Auto Repair Shop Question

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Customer ran over something on the road and the vehicle was not drivable. Tire was sticking out.

Vehicle was towed to a shop recommended by the tow truck driver since their normal mechanic did not have availability.

Shop inspected vehicle and recommended replacing a passenger rear lateral arm, lower control arm, both rear shocks and a 4-wheel alignment. Customer approves all work and the vehicle is repaired and picked up.

Vehicle goes to their normal mechanic a week later for an oil change and during inspection, their mechanic finds both front lower control arm bushings to be worn out. Customer said other shop never informed them of this issue during the repair process.

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Questions for the group:

1) If a vehicle is towed into a shop for a suspension-related concern from the passenger rear corner, is it reasonable to expect for the entire suspension to be inspected?

2) Would you expect a shop to perform a complete suspension inspection before performing an alignment?

3) In this situation, does the customer have a right to be dissatisfied with the shop that performed the suspension repairs and alignment?
 
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Only because an alignment was performed. It's unacceptable to say a car is aligned when that alignment could drift due to the bad bushings.

If it were a situation where parts were replaced... under duress of a tow and the mechanic fitting the customer in... a communication could have been had that all that was done was enough to get back on the road. Since this sounds like a fancy rear end that requires 4-wheel alignment... the alignment was a correct part of the job-- incompletely performed.
 
Since an alignment was part of the job, an inspection of suspension components should have been performed.

Not sure what car this is, but in my experience, most shops don't mess with camber/caster adjustment on the front end unless it's specifically adjustable. I'm not saying that's best practice or doing a thorough job, bit it is what it is. So they may or may not be out an alignment if they choose to do the work on the front end. All shops are different and most customers know no better.

But yes, I would be upset with a shop that cut corners, unless this repair was done only to get vehicle back on the road as quickly / inexpensively as possible.
 
Only because an alignment was performed. It's unacceptable to say a car is aligned when that alignment could drift due to the bad bushings.

If it were a situation where parts were replaced... under duress of a tow and the mechanic fitting the customer in... a communication could have been had that all that was done was enough to get back on the road. Since this sounds like a fancy rear end that requires 4-wheel alignment... the alignment was a correct part of the job-- incompletely performed.
It is unclear what the circumstances were. Knowing this customer, he probably asked for the vehicle to be checked out and recommend appropriate repairs.

I should also mention that it is a very low mileage car < 40k but over 10 years old.
 
If the first shop had presented the customer with an estimate for replacing parts not on the initial list, what are the chances the customer immediately assumes malice by greed and creates a thread on this very site complaining about how the shop was trying to milk them for more money than necessary by replacing parts they didn’t need to?
 
If the first shop had presented the customer with an estimate for replacing parts not on the initial list, what are the chances the customer immediately assumes malice by greed and creates a thread on this very site complaining about how the shop was trying to milk them for more money than necessary by replacing parts they didn’t need to?
I guess it depends on how the shop presents the matter.

A good service writer (and shop) will always address the original complaint first, but also make the client aware of other potential issues so that they can make an informed decision.
 
1) If a vehicle is towed into a shop for a suspension-related concern from the passenger rear corner, is it reasonable to expect for the entire suspension to be inspected?
This is iffy. I'd expect the tech to focus more on where the damage was and maybe give a cursory glance to the rest.

2) Would you expect a shop to perform a complete suspension inspection before performing an alignment?
Yes. Can't align a sloppy suspension.

3) In this situation, does the customer have a right to be dissatisfied with the shop that performed the suspension repairs and alignment?
Was the alignment performed in conjunction with the rear repair or just "recommend?" I would expect at least a refund on the front end alignment.
 
I guess it depends on how the shop presents the matter.

A good service writer (and shop) will always address the original complaint first, but also make the client aware of other potential issues so that they can make an informed decision.
From what I’ve seen, some folks will stop at nothing to be offended and assume they being taken advantage of by automotive shops. And to be fair, some shops give others a bad name, but the automatic assumption of guilt is unnecessary and unhelpful IMHO.
 
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