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Intrepid wheel alignment - done right?

Point being that the camber adjustment would be considered part of the

4-wheel alignment at the stated nominal price (whatever it is) assuming the camming bolt is already there (and I think that is the assumption in the vehicle info. that the shops have on LH vehicles - I am guessing, but I believe that to be true). But if the camming bolt is not already installed, the cost of the bolt and its installation would be extra to the customer. Also, shifting the cradle to correct a side-to-side caster problem would also be outside the scope of the nominal alignment, and the customer could/should be charged extra.

So what are your ideas on why the rate book for an LH vehicle is more than double what other vehicles are? IOW, Assuming that you have toe and caster on the front, and toe only on the rear, and those are adjusted like many other vehicles, why is the rate so high. I know when a proper alignment is done on mine, it doesn't take nearly 2.6 hours. Is it possible that the rates are artificial, if not, why would it take

2.6 hours?

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

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Bill Putney
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Reply to
mic canic

Thanks Darryl.

Uh... I think our Mac dealer either quit or starved to death, haven't seen him in months.

Reply to
Neil Nelson

I work in the electrical testing industry. We test electrical equipment such as transformers, circuit breakers, and disconnecting equipment, among other things. In our business, the equipment is worth at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, but if the equipment fails, it can create losses of more than that due to loss of production.

The posts I have been reading make me think of how we testers work. Obviously, the customer is going to want to know how their equipment is holding up. We give them an "As-found and As-left" report. This means that the equipment is measured and recorded as to its manufacturers literature before work is done. If it is out of specification, it is determined what is needed to fix. In my business, it usually needs to be cleaned (electrical contacts need some polishing or etc.). If the test after the work is complete is satisfactory (close to specification), we record an "As-left" reading. If this reading is -CLOSE- or within the limit to the limit the manufacturer has set, work is done. More damage could be done with further work, and our test equipment (while it is calibrated yearly) could have some error.

There are two reasons that we give our customer a detailed report. The first is the amount of money that can be lost if the equipment does fail after we worked on it is very high. The second is that historical data could show that a part is degrading. I see the logic in having an historical record of data.

The customer is also told why we havn't put the equipment into the limits of the manufacturers range if it wasn't done. More than often, 'knob dicking',as we call it, is harmful. I you try to put something within it's brand new spec it likely will result in worst results in the long run. If it works do not tweak it.

I hope I made a case for both reasons of not wanting to put an alignment on a car to within the specs when close enough is satisfactory. Also I think that not providing the customer with the 'eye candy' is wrong. Telling a customer why you did not mess with an out-of-spec setting without telling him why you did not mess with it is only bad business. Close enough is good, but only if you can tell why.

Ric

Reply to
Ric

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