Re: LI, NY alignment shop WARNING

[Shaun Folkerts <fiatlancia@earthlink.net>]

Wish I had the time to create an online clearinghouse for complaints/praise about
repair shops. Few things bother me more than getting taken advantage of, but
seeing OTHERS being taken advantage is one of them; that really ticks me off.
Wish there were more I could do to prevent these nightmares in the first place.
Posting a warning to the list was the best way for me to reach the most drivers
to get the word out. Hope it may have helped someone.

Fear not, there is a bright side to all this. I just returned
from...welllllll...let's just say it was a national auto repair chain and leave
it at that. Probably took an hour, the saleswoman AND the mechanic were friendly,
respectful, and knowledgeable. No complaints of frozen this or broken that and no
torch or BFH needed. Car rides like it should now. How could this lower-paid
"associate" do a job so easily that an experienced alignment specialist could
not? Baffling. Embarrassing, actually, for FOSTERS.

I want to thank all of you (Todd, Kneale, Jim, Mike) who suggested taking this up
with the credit card company. I had that same thought even as I was actually
signing the slip, but was apprehensive about doing so. Considering this guy's
attitude and general POed nature, letting go of the 50 bucks is worth my peace of
mind that I won't find a set of slashed Dunlops, broken glass, keyed paint, etc.
one morning.

I'm just glad to finally have the car running (see future post) and driving
(alignment, tires) well. Now to get it looking halfway decent...

Happy Thanksgiving to all applicable listers!

Shaun Folkerts
'89 2CQW


> ...the car was eating front
> tires at an alarming rate so I took it to Fosters to get an alignment...These
> guys aligned the car with basically no
> front bushing in there.  I took the car back and asked them about this and
> they proceeded to tell me that the bushing must have failed in the last three
> weeks.  Well, I have never used them since.  I have heard from other people
> that they have screwed some stuff up...
>
> Cheers,
> Jim Hahn