Another dealership trick on front end alignment

[CKN]

I will give them the benefit of the doubt there, but what I question as an ex engineer is if you can actually get repeatable alignment values down to the 0.1 degree considering that part of the system is mounted in rubber and there are some clearances in the parts, especially after 10's of thousands of miles. Educate me.

No you can't get repeated results as stated above.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Of course an before and after alignment sheet is usually provided. Are those faked too?

The conspiracies theories on this board are out of whack..........

Just another day on here.

If they haven't put it on the rack yet and there is no tire wear, how do they know it needs an alignment?

I haven't had one in years - maybe a decade? Pretty much the only thing you can align on a vehicle now is the toe - and the spec on that is quite wide.

 

[t1snwrbrdr12]

The dealer I worked at had a brand new hunter Hawkeye set up OUTSIDE in the service lane for the lot attendants to hook up to your car at check in to sell you an alignment. Of course when your car is hooked up and checked on an uneven rutted up asphalt service lane with no slip plates your alignment measurements will all show red and off. Easy sell. Then we’d be pressured to align them as fast as possible on our old ass equipment. We only had the nice Hawkeye for the lot attendants in the lane!

 

[CKN]

If they haven't put it on the rack yet and there is no tire wear, how do they know it needs an alignment?

I haven't had one in years - maybe a decade? Pretty much the only thing you can align on a vehicle now is the toe - and the spec on that is quite wide.

How old is your vehicle?

 

[ammolab]

The $125.00 is actually a decent price for an alignment if one needs it................

It is except for the fact only 3-5% of alignment techs know how to do a complete and correct alignment or take the time to do it even if they do know how.

 

[MrJayhawk]

If they haven't put it on the rack yet and there is no tire wear, how do they know it needs an alignment?

I haven't had one in years - maybe a decade? Pretty much the only thing you can align on a vehicle now is the toe - and the spec on that is quite wide.

I’ve seen at some dealerships there is some kind of sensor mounted in floor you drive over in service lane and that is giving them the alignment. Now if that thing is accurate is another story.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Toyota made the dealership I work at buy these alignment checker machines. When a car drives into the service lane to meet the advisor the cars roll over it and it checks their alignment. It’s about half accurate most of the time it’s not accurate though. They have sold alignments on cars with less than 5,000 miles on them before. And not warranty alignments either as Toyota says they will not pay for them unless there is a complaint about the alignments just we had to buy the machines as they required all their dealerships to get it. I feel bad they do that.

 

[CKN]

It is except for the fact only 3-5% of alignment techs know how to do a complete and correct alignment or take the time to do it even if they do know how.

Here we go the dealer bashing.....and assuming all dealers techs are incompetent. This is what these threads turn in to...over and over and over again.

Get the shovel and bury this dead horse yet again............

 

[SC Maintenance]

How old is your vehicle?

There all in my sig.

 

[DBMaster]

Friends come to me with dealer service estimates for all the things their vehicles supposedly need done to them. I am concurrently disgusted and cautious. I'm disgusted because of the things everyone here is describing, but cautious because what happens if I tell someone not to do something and they have a failure as a result? (Unlikely, but always a possibility) The prices of vehicles are bad enough. It's unconscionable.

Think I'll call it FA (fiscal assault).

 

[CleanSump]

Upsell is common to many businesses. No getting bent over it. Last week I took our X3 in for a recall. They "recommended" I get new tires and tie rods. I declined, done. They're salesmen, that's what salesmen do.

 

[ammolab]

Here we go the dealer bashing.....and assuming all dealers techs are incompetent. This is what these threads turn in to...over and over and over again.

Get the shovel and bury this dead horse yet again............

Hey, you can have a different opinion without calling for censorship or silencing everyone who doesn’t agree with you.

 

[CKN]

Hey, you can have a different opinion without calling for censorship or silencing everyone who doesn’t agree with you.

No censorship-it shows by the high degree of repetition of threads anymore.

It was so much more entertaining on here when guys would brag about their $5,000.00 beater scores and how they were going to drive it 300,000 miles. Now those beaters are pushing 10 grand-and they are not buying!

 

[Hall]

Early in the game the tech comes out and says you need a new alighnment

Of course an before and after alignment sheet is usually provided. Are those faked too?

Sorry, my mistake..... I missed where the OP said they showed him the alignment sheet and how it was out of spec.

 

[CKN]

Sorry, my mistake..... I missed where the OP said they showed him the alignment sheet and how it was out of spec.

He should have asked for one. The Chevrolet dealer provided one to me-without asking.

 

[Bailey28]

I had a before and after alignment sheet shown to me. -0.01* camber on one side and the wanted me to agree to get the alignment. I said golly gee whiz shucks bless your heart no thanks.. I actually said something the mods won't let appear on this board but you get the point.. lol.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

I had a before and after alignment sheet shown to me. -0.01* camber on one side and the wanted me to agree to get the alignment. I said golly gee whiz shucks bless your heart no thanks.. I actually said something the mods won't let appear on this board but you get the point.. lol.

Mathematically this translates into the top of the tire leaning in about .006 in. Roughly the thickness of a sheet of paper.

 

[joekingcorvette]

Sorry, my mistake..... I missed where the OP said they showed him the alignment sheet and how it was out of spec.

They did show an alignment sheet but it was probably one they kept and showed to everyone. I highly doubt the vehicle needs an alignment.

 

[tmorris1]

My son just bought a 2023 Honda Accord Hybrid from a local dealer that seems pretty good. He has had it a month. He had the CVT fluid changed and they did an alignment check and all was good. Winter weather recently hit here so he decided on new tires. They are 19 inch so they are $$$. Tires Plus had a sale so he got them installed and when done they told him his alignment was way off. Showed him the sheet and some were almost 20 degrees off. He declined and said if they were that bad it would drive horrible. He had an appt at the dealer later that afternoon for a software recall. He showed them the alignment sheet from Tires Plus so they said they would check it since it was under warranty. They said it was dead nuts on. Tires Plus was either lying or completely incompetent and neither one is good.

 

[rszappa1]

I think you can get a alignment and then drive a few blocks to another place and they will find something to adjust.....