

LOL. There is a place that offers $45 alignments I think. Never have checked it out nor do I plan.
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...
 
mobiledynamics said:
... 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...
Click to expand...

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.

mobiledynamics said:
Dont All the rear pumpkin seals and PS hoses weep...
Click to expand...

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...
 
Oneheadlite said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.

Oneheadlite said:
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."
Click to expand...

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").
 
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.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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...
 
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 ...
 
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