Cost For Alignment

EppNation said:

Same can be said about most franchised auto repair companies. Griping about how mechanics all rip you off has long become a socially acceptable complaint. Similar to unfavorable weather, or pollen season, or rush hour traffic, etc.

Yes, I have gotten that list too, and at first I was convinced it was all BS as I never let the truck out of sight, and watched every move the tech made performing alignment. How could they possibly tell me that I was due for a diff service??
I've since learned, those lists are almost always software generated based on your year/make/model/miles on odo, and almost always extremely accurate to what the vehicle needs based on the way the average drivers maintains their vehicle.
The average driver maintains their vehicle very poorly in case you weren't aware. Absolute minimalists, full well knowing they just need to keep the car sellable for the short time they own it before they're onto their next one.
Who would pay thousands and thousands of dollars of maintenance during a cars first 50K when they no it will be someone else's problem and there and something else new??
It's ******, but the logic is sound.

I digress... there is no obligation to have any more work done by Firestone while redeeming my lifetime alignment.
Depending on my mood my response is either "thank you I'll review this list tonight when I'm home". Or "I do all my own maintenance, but tell your robot to go **** himself".

Any vehicle still on the road as a daily driver beyond 10 years is already an anomaly to the statistic. Shouldn't take things so personal. They're just trying to stay in business, would you have the same attitude to a contractor who came in to fix your roof but noticed you needed new windows and tried to acquire that work from you at that time?? Probably not

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kennythewelder said:

I was a mechanic @ 2 new car dealers in my life. Granted it was a long time ago. And as mentioned, your Firestone may be grate. But its its just not like that where I live. I have had issues with them time and time again, and so has my family, and friends. The last time I set foot in a Firestone was in about 2010, when my wife had a PT Crusier. I admit they are garbage, but the tech wanted to change front end parts that just were not bad, along with the computer generated list your talking about. After tell them I would do any of the front end work myself, the story started to change. It was oh, this is just a recommendation based on the millage and the year. They still had me change both of the wheel bearings. So I pulled them off, and took them to a machine shop to have the old bearings pressed off and new ones pressed on. The machine shop said, there is nothing wrong with these bearings, but we will do the work if you want. Well since I had new bearings already, I just had it done. I bring the car back to Firestone, and did the life time alignment. Next time I went back, it was another issue, as it was the time after that. I will never set foot in any Firestone shop again, anywhere. I know enough about mechanics to do my own work, I just dont own a front alignment machine.

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EppNation said:

You do realize you're letting them 'win' by failing to redeem your lifetime alignment and simply declining additional work... You do realize this don't you?

OK, so the caveat to the lifetime alignment is that mildly awkward moment where you say "no" to all the extra when you go to pick up your keys from the counter.

Whoopty freakin Doo!
If you're that uncomfortable declining offers from employees in their workplace (remember, this is THEIR JOB. Most of them don't like this moment either) then get creative!
Pretend like you're on the phone running late to _______________ (fill in you're own made up emergency).
If you feel like busting balls, then go over every line item and ask in detail: what is this? What does it do? Do I need it? Why? Why is it broken? What else could break if this is left as is? Why is it so expensive? Response: interesting, ok, I'll have to put some thought into making this decision.

Who knows, you might learn something. You may loose any faith you had at all in the establishment, or you may gain more then you thought possible.

Imagine this attitude in a restaurant. You walk in, sit down, first thing you're asked: "can I get you something to drink?"
You respond: "well, I am thirsty but... is it extra?"

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EppNation said:

You do realize you're letting them 'win' by failing to redeem your lifetime alignment and simply declining additional work... You do realize this don't you?

OK, so the caveat to the lifetime alignment is that mildly awkward moment where you say "no" to all the extra when you go to pick up your keys from the counter.

Whoopty freakin Doo!
If you're that uncomfortable declining offers from employees in their workplace (remember, this is THEIR JOB. Most of them don't like this moment either) then get creative!
Pretend like you're on the phone running late to _______________ (fill in you're own made up emergency).
If you feel like busting balls, then go over every line item and ask in detail: what is this? What does it do? Do I need it? Why? Why is it broken? What else could break if this is left as is? Why is it so expensive? Response: interesting, ok, I'll have to put some thought into making this decision.

Who knows, you might learn something. You may loose any faith you had at all in the establishment, or you may gain more then you thought possible.

Imagine this attitude in a restaurant. You walk in, sit down, first thing you're asked: "can I get you something to drink?"
You respond: "well, I am thirsty but... is it extra?"

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Knuckle Dragger said:

lot of anger in this thread LOL

My question, why would you have to take the wheel bearings to a machine shop to find out if they were bad or not if you have all this experience? Shouldn't you have been able to tell if they were good or bad in the car?

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kennythewelder said:

I never saw an issue with them to start with. Almost no one in my town will press bearings. The machine shop, just conformed what I knew to start with. But the only way I could get Firestone to do the lifetime or any alignment was to replace what the tech found to be bad, whether it was bad or not. And at the time, I wanted the life time alignment as this was the wifes car, and I was working offshore.

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Knuckle Dragger said:

I get that. I hate being in that position. I went through it with a warranty company trying to get them to replace a trans on my Buick.

I worked in corporate Firestone stores for a bunch of years starting out. It was really dependent on the tech and the manger on how it went. Lot's of schisterism depending on the situation. They pay like crap and don't attract many techs with any experience. The management staff is generally a bunch of guys that got tired of working the counter at Circle K.

The lifetime alignment was part of the "selling paper" push from the district, and in my experience they paid the tech less money to perform them so no one wanted to spend much time on them. It was easier to nitpick the front end and drive the customer off with a high estimate. I'm not saying that was my MO but it was done a lot.

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