Because we all love Dealer service disasters

Took my truck in for an oil change and asked to have the wheels aligned and was specific about wanting caster maxed out. Of course printout was no where to be found. After asking if it was adjusted was given this with a response "yep, it needed to be adjusted". A little pressing and insisting that they could pull it up from the machine, I was given this amazing piece of work! Hilarity ensued when I had the service writer get the service manager and asked him to explain what I was looking at. I gave him the chance to be honest, he wasn't.

 

Lame

 

How are the LCA cam bolts? Are they frozen? That's info I would want to know before I take it in for adjustment. If they're frozen those alignment tabs on the frame will get flattened as soon as the tech tries to turn the bolt. It'll need bolts and sleeves, sometimes they need to be cut out.

Crawl under there with a wrench and check for yourself. If they're stuck they did you a favor by not touching it

 

What kind of UCA do you have that you want caster maxed out?

 

my experience with dealerships they don’t set up alignment to customer requests . They will set to Toyota specifications . For modified alignments best to go to an independent shop .

 

Normally I would agree, but I took it to the same dealer a year ago and had one of the best alignments I have seen. The tech took the time to review the specs. This time. No review. Just a .03 degree of an adjustment and a $129 charge. The best part being that there isn't a single tool mark anywhere. The tech thought he could pull a scam and got caught. Undoubtedly when the service manager can't read a printout, the techs can do whatever they want.

 

Point being the tech didn't even try. Zero tool marks on anything. Tie rods show zero sign of being hit with a wrench. Same layer of grime that I brought it in with.

Stock UCAs and they are not adjustable. Caster is adjusted by the cams on the LCA.

 

The point is, do you want to be the one to find out if they're frozen or do you want to let the tech find out? Because if he's the one that finds out they'll be coming back to you with a price for replacement bolts and flattened tabs. And the damage will already be done

I get it, they should have communicated better. But asking for an alignment without knowing the condition of those adjusters is setting yourself up for a bad experience

 

Is why most people stay away from dealers.

I thought you were going to tell us that they set your truck on fire, and they wanted to charge you for using the fire extinguisher to save there building from burning down.

 

My experience also, go to an independent shop for anything outside factory specifcation.

 

I don't go to the stealership for nuthin'. Once my warranty and free oil changes were done, I was out of there.

Mind you, I have no horror stories to share, but you gotta find yourself a good garage you can trust.

 

A "disaster" would be the dealer tech forgetting to put oil the engine during an oil change or your truck backing into a pole and fixed without disclosing the damage to you. This is just another day.

 

Agreed. If it weren't for the carfax history they add, I wouldn't bother. Sadly for this dealer, I got lucky last time witht he alignment and probably got the one tech that cared. What cracked me up was the service manager tried to defend it. He tells me that it is a lot of work to do an alignment check and that most of the work is the set up. Having to drive it on the rack and set up the machine. He then goes on to ask if I think the tech should work for free. Of course my response is a no, but then I ask if it is fair to charge me for adjustments that weren't made. I then added that they checked the brakes without charging me for a brake job. I mean on a Tacoma a brake check is most of the work with racking it, taking off the wheels. To do a pad slap at that point only adds 5 minutes to the job. He had no response.

I have no problem paying for work, but when someone tries to pull something shady like this, I draw the line. Bumping a head or bouncing a suspension to get red to go to green really give the business a bad name.

 

Looks like a toe-n-go to me. I've had independent shops attempt the same shit. There just aren't many minimum-wage mechanics that know how to turn something beyond the locknut on the tie rod.

 

Agree that you see the same with independent shops. I had it happen with a mom and pop single location shop. It is really a problem with the way the industry markets alignments and not just the dealers. It should be priced by the work done, not a one size fits all and has gotten worse. In the old days there was a front end alignment, a thrust angle alignment, and a 4 wheel alignment. These days, they call it all 4 wheel alignments. That is shady on it's own because you can't adjust the rear, and if you have a solid front axle, you only have a toe adjustment. There is a big difference between the amount of time it takes to set the toe vs having to do a rear camber and toe adjustment (no caster on the rear), followed by adjusting camber and caster on the front, and then setting toe followed by centering the steering wheel. If you were to compare the amount of time to do a 4 wheel alignment on a CTS with sliding control arms vs a toe set on a jeep wrangler, you are probably looking at an hour and a half difference. There is no way they should be priced the same.

Then add into the nonsene of putting a warranty on an alignment and it gets worse. There is no way you can guarantee the directions the wheels point once it leaves the shop. It isn't like there is anything you can do better. The worst were those lifetime alignments. You simply can't guarantee that.

 

Out them

 

I don’t get it. You never gave any info on if you were stock drivetrain. The Toe was adjusted. You were already maxed out caster when it went in the rack. If I setup your vehicle on a machine to check it and then it doesn’t need adjusting you get the one hour shop minimum rate, not a complimentary check.

I guess my take is a little different. I have had lifetime alignment from Firestone. Not all Firestones or techs are the same, but I have great experiences walking back with the tech to go over aftermarket equipment alignment.


EDIT: I do draw the line with integrity though. The service manager should have a clue or bring out the tech and not BS. I hate liars and thieves.

 

You're not going to want to hear this but $129 ain't shit in auto repair land.. That's maybe 40 minutes labor time. They adjust the toe, everything else is in the green, that's it.. on to the next one. You don't get into "comprehensive" alignment territory until you get up into the 1.5 hour range - like 300$ or so..

The price alone was the first warning it was going to be a quickie job

 

On my heavier trucks... if the alignment is good and it tracks straight... I don't let anyone near it unless it needs something.

Good for you to ask for the specs.

Imagine taking a vintage car with custom suspension to a shop and asking them to go "outside" the norms. Deer in the headlights look at most shops.

I do my own alignment on the older stuff... have alignment plats, camber / caster tools and a couple of long bars for toe. Takes time, but i can only blame myself if it doesn't work.

 

No, Toe was not adjusted. Did you look at the printout? That is the issue. The tech tried to be shady and got caught. If he had at least put a wrench on the jam nut and scuffed the adjuster, I couldn't have said anything, but the guy was so lazy or arrogant that he bumped a head or bounced the suspension to get the numbers green.

Now caster was in spec. That was the point they tried to make. They had no idea caster was maxed out because they made no attempt to adjust. Much like the tie rods, had he slapped a wrench on it, I couldn't say anything, but he didn't even try.

I agree with your position on charging for the check. I have no problem paying for that, but no different than a free brake check or any other inspection, if you offer it, you should stand behind it. I would be happy to see all 'free' checks go away and pay for the actual work. The idea that it all balances out for the tech isn't the most fair solution. No different than you having paid for a 4 wheel lifetime alignment. You will never get all 4 wheels adjusted and does it really fair that you can continue to bring it back for free? At some point you either paid too much because you never took it back or you took advantage of the shop by getting more than you entitled labor for what you paid. Alignments are really poorly marketed, but generate huge margins. It is probably one of the only repairs that is pure labor.