Alignment ordeal

I worked at a automotive shop while I was going to night school. The alignment guy was a perfectionist and that is all he did. Everything in the correct place, clean area and worked in a white coat. He drove everything but was never gone long. Vehicles normally came back to the parking lot. If he did not like something it was back on the rack until he was satisfied. I was doing tie rod ends and such. Learned a lot from him and greatly respected him.
Driving a car and commercial vehicles are different things. Some techs do not even have a license but drive anyway. Would thank you would have been asked since you were there.
Within specs is also a different thing. A good tech can work within specs to improve drivability. A great tech can work out of specs for vehicles with issues. Saw specifications scribed in the glove box of a known problem car. Things had been measured and checked in all kinds of different ways. Customer was told this car is not right but it will be fine. Just always have it aligned to these specs in the glove box.
My camber caster gauge has a bubble level. The toe gauge has a slide bar. I often use string. Probably part of the over the hill gang but I drive or at least ride in them. I do not do that everyday but that is my opinion.

 

I had an alignment done yesterday by the MD alignment shop in Ocala Fl.
Drove two and a half hours up there one way and well worth the drive.
Drove in at 9:00 and Drove out at noon.
I stayed with the truck the whole time and even lended a hand when needed.
Great old school guy like myself and not afraid to go the extra mile to get it right.
He also works mobile and I would highly recommend him.

 

I used to work down the street from Rob's. They're good for collision work and that's about it.

 

Oh and I should add the whole bill for my single axel tractor ( two axel alignment) was $250.00 no extra charge for shims

 

Make sure they didn’t get your new clutch!! Lol. I’m the same way, paranoid of my tools., etc. Never had a problem, It’s because you’ve done so much work yourself. I was missing 2 thermostats and 4 clamps. Eventually found them, along with a bunch of other stuff, I forgot I had. Fact is Labor costs are high, on everything. Sometimes you have no choice. If you had no Mechanical abilities, you would be clueless. They say Ignorance is bliss. Rarely am I completely happy with a Mechanics work. Sometimes I’m way too picky. It’s a curse, but sometimes you need them, always seems to be a gamble.at best.

 

Anyone who quotes a flat price for an alignment on a class 8 truck is either not going to do the job correctly, or pull a bait and switch which is what this shop did.
An alignment on a 3 year old tractor that has been driven in Texas is going to be very different from a 15 year old tractor from New England. You cannot quote a price over the phone, nor can you predict how long or what problems will develop unit to unit.