I've been taking my vehicles to Shamrock Tire for several years. I've had my oil changed, tires rotated, and my alignment done. Marvin, their mechanic, has worked at Shamrock for 40 years, so he's more than pretty good. I'd had my 2007 model car to the dealership 5 times to be aligned, and they never once reported it was NOT in alignment, before taking it to Shamrock, who could explain WHY it wasn't in alignment and COULDN'T be aligned. Shamrock charges a check out fee of $17.50 AND Marvin writes an estimate for repairs if any are needed. This fee is not for a "quote" as Jopey21 writes. It is for Marvin's time to check out the vehicle's parts before aligning it. It doesn't make any sense to take up 20-30 minutes to provide a quote for a customer who may not have his vehicle repaired at all, when Marvin could be making a living (Marvin works on commission, so his time is money). I sure wouldn't work off the clock for 30 minutes. I don't know anyone that would. No one could do that all day long and feed his family! As I've waited for my vehicles, I've overheard estimates being provided to other customers. While some shops might take in a vehicle and do the alignment as best they can with bad or worn parts, this is an injustice to the customer, who will be very upset after 6 months when their tires are bald on one edge because the shop wasn't honest enough to say that bad parts needed replaced for the alignment to be correct. Those shops would rather have their $60 than risk upsetting a customer with an honest assessment. Those shops are the ones taking the customer for a ride, IMHO. I feel Shamrock always tries to do the right thing, even if it is not the easiest thing to tell the customer. If Jopey21 feels so strongly about this, I think he should go back to Shamrock and talk to them. Marvin keeps notes. Perhaps there has been a misunderstanding.
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