Argh, sorry to hear you had to deal with all that crap >.< Have you tried Les Schwab btw? I took my RSX to them for a front axle wheel balance and they did a good job on that.
-Eric
-Eric
Thumbs down: Beware of Big 'O Tires in Davis
:alert: Today I had to take my car in a *third* time to get realigned, and I have to go back AGAIN to try to get a refund. I'm writing this because I saw another two in the garage as I left, and I'm sorry for not posting this sooner. Cliff notes are on the bottom of this post.
The first time was over the summer before the pacnw event. It had to stay there over night with some super lube because they couldn't adjust the front caster. I picked it up and they didn't even align it to any of the specs I asked for. I had to leave for pacnw in two hours, and didn't want to argue about it. It turned out that it drove horribly! My poor car couldn't keep up with the others on a scenic run. It was really unstable and didn't feel safe at all. I thought either the lube made my alignment slip more as the day progressed and after each run, bad ball bearings or bushings. It was kind of like a bump steer, where it felt like the tires would suddenly readjust themselves mid turn, or over bumps.
I took it back after the meet because I didn't really feel safe in my car. The alignment didn't slip at all. It was just the horrible specs (even within stock) they gave me. They told me after they realigned it that they really shouldn't have had to do it again because everything was within stock. I said no, I had the right to get it redone for free because it drove bad and they didn't put it to the specs that we asked for.
It drove SO much better with the specs I originally wanted but there was still a slight bump-steer feeling if I hit a bump, or even scarier, in some sweeping turns. Trust me, I go slower than normal cars on turns like that, so it's not because of my driving. I'm too scared to take it at a normal speed. I just attributed it to old/bad bushings (ball bearings were ok).. I have new bushings sitting at home.
The other weekend, I got stuck at my parents because of a flat tire. (I didn't have my spare with me). Tom was coming over any way, and he brought a plug kit. When plugging the tire, we found that a suspension bolt was loose, and probably could have wiggled off in another couple of months. It was the lower bolt right above the rotors. :furious:
Today I brought it back in for the third time, showed them a video of the loose bolt and had them recheck, retighten and realign everything, with a special request for the most stockish negative camber they can give me. At least they did so with no complaints this time. Fortunately, nothing else was loose!
When I got home, I reported the new specs to Tom & he got mad. There's only one thing that's not within spec, and that's my drivers front caster. I didn't think much of it because it was the same numbers as it was when I brought it in. It's at 1.7 degrees atm. They wrote that it wasn't adjustable! I really just had a crash course on alignment stuff last summer, and I didn't remember if there was a non-adj part, or if it was just hard to do or whatever. It never really stuck because I can't do it myself/at home. Tom had to remind me that it was my *caster* that they had a hard time with the first time, 1.7 does not keep my car stable, and they just passed it over this time, and lied to me, because they couldn't do it.. and hopefully it was not because I'm a girl :furious:
I feel really weird going back by myself a FOURTH time, so I'm going to have to drag Tom along with me to get my money back. I have a feeling if I go in by myself, they won't give me a refund, but if a guy comes with me, they will
In all honesty, the guys at Big 'O are pretty nice, but are really shady and incompetent when it comes to alignments.. and they may have even tried to take advantage of me.
---------------
Cliff notes/Lessons:
-Don't take your car to Big 'O in Davis, they don't know how to align it
-Don't drive around without your spare
The first time was over the summer before the pacnw event. It had to stay there over night with some super lube because they couldn't adjust the front caster. I picked it up and they didn't even align it to any of the specs I asked for. I had to leave for pacnw in two hours, and didn't want to argue about it. It turned out that it drove horribly! My poor car couldn't keep up with the others on a scenic run. It was really unstable and didn't feel safe at all. I thought either the lube made my alignment slip more as the day progressed and after each run, bad ball bearings or bushings. It was kind of like a bump steer, where it felt like the tires would suddenly readjust themselves mid turn, or over bumps.
I took it back after the meet because I didn't really feel safe in my car. The alignment didn't slip at all. It was just the horrible specs (even within stock) they gave me. They told me after they realigned it that they really shouldn't have had to do it again because everything was within stock. I said no, I had the right to get it redone for free because it drove bad and they didn't put it to the specs that we asked for.
It drove SO much better with the specs I originally wanted but there was still a slight bump-steer feeling if I hit a bump, or even scarier, in some sweeping turns. Trust me, I go slower than normal cars on turns like that, so it's not because of my driving. I'm too scared to take it at a normal speed. I just attributed it to old/bad bushings (ball bearings were ok).. I have new bushings sitting at home.
The other weekend, I got stuck at my parents because of a flat tire. (I didn't have my spare with me). Tom was coming over any way, and he brought a plug kit. When plugging the tire, we found that a suspension bolt was loose, and probably could have wiggled off in another couple of months. It was the lower bolt right above the rotors. :furious:
Today I brought it back in for the third time, showed them a video of the loose bolt and had them recheck, retighten and realign everything, with a special request for the most stockish negative camber they can give me. At least they did so with no complaints this time. Fortunately, nothing else was loose!
When I got home, I reported the new specs to Tom & he got mad. There's only one thing that's not within spec, and that's my drivers front caster. I didn't think much of it because it was the same numbers as it was when I brought it in. It's at 1.7 degrees atm. They wrote that it wasn't adjustable! I really just had a crash course on alignment stuff last summer, and I didn't remember if there was a non-adj part, or if it was just hard to do or whatever. It never really stuck because I can't do it myself/at home. Tom had to remind me that it was my *caster* that they had a hard time with the first time, 1.7 does not keep my car stable, and they just passed it over this time, and lied to me, because they couldn't do it.. and hopefully it was not because I'm a girl :furious:
I feel really weird going back by myself a FOURTH time, so I'm going to have to drag Tom along with me to get my money back. I have a feeling if I go in by myself, they won't give me a refund, but if a guy comes with me, they will
In all honesty, the guys at Big 'O are pretty nice, but are really shady and incompetent when it comes to alignments.. and they may have even tried to take advantage of me.---------------
Cliff notes/Lessons:
-Don't take your car to Big 'O in Davis, they don't know how to align it
-Don't drive around without your spare
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
i talked to some people at work and im going to do the alignment... thats the last straw, no ones touching either of our cars for ANY work from now on.. any machine work that we need is going to CRW.
when neona got her car she took it into a shop to get a free brake inspection, since it was losing fluid.. we figured hell, its free, they'll save us the diagnostics time. they told us the master cylinder was leaking... i knew that was a load of 'S, and we just wasted time on the inspection. took it home, raised it up and found fluid OBVIOUSLY leaking out of the rear caliper. how someone could misdiagnose fluid steadily leaking from a rear caliper thinking its a master cylinder is beyond me.
the automotive industry is picky. good techs dont work at crappy shops. tire shops are not good shops
when neona got her car she took it into a shop to get a free brake inspection, since it was losing fluid.. we figured hell, its free, they'll save us the diagnostics time. they told us the master cylinder was leaking... i knew that was a load of 'S, and we just wasted time on the inspection. took it home, raised it up and found fluid OBVIOUSLY leaking out of the rear caliper. how someone could misdiagnose fluid steadily leaking from a rear caliper thinking its a master cylinder is beyond me.
the automotive industry is picky. good techs dont work at crappy shops. tire shops are not good shops
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
