HELP: Results of second Alignment at Axelrod Tire, Middletown, CT

[Michael Gough]

>>   They told me the car had been in an accident and the
>>frame was probably bent.
>

> Horse manure.
>
> This is the standard "make them go away because we can't figure out how to
> fix it" line.

Yeah I've had similar experiences in the past...
I got a brand new set of Weld wheels for the Dodge truck, as well as new
tires. I take it in to get aligned (at a place that road tests the vehicle
and checks the measurements again to make sure it's all right) and this guy
had no clue what he was doing. He kept trying to get it right, and every
time after the road test it was all wrong. So he comes to the brilliant
conclusion that "The wheels are bent"....
And here is the real genius in this guy, he gets a piece of chalk, puts the
wheel on the wheel balancer, spins it by hand, holds the chalk against his
knee, and says "See the chalk line on the tire isn't uniform" Uhh yeah no
kidding moron, the tire isn't going to be perfect, and your hand and knee
aren't too accurate either....
So I take the truck to a competent shop that aligns it correctly. When I got
home I pulled the wheels off and checked it with an assortment of dial
gauges and other cool stuff, and they were all fine.
Now I don't even want to get into when I had the Rabbit aligned and the
steering wheel came back 90° off. "Uhh we couldn't get it right because you
have lowered suspension, we can take the wheel off and put it back on the
right way for 30 bucks" Yeah idiot, but I still have 1 turn to the right and
2 to the left before hitting the stops!
I'd try to find a competent shop, or take it to (gasp) the dealer. I never
let the dealer do anything on my car, but I always have them do the
alignment, because I've never had a problem with them, they always do it
right, though YMMV.
Mike