On my way to work Friday I managed to knock out my alignment driving over some rough roads. Pulled into Dean's Automotive hoping for a drop in appointment as they were close by work. Spoke with Peter and explained that I had some modifications on my car and wouldn't mind paying a bit extra to accommodate. Explained my issues and was told I'd get an update later in the day - perfect.
Call to check in around 3:30pm for an update and was told the car was almost put back together. Seems like just the alignment was knocked out then - perfect. I show up at 4pm expecting a simple pick up, but upon arrival I see that their technician was having trouble re-installing my front splitter. Not a big deal I thought, I know how painful it can be as I had originally installed it myself. Left a few pointers and was on my way to meet Peter at the service desk.
Alignment tech dropped off the spec sheet and it was SO off that I had to convince myself that the word ACTUAL actually said ACTUAL because those specs were what I expected from "BEFORE" (Red flag #1). So I ask Peter what's going on as this is stating that the alignment is now even further out of spec than when I brought it in. Turns out the technician had "turned the wheel when printing the sheet". Weird, but fine - just print me a new one then. They made it seem like it'd be a huge deal and waste of time "oh it's not that big of a deal, the alignment should be fine", but having managed my own shop in the Bay Area, kinda chose the wrong guy to pull a fast one on. (Red flag #2)
I figured, it's hot outside, end of the day, just get me a new printout and I'll be on my way. I come out to see what's taking so long and the alignment tech is redoing my alignment... That tells me they must not have performed the alignment to the designated specs in the beginning, (Red flag #3). On top of that, the alignment tech was asking me to help monitor the live readouts of my camber and toe and many mistakes were being made (incorrect adjustments, lots of repeat work, sloppy) (Red flag #4).
After the tech finally gets things into "Okay" status, as in I've had enough waiting and it's been over half an hour picking up my car, Peter decides to charge me the full price for the alignment totaling $175. Now, if it had been a smooth and uneventful pickup, I would have no problem paying full price+ for this job (taking into account my modified undertray). However, I had to basically argue for proper documentation (and get blamed for it at the end - I don't understand how it would be my fault?), hold your technician's hand while I cringed at their workmanship, and accept a sub-optimal alignment job. On top of that, I expected an inspection of my suspension/subframe while the car was up in the air (they needed to remove my splitter this way due to their alignment rack situation), and am now left with a shaky car.
The car is currently at a (trusted) shop being inspected. read more