After a bad experience at a local shop when I first got my car, nobody else will ever touch my car again except for maybe an alignment- but now I'm not even sure about that.

Upon my recommendation a friend bought a well maintained early 944 in need of an alignment. He took it to a different shop, also with a very good reputation with 944's. When he picked it up he was told they "had a hard time with it" and it took several tries to get it right. After the alignment the steering wheel was straight but it still wandered more than it should. Soon after that the steering rack started to leak so we brought it to my house to replace the steering rack and all the "while you're in there" stuff like ball joints, bushings, etc.

Once the steering rack was out it became obvious why the alignment was difficult- one of the inner tie rod ends is shot and has a few mm of axial play. Today we should get it all back together an it will be good as new, but most likely need another alignment.

So my question is, is it fair to ask the shop to align it again at no charge? I think if they had a hard time aligning it they should have figured out there was a bad tie rod end.

 

It is fair to say, that if the shop is in fact familair with 944s, he would have noticed the tie-rod before charging you for the alignment. However, I don't think it warrants a free alignment.
I guess it depends on if you go in there in a "huff" so to speak, and have them admit that they should have told you about it before undertaking the alignment.
If it was me, I'd take it as a loss and move on. Seems more trouble than its worth to argue with the mechanic about buisness protocol and ethics.
He did what you told him. And you paid him for the service.

 

I think it'd be too late to ask for a free alignment now. I know you're telling the truth, but any chump could use that story claiming the tie rod was bad previous to the alignment when in reality it went bad after and they are just trying to get a free service. I'm with exmainer. Just take the hit and go to a different shop.

 

How bout going to a well respected mechanic that isn't necessarily Porsche related?

 

I would go to a mechanic that is well respected. It will cost you more up front but it will save you your time because it will be done right the first time

 

They are well respected. I have a good enough relationship with them from buying lots of parts that I feel I can at least ask them to give him a discount. I'm a little surprised that you guys don't think that would be fair.

 

It's not about being fair, I think, in these types of situations. Its more of a time is money issue.
I know many respected mechanics, that in this type of situation, would do the same thing.
Unless you know him personally, its difficult to ask for a free service that is strictly labor and time. But thats just me, I kind of roll with the punches when it comes to driving and maintaining this thing.

 

Replacing the steering rack wouldn't require an entire alignment and would only require adjusting the toe. Even if you have to pay for that work, it believe it is only .4hrs on the book, so whatever their hourly labor rate times .4hrs is should be the cost.

If you really wanted to avoid the cost you could adjust the toe yourself - it won't be as exact as a true alignment rack, but it would still work pretty well (er, in theory). The only issue I could see you having would be the steering wheel being off center, but if you're wanting to avoid the costs of alignments I would think you could deal with a crooked wheel. lol

 

I wouldn't go back, I also wouldn't ask for a discount. I've found that most people who actually know what they're doing will be irritated by this. YMMV

 

It's his problem....not yours.

 

As a shop, if a customer came in and explained the situation like this, I would have no problems covering the alignment. It (worn out parts) shouldn't have been missed in the first place, but the techs are only human and do make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. If you say that you don't ever make mistakes at work, then you are lying to yourself, what seperates the good from the bad, are the guys who go back and fix those mistakes. This is why you build a good solid relationship with your shop, and they will take care of you when stuff like this happens. If they don't, then move on to the next one.

 

Also as a shop owner I would just eat the labor and correct the job. I would rather have a happy customer than a angry one that spreads BS about the shop all over the internet and the local car groups. Especially when you live on a small island. and most of the time the customer is happy and you still made some $ off the part.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

With that attitude, I'm guessing you don't have any friends.

Thank you Karl, I would expect that answer from you.

The reason I posted was to get opinions, not to spread BS that's why I didn't name the shop. As I said before, I have a good relationship with them but you're right about keeping customers happy. That's the way it works for just about any kind of business.

After thinking about it, it would have needed to be aligned again anyway because of the rack replacement. Billthe3 you may be right about only needing a toe adjustment, but considering that the a-arm bushings and balljoints are new also, maybe not. Having never done an alignment, I think what it comes down to is this: The tie rod would have turned several revolutions without moving the wheel. Could the alignment have been done without realizing that?

 

If they were having trouble aligning it, the guys should have been smart enough to figure out "why" they were having a hard time. If it is noted in the tech's service notes that they did indeed have a hard time aligning it, bring the old tie-rod with you and present your argument with a cool head, they should take care of it for free if they are stand-up guys. The shops that I have worked at in the past required a "thorough" inspection of all suspension components before an alignment. They should have recognized the problem before the car even hit the rack and notified you before turning a wrench.

 

I took my old motorcycle (MY 1980) to the dealer where they were training up a relatively new mechanic. The guy had some considerable trouble with the bike getting the valve cover to not leak. The SM wrote off a little bit of the guy's time since he was new and learning. Maybe you got the new guy?

Yesterday I was in again and the SM helped to synch my carbs. It was like watching a guy tune a guitar. Really cool to watch him fix something I screwed up.