If I get one more German car owner.....

[brelandt]

blaming me for their negative camber after I do the alignment I'm going to scream!
All this week I get these idiots for a warranty realignment for their BMW X5 and MB GL450 air suspension and so on swearing the wheels use to be perfectly straight and now it's crooked!
Even had one call HQ and say his wheels are loose and we should fire the techs!
They get short tire life and some how that's "my" fault!
"I buy nice expensive car, how can it be they would engineer the wheel crooked?" " What do you mean there are no camber adjustments on my S500 front wheel?" Makes me so hot....anyhow, venting here online helps for me, LOL

 

[eljefino]

They must think that positive camber makes the car look like a tiger up on its tippy toes ready to pounce on a 99 percenter.

Do they run walmart gas and chinese "Fun Time" tires too?

 

[HerrStig]

Man, remember how the 70's and 80's Bust My Wallets used to "inhale" in the snow. Sometimes vat is gute fur zie Autobanh ain't so hot for the interstate.

 

[mechanicx]

I guess a lot of them have more money than basic knowledge, and probably never really did much hands on and can be over demanding. They buy a vehicle based on marketing and prestige, and not what would best suit them.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: brelandt
"I buy nice expensive car, how can it be they would engineer the wheel crooked?" " What do you mean there are no camber adjustments on my S500 front wheel?"

Valid questions, no?

 

[brelandt]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Originally Posted By: brelandt
"I buy nice expensive car, how can it be they would engineer the wheel crooked?" " What do you mean there are no camber adjustments on my S500 front wheel?"

Valid questions, no?


It would be if they were not at first trying to kill me because they thought that it was straight before and set off blaming me as a no good mechanic. It's how they are asking really not so much the question. hard to tell by reading a post but believe me there is always a tone in their voice and a stare from their eyes., LOL

 

[Drew99GT]

After witnessing the reliability (or lack there of) of my Brothers S500, nothing would surprise me about those vehicles.

It's an absolutely brilliant vehicle to drive. But every month it's something new that needs to be fixed, to include alignment problems.

 

[Kestas]

I get uneven front tire wear on my 95 Mercedes E320 even though the camber and toe are within specification. I DIY check the alignment myself on the driveway.

 

[antonmnster]

You can observe negative rear camber on almost every vehicle with independent rear suspension. Just look at almost every car while you're driving. Lots of cute-utes have rear wheels with noticeable negative rear camber. Live-axle trucks are about the only thing with straight wheels, but they don't have good cornering characteristics, do they?

German cars tend to be aggressive with the alignment specs at the expense of tire wear. I learned to accept it a long time ago. Just goes to show most people don't understand what they're buying.

 

[HerrStig]

Tires must be cheaper in Deutchland. It is a shame, though, that in this country what are very good performance cars are often bought by posers who never use the potential built in. (Though they might brag, without knowing much about it) Traffic in the frozen north doesn't allow it and it is often an automotive CRIME to torture a good car by driving fast over, under, around, and through the potholes.
Right now, my area is swarming with late model 320 series Bust My's. My son would like one. I tell him to wait a couple of years, there will be a ton of them off lease and the posers will have moved on to some other brand. Fiats with an Alfa badge, whatever. SAAB sold a lot (for them) of cars in the 80's, then the doctor's wives went on to something else.
There's nothing like a late model 320 showing a cheap set of whitewalls from "Town Square" or whatever.

 

[brelandt]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
They must think that positive camber makes the car look like a tiger up on its tippy toes ready to pounce on a 99 percenter.

Do they run walmart gas and chinese "Fun Time" tires too?


Just had a really nice 63 AMG in for tires. Bought a set of "Primewells"! Really dude?

 

[Trav]

Quote:
Tires must be cheaper in Deutchland

I don't know about Deutchland but they are generally more expensive in Germany.

JK you forgot the s.

 

[HerrStig]

I'd like to see the sales figures for the German tire market. Probably not a lot of "off brand" stuff sold to folks who do Autobahn driving.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I'd like to see the sales figures for the German tire market. Probably not a lot of "off brand" stuff sold to folks who do Autobahn driving.


You are probably right.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: brelandt
Originally Posted By: eljefino
They must think that positive camber makes the car look like a tiger up on its tippy toes ready to pounce on a 99 percenter.

Do they run walmart gas and chinese "Fun Time" tires too?


Just had a really nice 63 AMG in for tires. Bought a set of "Primewells"! Really dude?



So true. My good friend the retired dermatologist and I were just discussing his tire options for his Merc. Expensive and more expensive sums it up. It's another stunning performer that spends a lot of time at the dealer.

Like it was told to me in another forum: "if you want to stay on the beach you gotta pay the rent!"

 

[Trav]

It depends on the vehicles speed rating that is in the papers.
Something like a old Fiesta 1.1 that had only 130Kmh you could buy some off brand as long as it was rated to 130 Kmh.

If you change anything about the tire even 5mm wider it must be put in the papers or the tire itself must have its own ABE for your car or the car itself looses its ABE (Allgemeine Betriebserlaubnis) making it an outlaw on public roads.
The owner is also subject to prosecution and no insurance coverage if an accident occurs.
Tires are a very serious business and they don't take it lightly.

 

[JHZR2]

Need to teach that in the US. Especially the Mexican look cars from down south where the wheels and tires are way wide, stick out, and the whole car looks like it is splitting downward in the middle.

 

[SteveSRT8]

How about the space saver spare guys that run all 4 wheels on a TEMPORARY tire?

I see several vehicles every single day that I disapprove of the tires. Inflation, alignment, sizing, many things that seem risky and endanger others.

But all our police want to do is collect speeding 'taxes'.

 

[AlienBug]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig

Right now, my area is swarming with late model 320 series Bust My's. My son would like one. I tell him to wait a couple of years, there will be a ton of them off lease and the posers will have moved on to some other brand.


So they're posers for buying a new BMW? How exactly is it more honorable to buy their hand-me-downs?

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: brelandt
blaming me for their negative camber after I do the alignment I'm going to scream!
All this week I get these idiots for a warranty realignment for their BMW X5 and MB GL450 air suspension and so on swearing the wheels use to be perfectly straight and now it's crooked!
Even had one call HQ and say his wheels are loose and we should fire the techs!
They get short tire life and some how that's "my" fault!
"I buy nice expensive car, how can it be they would engineer the wheel crooked?" " What do you mean there are no camber adjustments on my S500 front wheel?" Makes me so hot....anyhow, venting here online helps for me, LOL
My favorite or Least favorite line is "It didn't do that before you worked on it". I get that one almost daily.