Guy at "Goodyear" garage doubles price to work on lowered cars... - Honda CRZ Forum: Honda CR-Z Hybrid Car Forums

sohcsol · 11-30-2011, 04:39 AM

The best part is he clearly thought that I knew nothing about cars and therefore expected to get away with it free and clear, even though I explained to him that I installed the coilovers myself and usually set my own toe angle at home...

Anyways, guy was a d!ck in the first place, I set up an appointment and left work early to get there by 5. Ive been to two other goodyear centers in the area and had my car on the alignment rack while lowered, as long as they were able to get it up the ramps, and set my front toe no problem. Took about ten minutes both times, charged a regular $60-70 alignment fee.

Not this time. I mentioned to the guy at this place when checking in that the car is lowered, he became visibly aggravated and walked past me into the parking lot to look at the car. Right away he said, "If its been f***ed with and even if I can get it up on the rack, I wont touch it for less than $125!". Im like dude, I just want the front toe set to zero, what difference does it make?... Then he starts spewing all this BS about how the suspension geometry is different and you cant get it to drive right, he said theyd have to spend hours messing with it... I almost laughed at him but basically told him he just lost a lot of potential business, and left.

Anyone else experience anything like this for being "low" or modded out?

varg · 11-30-2011, 05:15 AM

That is just stupid. When I had my Accord in to be aligned, all they said was the rear arms didn't allow for more adjustment, but they set it as close as they could get it.

Chasing away business based on personal opinion is just stupid. If he doesn't like working on lowered cars, he should get a new job! Honda even offer their own lowering kit as an option on the car...

MachVEvan · 11-30-2011, 07:58 AM

Everyone has bad days.

As a mechanic, I have had my fair share of annoying crap happen, lowered suspensions in a tuner car can be enough to ruin a day sometimes.

The fact is, that often when the customer modifies their own car, it usually means it was a botched job and it will take twice as much time to reset the suspension and then align the car. Also, your average DIY'er is really sensitive when it comes to the steering wheel being perfectly straight, no matter how jacked up the alignment was in the first place.

You also caught the guy at the very end of his shift with a job that could require more work than there is time left in the day. These guys have families too, and the last thing a grumpy Goodyear tech wants, is to have to stay late to pander to the requests of a customer that "could" be a PITA to deal with.

The service writer should have known better than to schedule a alignment job with little time in the day left for the unexpected.

The shop where I'm at only schedules alignments up to the last 2 hours of the day. This makes things less stressful for the mechanic, and ensures the the customers car gets the intended service done right and there is enough time to make broad setup adjustments that the car may require.

Just FYI. If anyone here is in the DC area and needs an alignment by a shop that cares about cars and is never afraid of a lowered suspension...www.machv.com

sohcsol · 11-30-2011, 12:06 PM

Funny, Ive never had a problem with anyone before. Been in several times with lowered vehicles, never had the guy whine, complain, or jack up prices on me. I understand having bad days, but thats part of dealing with customers, you dont show it until after business hours. And even if thats why he acted the way he did, which I highly doubt, he lost business because of it.

Every time Ive gone in before Ive been up on the rack and out in a half hour or less, the shop is still nowhere near the 1 hour labor they charge normally so theyre still making money without charging ridiculous prices. And I explained to him I just wanted my toe in set, if I had a measuring device I could do it in 5 minutes.

Some people just need to suck it up and do their job, its not always supposed to be a cake walk. My job day in and out is designing and fabricating custom parts for almost impossible to please customers, and Ill remake every part for them with a smile on my face. I just spend some extra time with the captain when I get home.

MachVEvan · 12-01-2011, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sohcsol

Some people just need to suck it up and do their job, its not always supposed to be a cake walk. My job day in and out is designing and fabricating custom parts for almost impossible to please customers, and Ill remake every part for them with a smile on my face. I just spend some extra time with the captain when I get home.

Lol...agreed. Just me sticking up for the little guy.

varg · 12-01-2011, 09:07 AM

Hehe, most of us deal with pita customers at work in some way I guess.

The only thing I got comments on was when I brought the car in for inspection. He said my mechanic was a d**k for turning the springs with the writing inn

lldsandsll · 12-01-2011, 12:42 PM

A lot of these large chain shops in the US are known to rip people off. Half the time they don't even do the work. There's videos of people busting them undercover on youtube. I believe Goodyear is one of the biggest offenders if I remember correctly.

carlg1212 · 12-01-2011, 02:38 PM

Four essential people I need to trust and feel comfortable with: lawyer, doctor, dentist and auto mechanic.

My 2001 Honda Accord had what I thought was a siezed left rear wheel bearing, but that wasn't it...the wheel wouldn't turn. I towed it to Firestone (AAA = free). They called and said there was a pebble stuck between the drum and the shoe. Cost = $0. Cool people there.

sohcsol · 12-01-2011, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlg1212

Four essential people I need to trust and feel comfortable with: lawyer, doctor, dentist and auto mechanic.

