Need an alignment in Northern VA (DC area)
01-29-2009, 11:00 PM
#33
Race Car
I just got back from funKtion Auto. The short of it is...I'm disappointed. Here's the long version...
They spent 1.5 hours actually working on the car. The tech moved slower than I normally would have, but that's how long he spent actually working on the car (including walking around the shop collecting tools and joking with the other employees). He spent another 10 minutes taking a test drive. an additional 30 minutes was spent with the car in various locations between the parking lot and the alignment rack. If you've been to funKtion before, you know that there is a great observation window in the lounge from which you can watch everything in the shop. I planted myself in one of the chairs right at the window and kept an eye on my car while I read a book and got online.
They charged me $250 because, in their words, "it didn't take the full three hours". The implication being that their shop rate is $100 an hour. By my math, They should have made the charge to me $167. If you add in the time that I spent there when nothing was being done on the car, it's $216. I can see how $150 is a doable rate for an alignment on the car and I believe that someone may have gotten that before at funKtion. They were not so fair with me.
I picked up the car from the detailer this morning. It was spotless. I drove it 15 miles to funKtion. I was very very careful to avoid standing water, sand collected in the road, stay well back from other cars, etc. When I got to funKtion, I took a walk around the car to see how I had done. A little bit of salt/grime spray behind the wheels, nothing major. When I got it back from funKtion, there was spray all over the windshield, well up onto the door panels, etc. When the tech did the test drive, he clearly could care less about the cleanliness of the car.
When the tech was working on my car, he kept his greasy gloves on every time he opened the door and got in the car. I haven't yet wiped it off of the door handle, but I'll have to do that when I get home.
When the tech came in from his test (or is it joy?) ride, he said "the steering wheel is a little to the left, but the roads are so bad I couldn't get a good test drive in". Not Just a couple of hundred yards from the entrance to their parking lot is a perfectly dry and clear road. Which connects to even more and bigger dry and clear roads. The roads are FINE. In fact, the route he took, he had to take at least one of those roads to make the the circuit. Base on how long he was gone, he must have taken a bunch of them. His excuse was just that, an excuse.
The steering wheel does, in fact, point slightly to the left. It did NOT do that when I brought it in. And that is something that SHOULD have been done right when it was on the rack. I've done alignments, my car's ride height is within spec and suspension components are almost new. It shouldn't have been a big deal to get it right the first time.
The car does not appear to pull, and I did get a print out of the final alignment measurements so I can compare them to the WSM.
Like I said, I'm disappointed. I feel I got charged for time that they weren't working on the car, in fact, charged for time that I wasn't even on the property. The steering wheel alignment is a very real and present impression to the driver of the vehicle's alignment. Aside from the wheels themselves, the steering wheel being off center is ridiculous at a $100 an hour labor rate. And to top it off, the car was much dirtier when they gave it back to me. I drove it further and (I hope) faster than they did on their test drive, but managed to keep it in much better condition. By looking around the facility you can see that the money is going to VERY nice digs (think dot-com). I wish that they would spend more on acquiring better technicians.
I'll keep funKtion on my vendor list as a "last resort" place, but when I need something done, I'll be trying other places first. I wouldn't recommend them as a first choice to others either. Perhaps Walid takes better care of cars and charges more fairly, but my impression of funKtion is based on my first hand experience. Definitely not a positive experience. I can only imagine the outcome if I hadn't been there the entire time.
V/r,
Chris
They spent 1.5 hours actually working on the car. The tech moved slower than I normally would have, but that's how long he spent actually working on the car (including walking around the shop collecting tools and joking with the other employees). He spent another 10 minutes taking a test drive. an additional 30 minutes was spent with the car in various locations between the parking lot and the alignment rack. If you've been to funKtion before, you know that there is a great observation window in the lounge from which you can watch everything in the shop. I planted myself in one of the chairs right at the window and kept an eye on my car while I read a book and got online.
