I Think I've Been Ripped Off By Garage (Tracking)

[mr.rosco]

Hi I had my truck booked in for a MOT retest today which it passed. As one of the reasons it failed was that it needed a track rod changed I asked the garage to check the tracking at a cost of £45.

When I got to the garage I handed over the keys but kept an eye on what was happening. My truck was driven off by a guy from the show room. As there garage was full (I had booked the time slot) I assumed that they must have more garage space else where. About 1hr later my truck returned Supposedly with the tracking done.

This evening I took the truck for a test drive and it is pulling to the left, at about 30 mph I would be on the pavement in about 15 meters. I thought that maybe for the whole 20 mile drive the road was not flat so i took it to a multi story car park, same thing.

Tomorrow I will have to ring the garage to complain, but so I dont sound like I can be fobbed off can someone please explain how the tracking is done and how long it should take. I would imagine it is to do with angles but are machines used and should the truck be leaving the garage to do it?

Cheers

[Ploddit]

Nowadays the car's front wheels goes on rotating plates that transmit the angles to a normally hard wired computer which also has on it's database the coreect settings for your wheels.

http://www.autoequip.co.za/hunter-wh...ment-equipment

So it's possible it had to go to the tyre bay where the computer is.

[mr.rosco]

Nowadays the car's front wheels goes on rotating plates that transmit the angles to a normally hard wired computer which also has on it's database the coreect settings for your wheels.

http://www.autoequip.co.za/hunter-wh...ment-equipment

So it's possible it had to go to the tyre bay where the computer is.

OK, do you no how long it should take?

[BUSHWHACKER]

Did it not pull to the left when you drove it away from the garage?

[mr.rosco]

Did it not pull to the left when you drove it away from the garage?

I drove it about 1 mile to my house down a windy country road. So I am not sure, same road I drove it down after I changed the track rod, so I am not sure how it was on the way in to.

The computer equipment and rollers are in the garage area as I saw them when they checked the MOT stuff.

[Albannach]

It's a bit more complicated than the first reply; the angles are taken off the wheels, not the tyres. But alignment can take anything from a few minutes to several hours to get right. It all depends on how conscientious the mechanic is.

[si tate]

I wouldn't say you've been ripped off, its more a case of the garage have probably used the wrong setting but in saying that it should have been spotted before you drove it.
Just go back in the morning & they will put it right "at no extra cost".

[mr.rosco]

I wouldn't say you've been ripped off, its more a case of the garage have probably used the wrong setting but in saying that it should have been spotted before you drove it.
Just go back in the morning & they will put it right "at no extra cost".

Maybe, However I had a gut feeling when I was there that some thing was not right. They were over booked and the guy who took my truck was from the showroom not a mechanic. Unless they have a deal with another garage.

[si tate]

Maybe, However I had a gut feeling when I was there that some thing was not right. They were over booked and the guy who took my truck was from the showroom not a mechanic. Unless they have a deal with another garage.

Its sometimes the case when a garage is busy instead of turning work away they contract it out to a nearby garage & vice versa.
I personally would have gone with the truck to where ever he was taking it but if he just drove off then i guess you couldn't.

[JD_975]

Your best bet if you don't think things are quite right is just to pop back in and have a quick chat with the people on reception, just explain you had the truck in for some work and tracking and it doesn't seem to be quite right, be polite with them and they`ll probably have a workshop foreman they can get straight out to recheck it with you.

Trust me I`ve been in the motor trade 15 years now, mistakes happen, they most likely have the wheel alignment gear in an adjoining building or bodyshop and they wont take kindly to you accusing them of ripping you off. The best way to get anything done is be pleasant, then when the receptionist goes through to get a mechanic they`ll say I`ve got a guy on the front just needs his tracking rechecked, nice guy, can you just give it a quick check for him? As opposed to there`s a t****r on the front says we haven't checked his tracking, go tell him we have!

[mr.rosco]

Your best bet if you don't think things are quite right is just to pop back in and have a quick chat with the people on reception, just explain you had the truck in for some work and tracking and it doesn't seem to be quite right, be polite with them and they`ll probably have a workshop foreman they can get straight out to recheck it with you.

Trust me I`ve been in the motor trade 15 years now, mistakes happen, they most likely have the wheel alignment gear in an adjoining building or bodyshop and they wont take kindly to you accusing them of ripping you off. The best way to get anything done is be pleasant, then when the receptionist goes through to get a mechanic they`ll say I`ve got a guy on the front just needs his tracking rechecked, nice guy, can you just give it a quick check for him? As opposed to there`s a t****r on the front says we haven't checked his tracking, go tell him we have!

Of coure, I am not going to go in and start accusing them of things, but I will be asking some probing question (nicely) to see if they can be trusted with future work. The reason for this thread is to help me understand the process so I can gauge if I think they are telling me the truth or just trying to fob me off with excuses.

[Ploddit]

It's a bit more complicated than the first reply; the angles are taken off the wheels, not the tyres. But alignment can take anything from a few minutes to several hours to get right. It all depends on how conscientious the mechanic is.

Yes tyres on moving plates so they are free to rotate.
Lazer alignment tool hang on the tyre with pins screwed to press against the wheel.
Lazers on the hanging bit show alignment °.

I would imagine one hour minimum for a rusty surf.

[Rustinho]

A lot of places tend to do things like "we check your tracking for free" - I'm sure Kwik Fit do (or have done) an offer like that, as have the likes of F1 and Charlie Browns and a couple of places local to me.

You could take it into somewhere like that, get them to check it for free and then you'll know if your original garage have been honest with you in terms of setting the tracking.

I'm no technical expert but I was under the impression that vehicles were supposed to pull *slightly* to the left anyway. Also, you might have something like brakes binding slightly that might not be an MOT fail but might make your Surf pull excessively to the left.

Hopefully a quick conversation with your original garage should sort things out. If you've got any other forum members local to you it might be worth getting them to have a quick squizz at things too?

Good luck with sorting it out.

[VidaMusic]

I recently had mine done since wearing 33"s, took about 2hrs as ge had to adjust the cambers too. I also put new full tie rods both sides on so it was easier to adjust..

Yeah, be polite, JD is exactly right. Just tell em it's REALLY pulling to the left, and wasn't before etc etc..

Good luck