My 2001 Honda Accord had what I thought was a siezed left rear wheel bearing, but that wasn't it...the wheel wouldn't turn. I towed it to Firestone (AAA = free). They called and said there was a pebble stuck between the drum and the shoe. Cost = $0. Cool people there.

Thats just it, you never know what ur going to get at a garage. Went to one goodyear place for new brakes on my gfs malibu. $500 later, and they felt fine. Now 3 months later and the crunching sound is coming back, sposed to have had new rotors, drums, pads and fluid. Sure.

Another one a few miles north I went in for a vibration issue in my first crz. The guy there and we spent hours, drove the car around, put it up on the lift to check everything out, and with no charge in the end.

I think Ill be going back to him for my alignment.

11-30-2011, 04:39 AM	#1 (permalink)
sohcsol Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sarasota, FL Posts: 564	Guy at "Goodyear" garage doubles price to work on lowered cars... The best part is he clearly thought that I knew nothing about cars and therefore expected to get away with it free and clear, even though I explained to him that I installed the coilovers myself and usually set my own toe angle at home... Anyways, guy was a d!ck in the first place, I set up an appointment and left work early to get there by 5. Ive been to two other goodyear centers in the area and had my car on the alignment rack while lowered, as long as they were able to get it up the ramps, and set my front toe no problem. Took about ten minutes both times, charged a regular $60-70 alignment fee. Not this time. I mentioned to the guy at this place when checking in that the car is lowered, he became visibly aggravated and walked past me into the parking lot to look at the car. Right away he said, "If its been f***ed with and even if I can get it up on the rack, I wont touch it for less than $125!". Im like dude, I just want the front toe set to zero, what difference does it make?... Then he starts spewing all this BS about how the suspension geometry is different and you cant get it to drive right, he said theyd have to spend hours messing with it... I almost laughed at him but basically told him he just lost a lot of potential business, and left. Anyone else experience anything like this for being "low" or modded out? __________________ 2011 CR-Z EX, 6MT, CBP, #7960

11-30-2011, 12:06 PM	#4 (permalink)
sohcsol Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sarasota, FL Posts: 564	Funny, Ive never had a problem with anyone before. Been in several times with lowered vehicles, never had the guy whine, complain, or jack up prices on me. I understand having bad days, but thats part of dealing with customers, you dont show it until after business hours. And even if thats why he acted the way he did, which I highly doubt, he lost business because of it. Every time Ive gone in before Ive been up on the rack and out in a half hour or less, the shop is still nowhere near the 1 hour labor they charge normally so theyre still making money without charging ridiculous prices. And I explained to him I just wanted my toe in set, if I had a measuring device I could do it in 5 minutes. Some people just need to suck it up and do their job, its not always supposed to be a cake walk. My job day in and out is designing and fabricating custom parts for almost impossible to please customers, and Ill remake every part for them with a smile on my face. I just spend some extra time with the captain when I get home. __________________ 2011 CR-Z EX, 6MT, CBP, #7960

12-01-2011, 02:38 PM	#8 (permalink)
carlg1212 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Maryland Posts: 383	Four essential people I need to trust and feel comfortable with: lawyer, doctor, dentist and auto mechanic. My 2001 Honda Accord had what I thought was a siezed left rear wheel bearing, but that wasn't it...the wheel wouldn't turn. I towed it to Firestone (AAA = free). They called and said there was a pebble stuck between the drum and the shoe. Cost = $0. Cool people there. __________________ "The value of life can be measured by how many times your soul has been deeply stirred." - Soichiro Honda

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11-30-2011, 07:58 AM	#3 (permalink)
MachVEvan Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 448	Everyone has bad days. As a mechanic, I have had my fair share of annoying crap happen, lowered suspensions in a tuner car can be enough to ruin a day sometimes. The fact is, that often when the customer modifies their own car, it usually means it was a botched job and it will take twice as much time to reset the suspension and then align the car. Also, your average DIY'er is really sensitive when it comes to the steering wheel being perfectly straight, no matter how jacked up the alignment was in the first place. You also caught the guy at the very end of his shift with a job that could require more work than there is time left in the day. These guys have families too, and the last thing a grumpy Goodyear tech wants, is to have to stay late to pander to the requests of a customer that "could" be a PITA to deal with. The service writer should have known better than to schedule a alignment job with little time in the day left for the unexpected. The shop where I'm at only schedules alignments up to the last 2 hours of the day. This makes things less stressful for the mechanic, and ensures the the customers car gets the intended service done right and there is enough time to make broad setup adjustments that the car may require. Just FYI. If anyone here is in the DC area and needs an alignment by a shop that cares about cars and is never afraid of a lowered suspension...www.machv.com

12-01-2011, 12:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
lldsandsll Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: S. Florida Posts: 1,603	A lot of these large chain shops in the US are known to rip people off. Half the time they don't even do the work. There's videos of people busting them undercover on youtube. I believe Goodyear is one of the biggest offenders if I remember correctly.