They charged me $250 because, in their words, "it didn't take the full three hours". The implication being that their shop rate is $100 an hour. By my math, They should have made the charge to me $167. If you add in the time that I spent there when nothing was being done on the car, it's $216. I can see how $150 is a doable rate for an alignment on the car and I believe that someone may have gotten that before at funKtion. They were not so fair with me.
I picked up the car from the detailer this morning. It was spotless. I drove it 15 miles to funKtion. I was very very careful to avoid standing water, sand collected in the road, stay well back from other cars, etc. When I got to funKtion, I took a walk around the car to see how I had done. A little bit of salt/grime spray behind the wheels, nothing major. When I got it back from funKtion, there was spray all over the windshield, well up onto the door panels, etc. When the tech did the test drive, he clearly could care less about the cleanliness of the car.
When the tech was working on my car, he kept his greasy gloves on every time he opened the door and got in the car. I haven't yet wiped it off of the door handle, but I'll have to do that when I get home.
When the tech came in from his test (or is it joy?) ride, he said "the steering wheel is a little to the left, but the roads are so bad I couldn't get a good test drive in". Not Just a couple of hundred yards from the entrance to their parking lot is a perfectly dry and clear road. Which connects to even more and bigger dry and clear roads. The roads are FINE. In fact, the route he took, he had to take at least one of those roads to make the the circuit. Base on how long he was gone, he must have taken a bunch of them. His excuse was just that, an excuse.
The steering wheel does, in fact, point slightly to the left. It did NOT do that when I brought it in. And that is something that SHOULD have been done right when it was on the rack. I've done alignments, my car's ride height is within spec and suspension components are almost new. It shouldn't have been a big deal to get it right the first time.
The car does not appear to pull, and I did get a print out of the final alignment measurements so I can compare them to the WSM.
Like I said, I'm disappointed. I feel I got charged for time that they weren't working on the car, in fact, charged for time that I wasn't even on the property. The steering wheel alignment is a very real and present impression to the driver of the vehicle's alignment. Aside from the wheels themselves, the steering wheel being off center is ridiculous at a $100 an hour labor rate. And to top it off, the car was much dirtier when they gave it back to me. I drove it further and (I hope) faster than they did on their test drive, but managed to keep it in much better condition. By looking around the facility you can see that the money is going to VERY nice digs (think dot-com). I wish that they would spend more on acquiring better technicians.
I'll keep funKtion on my vendor list as a "last resort" place, but when I need something done, I'll be trying other places first. I wouldn't recommend them as a first choice to others either. Perhaps Walid takes better care of cars and charges more fairly, but my impression of funKtion is based on my first hand experience. Definitely not a positive experience. I can only imagine the outcome if I hadn't been there the entire time.
V/r,
Chris
Sorry your experience wasn't what you expected.
Michael
02-02-2009, 08:47 AM
#34
Burning Brakes
Chris,
I've had 4 alignments done in the past two years. 3 because I was trying to find a ride height I liked. It's a little late, but Executive Tire in Rockville does a great job for less than $120 with the proper equipment.
You steering wheel is more than likely cocked because the guy doing the alignment did not square the steering rack. There is a plastic "screw" that needs to be removed on the steering rack to expose a hole. This hole is used to line up a dimple of the rack to let you know the rack is centered. Then all adjustments are made relative to this position after the steering wheel is locked or a bolt is threaded into the hole. Funktion does not specialize in alignments. As much as I like the shop, I would go to a guy that does alignments all day.
I would suggest you only take vendor advice from people that have actually used the recommended vendors.
I've had 4 alignments done in the past two years. 3 because I was trying to find a ride height I liked. It's a little late, but Executive Tire in Rockville does a great job for less than $120 with the proper equipment.
You steering wheel is more than likely cocked because the guy doing the alignment did not square the steering rack. There is a plastic "screw" that needs to be removed on the steering rack to expose a hole. This hole is used to line up a dimple of the rack to let you know the rack is centered. Then all adjustments are made relative to this position after the steering wheel is locked or a bolt is threaded into the hole. Funktion does not specialize in alignments. As much as I like the shop, I would go to a guy that does alignments all day.
I would suggest you only take vendor advice from people that have actually used the recommended vendors.
