Alignment problems
09-26-2006, 09:20 PM
#1
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Alignment problems
Went to Sears today and asked to get an alignment.
Had to help the guy writing up the ticket with the computer and help him spell alignment...
Waited for an hour and a half to finally get a seemingly 15 year old kid to drive the car through the parking lot to check it and then drive it on the ramp. After he finally got it straight on the ramp he attempted to get the "reflectors' or whatever they might be mounted to my rims. My rims are turbo twist 17" rims. After scratching the hell out of one of my rims he called another tech, they tried some more and he finally concluded that "the protective lip of the tire prevents him to mount the device and I should go to a Porsche dealer". ?????????????
He actually tried to squeeze small pins between the rim and the tire.
The alignment machine was a Hunter DSP 400.
Has anyone had this done and watched how they actually mount these reflectors to the rim?
What should I do now? I didn't pay anything, but I do not need to get my rims more scratched up as they already are...
Had to help the guy writing up the ticket with the computer and help him spell alignment...
Waited for an hour and a half to finally get a seemingly 15 year old kid to drive the car through the parking lot to check it and then drive it on the ramp. After he finally got it straight on the ramp he attempted to get the "reflectors' or whatever they might be mounted to my rims. My rims are turbo twist 17" rims. After scratching the hell out of one of my rims he called another tech, they tried some more and he finally concluded that "the protective lip of the tire prevents him to mount the device and I should go to a Porsche dealer". ?????????????
He actually tried to squeeze small pins between the rim and the tire.
The alignment machine was a Hunter DSP 400.
Has anyone had this done and watched how they actually mount these reflectors to the rim?
What should I do now? I didn't pay anything, but I do not need to get my rims more scratched up as they already are...
09-26-2006, 09:31 PM
#2
Under the Lift
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The reflector bracket legs do go between the tire and rim. These guys have the right machine but obviously not the right training or experience in using it.
09-26-2006, 09:31 PM
#3
Chronic Tool Dropper
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I had mine done with the same machine at a different place. Front tires are Mich PS-2's, which have a pretty serious protective bead just out from the edge of the rim. Alignmnet guy pushed the pins in between the rim and the tire edge painlessly, and went about his business of aligning the car. No muss, no fuss.
Recommendation: Try a different store, or talk with the manager to get someone senior to do the work. Explain how critical the alignment is, and that the tires and wheels are too expensive for them to replace if the job is botched by the junior assistant floor-sweeper trainee.
Sears and other chain stores seem to get a pretty skewed cross-section of people to work on the cars. The upper extremes of the statistical telent bell curve too often seem lower than the bottom end though. The good news is that the Hunter machine itself takes a lot of the judgement out of the tech's hands. If he can get the car on the rails and get the lasers mounted, the machine will tell him when it's right and when it's not. The amount of time needed to get it right becomes the variable.
Just don't let them lift the car.
Recommendation: Try a different store, or talk with the manager to get someone senior to do the work. Explain how critical the alignment is, and that the tires and wheels are too expensive for them to replace if the job is botched by the junior assistant floor-sweeper trainee.
Sears and other chain stores seem to get a pretty skewed cross-section of people to work on the cars. The upper extremes of the statistical telent bell curve too often seem lower than the bottom end though. The good news is that the Hunter machine itself takes a lot of the judgement out of the tech's hands. If he can get the car on the rails and get the lasers mounted, the machine will tell him when it's right and when it's not. The amount of time needed to get it right becomes the variable.
Just don't let them lift the car.
