Threw on the winter wheels last night and figured i would get an alignment just to make sure everything was good. took the car to the closest place (pep boys) which i have no negative bias towards, and really who can eff up an alignment. dropped it off this morning, they advertised for a free alignment check so i invoked. came back 40 min later to find that the mech was still out on a (almost 25 min long) "test" drive. they said i needed an alignment so i went ahead and let them. waited all day no call to say it was done. call around closing time to ask if they had finished they said yes but they had no print out of pre and post alignment measurements. i plan on complaining tomorrow morning

moral of my rant...would you guys pay for an alignment with no proof of the work actually being done. i didnt trust these guys from the beginning and should have told them i wanted to take it elsewhere but i didnt sooooo...what do you think, do i have an argument or am i being a whiner??

 

That is kind of ridiculous that they didnt give you a print out and an alignment shouldnt take more than a few hours unless they were really swamped. I think you have a good argument just dont be an *** but be firm

 

if it was a shop i trust, i'd pay. if not, i'd complain and try to see if i could get out of it. i mean first of all, they shouldn't be out with your car for more than 5 min.

 

Oh ya.. they took it out for rides.. Bitch and complain tell they tell you to leave, then get 40 cents a mile for the 'test drives'.

 

if the mechanic knows what the hell he is doing he should be able to tell u if u need an alignment just by looking at the tires... i know u said u had new tires put on.. did u do the alignment at the same time? or the next day?

either way, they should have been able to hook it to the alignment rack and the computer would be able to tell if its off or not.. if its a free check they should do it the RIGHT way, not the drive around the block method

 

yeah really.. the most they should have driven the car was in the shop, then they push it about a foot back and forward to reset the suspension after adjusting...

a 25 min test drive is unnecessary.
And I would certainly demand a print out of what they did..
Dont they have to do that, like legally?

 

I'm not sure if it's a legal thing, but could be, just like if you go to a shop to have a part replaced, they have to provide you with the old part if you ask for it...

Without the pre and post numbers, it sounds to me like the work was never done You might have a chance.

 

Just went in to talk to the manager who put up little resistance we both agreed its kind of stupid to pay for work with no proof. He just handed me my key and i walked out.

would have loved to pay and see the numbers before and after but i guess no harm no foul....

thanks all

 

Hey, glad that worked out for you!

Now the question is, was the work actually done, or do you still need an allignment?

 

how many miles did they put on your car? did u check that? is anything missing from inside? like did they steal anything?