Should I be annoyed? - Firestone Alignment

[RamFan]

We have a road trip at the end of the month that will tack on about 2,300 miles to the CX-5. I noticed a month or two ago that the steering wheel was slightly cocked to the left, given that it's now 3 years old and it's never had an alignment, I priced a few options out and found that the Firestone down the street from our house was the best bet at $79.99. Per the quote I received on the site, the alignment check is free and if an alignment is then completed that's when the cost kicks in. So I give the wife the quote and scheduled the appointment for this morning.

About 40 minutes after arriving she texts me stating that they're all done and she sent me a picture of the readout. As you can see, there were a few measurements that were about to be out of spec, but as of now they were still good. So basically we paid $86 (after tax) to straighten out the steering wheel. I asked her if they showed her the measurements prior to commencing the adjustment, she said they did not. So much for the free check. Am I wrong for being annoyed by this? I understand that an appointment was made for the alignment, but I can't help and feel as though they took advantage here. What are your thoughts?

 

[Wolf359]

Did you actually look at the readout? It has before and after measurements. How much was their 5 year or lifetime alignments?

Paying $86 for a single alignment isn't that bad, it's about the going rate for one. I usually get a 3 year one at Goodyear and it's about $169 but usually they have some promo where it's $25-$50 off for whatever reason and I end up getting one at least once or twice a year so it's worth it. Too many potholes here.

 

[dishdude]

An off center steering wheel drives me crazy and getting someone who can straighten it seems next to impossible. If they did that, I'd be happy.

Free alignment checks are just a way to get you in the door, racking the vehicle takes the most time, setting the toe is the quick part. If they rack it, I don't think you're leaving without an alignment.

 

[RamFan]

Originally Posted by Wolf359
Did you actually look at the readout? It has before and after measurements. How much was their 5 year or lifetime alignments?

Paying $86 for a single alignment isn't that bad, it's about the going rate for one. I usually get a 3 year one at Goodyear and it's about $169 but usually they have some promo where it's $25-$50 off for whatever reason and I end up getting one at least once or twice a year so it's worth it. Too many potholes here.


Of course I looked at the readout. As you can see, I posted the readout. I'm not asking about the price, it's more than fair.

Originally Posted by dishdude
An off center steering wheel drives me crazy and getting someone who can straighten it seems next to impossible. If they did that, I'd be happy.

Free alignment checks are just a way to get you in the door, racking the vehicle takes the most time, setting the toe is the quick part. If they rack it, I don't think you're leaving without an alignment.


This is what I'm leaning towards as well from a practicality stand point. The wording of the quote is what's leaving a bad taste in my mouth considering as how all (exception being steer ahead) were within spec.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

There is absolutely no reason that a steering wheel should not be centered after an alignment. Usually the result of some dork that doesn't know how to use the alignment equipment. I always tell them that I want the steering wheel centered.Vehicle alignment has always been an iffy affair because techs don't know how to use the machine and don't know how to center the steering wheel without throwing another adjustment out of whack. Saw this a lot in the sixties.

 

[mclasser]

They're not going to go out of their way to tell you about the free check unless you explicitly ask for it. And the price isn't incremental; it's $86 if they have to loosen one jam nut, or all four.

Although everything's in the green, they could've tightened up the back to get better overall rear toe. But that would require an alignment tech who actually cares enough to spend the time, which is a rarity.

I'm no fan of the stealership, but I've gotten the best alignments from them in the past. Go figure.

 

[RooflessVW]

There is no difference between a "full alignment" on a modern car and the "toe and go" of yore.

Tie rods are all you can do on a lot of vehicles these days, and to fix your steering wheel they cracked both.

They did a full alignment.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Yes you paid $86 to straighten the steering wheel which from your post was the primary reason for having them check the alignment. The only thing I an say about this is that vehicles today have methods to recenter your steering wheel which have nothing to do with your actual alignment. Especially with vehicles which have electronic steering.

