I took my car to Pepboys today to get my wheels aligned because I changed all four of my tie rod ends. I am not very satisfied with how they treated my car or the outcome of the alignment. First off the person who drove my car into the shop decided to see how bad my alignment was to begin with apparently and took it for a quick drive in the parking lot... as in he drove the car quick and beat on it... I got over that and i didnt care all too much but it wasnt very professional of them. They took my car in and did what they needed to do, my alignment was horrible to begin with so basically anything that they did would be better then nothing. He gave me the car back and said it was alot better, I took his word for it and then i asked is it going to pull at all and he said it shouldnt be but he didnt take it on the highway to find out. They said they werent able to adjust that because it involves drilling a hole in the strut tower and adjusting the struts or something to that nature. I got on the road and it pulls to the left drastically... now what, is what they are saying true? how hard is it to adjust the alignment??

 

Go back and demand to see the manager. Tell him you want what you paid for. If he can not deliver, get a refund. If you have any problems with them still, go see your local Better Buissness Bureau. Just mentioning that, should get them seeing your way. If things were too bad to align, (other worn parts), they should tell you that they can not align it properly, before trying to align it.

 

I called them up a few minutes ago telling them that i was not satisfied with the alignment, I didnt even mention them beating on my car. They told me to bring it in tommorow and they will see what they can do. Before they did anything I made them completly aware to make sure to check out the pitman and idler arms b.c those were parts that i didnt replace when i did the 4 tie rod ends, when they came out with my keys i asked what he thought about the pitman arm and he said "to be honest i didnt even look because it looked like you replaced all the other suspension components..." apparently the person I talked to didnt talk to the person who worked on my car... Really what did I pay for, they didnt do a full alignment if my car still pulls in one direction right? If they cant do an alignment because of a different component should I ask for my money back becuase it wasnt done right or do i still have to pay because they put it on that machine? I do all other work on my car on my own, everything... except for alignments because i want them done right and now look, it wasnt even done right. How hard is it to adjust the caster and camber?

 

Well, they said bring it in. You must allow them to "make it right". They should not charge you a dime more, though. They do reserve the right to take care of you, and make sure you are satisfied.

 

tell them that you want it redone and tell(dont ask, tell them) them that you want summary print out. this way you can see what they did. it will have the before and after specs. i do alignments at my job and if a customer asks for a summary print out, we give it to them.

 

The pitman arm isn't a wear part...the center-link that connects to the pitman has the wear joint. Idler arm is a commonly worn part. Ball joints absolutely must be checked(dangerous if they fail and may not be as obvious as a bad tie-rod). I'd just get a refund and take it to a different shop. They don't know what they are doing. A thirdgen is a very easy alignment (I used to do alignments for a living). Checking for worn parts is an absolute must. Post alignment test drive...it should drive perfect or it goes back in the shop to find out why. Never abuse a customer's car. All the third-gens I've ever did always were adjusted to the exact spec...not within the 'OK' specs. Why? because they are just too easy to adjust camber/caster to not get them perfect. In fact, if it was me doing the alignment I'd suggest different than the stock specs for better tire wear and cornering. Something like:
.25 + camber
4 + caster
1/16 + toe in
For normal driving

Mine is set for more spirited driving with about -.5 camber and +4.5 caster(max on my car) and 1/16 toe. Seriously think about getting a refund and finding a real alignment shop Some of these shops think tossing a car on the rack and adjusting the toe is an alignment...when it's way more than that.

 

If I remember correctly thirdgens don't require any drilling to adjust camber or caster. They should just need to loosen the strut tower bolts. Some cars do have spot welds on the stut towers that must be drilled out to allow adjustment (although you should never have to as long as you're at the correct ride height and don't have any bent components...and the cradle is centered, if applicable).

 

Thanks guys, I am going back today. I will tell you how it turns out. I am going to get a summary print out this time.
82camaro: I will give them another chance to get it perfect otherwise I will want my money back.
Thanks again,
Dennis

 

I went back and it seems alot better, not perfect at higher speeds but alot better for everyday driving.
I got both sheets from yesterday and today. Here is what they say:
Yesterdays:

Caster
Left 4.9=== ---
Right 5.6=== ---

Camber
Left .4=== .3
Right .4=== .5

Toe
Left 4.1=== 4.2
Right .8 === .7
Total 4.9 === 4.9


Todays:

Caster
Left 4.5 === 4.0
Right 4.9 === 4.9

Camber
Left .9 === -.1
Right .3 === .3

Toe
Left -.1 === .05
Right .55 === .0
Total .45 === .05

 

You need to go back one more time...

...for a refund. That alignment sucks. Those idiots at pepboys couldn't even get the caster and camber the same on both sides. Might be OK if you're 75, grey-haired, and happy to be able to still drive, but not for anyone that's gonna push their car. You need to get the alignment specs from the faqs section for street driving, go somewhere else, show them that you want it set like this, and if they can't do it keep searching until you find a competent shop that can do it.



Caster Camber Toe Total
(deg) (deg) (in)
****** L **R**L**R
Street +4 +4.5 -.5 -.5 3/32
Hard Street +5 +5.5 -1 -1 3/32