> If the shop
> manual shows that the camber is adjustable, copy and show the alignment
> section to the shop that did the alignment so that they can do it
properly.
>
I disagree.
I think the better way would be to find a shop that actually knows
what they are doing without your help.
Ask your friends, call AAA, and ASA, look at IATN and ASE, whatever
it takes to find a true professional technician.
A real professional will not be cheap, probably wont be fast, and will
not offer discounts or coupons.
If the shop doesnt know how to align a 20 year old car, then for gods
sake, dont let them touch your car!
Rant mode on:
I hear a lot of grumbling on this board about dishonest/incompetent
mechanics.
If you get ripped off more than once it's your own damn fault. Dont go
back. Dont go back to chain shops like precision tune or goodyear.
(There are some decent honest technicians at chain stores, but by and
large they are the exception rather than the rule) Dont go to a
business that offers coupons or discounts or advertises heavily.
There is a reason they need new customers! Every time you spend money
at one of these rip'offs, you not only reward them for their
dishonesty and incompetence, but you also endanger you and your
families safety, and you take business away from the guys that charge
an honest price for an honest job.
Here in SoCal, good tech's at honest shops charge $90 to $110 an hour
and are worth every single penny. Cars are more complicated than ever,
and the days of the dufus grease monkey at the corner gas station are
over, and the days of the average DIY'er are numbered.
Auto repair is not a commodity like groceries, and the sooner people
realize that quality costs money the better off we'll all be.
A good honest independant technician faces the following:
The need to spend appx $30,000 on his own tools
The need for 2 years of education up front and several years of on-the-
job training to get journeyman level skills (6-8 years on-the job
training with no formal training)
At least 40 hours per year update training just to stay current with
new technology, often unpaid
Intense competition from morons and rip'offs
Wages that lag way behind inflation
Oppressive environmental (and recently privacy) legislation
and their reward for all this? a public image rating (because of the
idiots and thieves) below new car salesman
Rant mode off:
Cheap ass car owners will always find a way to spend a fortune trying
to save a buck, and then resent the guy who actually *fixes* his car
at a higher but fair price.
Ben
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