 

[JMJNet]

Steering wheel alignment is part of the process and they probably find that out when they drive it from parking lot to the service bay.
If not done on your previous alignment, they were the one who screw you up.
Or, you should ask the stealership to do the alignment as part of the warranty due to misaligned steering wheel.

If I were you, though, I will opt to pay for the lifetime or multi year alignment.
I figure, they usually charged 2x the single alignment so if you come back at least once after the first alignment, you are break even.

 

[zorobabel]

You don't send your wife to a shop...

 

[y_p_w]

I've gotten several Firestone lifetime alignments over the years. I believe $159, although the price has gone up (maybe $199 the last time I got one). When I got my WRX I got the alignment with less than 2000 miles on the odometer. The service writer said that they often aren't really in alignment from the factory, and few dealers will do an alignment before delivery to the customer. The job seems to be as competent as any. I wasn't quite sure how they made any money off of this type of service, but it seems that they use the opportunity to try and sell other services during the routine inspections. With my courtesy alignment check/adjustments I've received estimates for tire replacements and other services like oil changes.

I do remember getting tires installed once where I asked the installer for an alignment. They did the check and since the rear was still in spec I was only charged for a front-end alignment price.

 

[Eddie]

You should not be annoyed because you received before & after wheel measurements and they corrected the previous alignment error (steering wheel not centered). Sounds like your wife did a good job at doing yours. Ed

 

[Dave1027]

OP,

You have no reason to be annoyed. Going by the spec sheet, not only was your steering wheel off but the entire car was going down the road with a diagonal attitude. $86 for a proper 4 wheel alignment is a good deal. Your alignment was screwed up and now it's good.

 

[RamFan]

Originally Posted by Eddie
Sounds like your wife did a good job at doing yours. Ed


You must be a real peach, Ed.

 

[RamFan]

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[dogememe]

I don't see the problem - you made an appointment for an alignment, got a great deal on that alignment, and the results are within spec and your complaint (steering off center) has been resolved. What exactly are you complaining about?

 

[demarpaint]

I have never gone to an alignment shop and wasn't told I didn't need an alignment. If the steering wheel was off, odds are you needed an alignment. If the wheel is straight now and the car is steering properly consider the $86 fee a blessing. Around here they do lousy work and typically try and sell ball joints, tie rods, etc. in addition to the alignment.

 

[StevieC]

It was a minor adjustment yes, but you have to pay for the tech's time to put the car on the machine and twist/turn the wheels to check for alignment and make any necessary adjustments.

The adjustments they did make were good for a number of reasons so it's money well spent.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by RamFan
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Did you actually look at the readout? It has before and after measurements. How much was their 5 year or lifetime alignments?

Paying $86 for a single alignment isn't that bad, it's about the going rate for one. I usually get a 3 year one at Goodyear and it's about $169 but usually they have some promo where it's $25-$50 off for whatever reason and I end up getting one at least once or twice a year so it's worth it. Too many potholes here.


Of course I looked at the readout. As you can see, I posted the readout. I'm not asking about the price, it's more than fair.

Originally Posted by dishdude
An off center steering wheel drives me crazy and getting someone who can straighten it seems next to impossible. If they did that, I'd be happy.

Free alignment checks are just a way to get you in the door, racking the vehicle takes the most time, setting the toe is the quick part. If they rack it, I don't think you're leaving without an alignment.


This is what I'm leaning towards as well from a practicality stand point. The wording of the quote is what's leaving a bad taste in my mouth considering as how all (exception being steer ahead) were within spec.


As others said, I don't know what your complaint is about. The fact that the steering wheel was off meant the alignment was off. Pretty much any alignment check will show that the alignment is off. You will pretty much never get a check and get a clean bill of health unless it was just done. If you wanted a check, you should have made it clear that you'd only proceed once you get the results of the check back. Normally when they "check" and it's off, they just go ahead and do it.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted by dishdude
An off center steering wheel drives me crazy and getting someone who can straighten it seems next to impossible. If they did that, I'd be happy.


Absolutely!! That's worth it's weight in gold! The only place I ever got a good alignment was at the Nissan dealership. They got it right on the money!!