I recently had my Bird aligned and I'm not happy with it. I want to check with y'all if it's worth it to bring it back and have it redone, go somewhere else, or if it's ok how it is. It pulls a little, the steering wheel is crooked, and the car's steering feels uncertain when going around corners on entrance ramps to the interstate. Everything in the front end is new except the rack. To their defense, my crossmember was loose and I tightened the bolts after the alignment, but I'm still not sure I trust them.
Things they did/didn't do that bother me:
1. Didn't check my tire pressure to be sure the car was sitting level.
2. They raised the car off the rack to check the front end and rear IFS parts for wear. When the car was lifted off the rack the tires tilted in/out quite a bit as the result of the suspension drooping. After setting the car back on the rack, they didn't roll it forward/backward to "settle" the suspension.
3. He told me the rear suspension camber wasn't adjustable, which I learned from searching this forum that it is.
4. The guy doing the work had to ask another "tech" (if you can call them that ) how to adjust the the front. They didn't properly torque the strut rod to frame bushing, so I did that after I got home, which may have also thrown the alignment off a bit.
They charged me $69.99 for a 2 wheel alignment since they didn't adjust the rear suspension. I'm thinking of asking for a refund and having another shop do the work. Would asking for a refund be reasonable instead of allowing them to attemp to fix the problem? Should I still trust this shop?
Also while you're here... will there be any damage to the brake booster if the key is left in the "run" position with the car's engine off and the brake pedal on?
Here is a printout of the alignment, although I'm thinking it changed after they moved the car... The rear camber is at -1.34 and -1.39, which is off more than when they started even though they didn't adjust anything on the rear.
Things they did/didn't do that bother me:
1. Didn't check my tire pressure to be sure the car was sitting level.
2. They raised the car off the rack to check the front end and rear IFS parts for wear. When the car was lifted off the rack the tires tilted in/out quite a bit as the result of the suspension drooping. After setting the car back on the rack, they didn't roll it forward/backward to "settle" the suspension.
3. He told me the rear suspension camber wasn't adjustable, which I learned from searching this forum that it is.
4. The guy doing the work had to ask another "tech" (if you can call them that ) how to adjust the the front. They didn't properly torque the strut rod to frame bushing, so I did that after I got home, which may have also thrown the alignment off a bit.
They charged me $69.99 for a 2 wheel alignment since they didn't adjust the rear suspension. I'm thinking of asking for a refund and having another shop do the work. Would asking for a refund be reasonable instead of allowing them to attemp to fix the problem? Should I still trust this shop?
Also while you're here... will there be any damage to the brake booster if the key is left in the "run" position with the car's engine off and the brake pedal on?
Here is a printout of the alignment, although I'm thinking it changed after they moved the car... The rear camber is at -1.34 and -1.39, which is off more than when they started even though they didn't adjust anything on the rear.
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