Hi All

I just had an alignment done due to some high speed shake. My independent jag mechanic recommended a local shop- he said they do all his jag wheel work. The day after leaving the shop, I noticed circular scratches on the drivers side of the car, front and rear- the other side is fine. Is this consistent with someone really screwing up with the alignment machine? Before I go to the manager, I'd appreciate some real experienced opinions if this is their fault (eg: is it even possible for the alignment machine to inflict this kind of damage?) (Oh, and the front wheel emblem was missing too!)

http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/...y/IMG_0143.jpg
http://i1090.photobucket.com/albums/...y/IMG_0145.jpg

Thanks!!

 

Looks like a cert for me...I for one would definitely be revisiting and asking them to pay for a repair.
Looks awful

 

You might wanna check out the type of equipment they use. The type I'm familiar with is attached to the outer circumference of the wheel, not the center.

<shrug>

Don't take mine as the final word by any means.

Cheers
DD

 

with a high speed shake I'd guess they'd perform a wheel balance, that could cause these marks especially if performed by one of the younger lads who don't tend to take as much care as they should.

If / when I get any of this type of work done I literally stand over them to ensure this doesn't happen, as it all too often does unfortunately.

 

Ah yes....a wheel balancer. I can much more easily see this damage occuring that way.

Cheers
DD

 

Yes, they did a balance as well. Thanks for the info. I'll talk to them tomorrow.

 

Expect to hear that your wheels will be full refurbished to " as new" condition and centre cap replaced.

Hope to hear how you got on and good luck

 

As expected (by me, at least) the shop denied responsibility. The car is fairly new to me, month old, and although I'm pretty certain the rims weren't damaged when I bought it (and they were the only ones who touches the tires), I wasn't certain enough to put up a stink. The brake dust on those brembo really cover up the imperfections. The real swaying factor for me not pushing the point was they showed me their equipment, both balance and alignment. If they had screwed up, then the balancer would have nicked the protruding spokes of the rim, not the recessed center. So I'm sucking it up and checking with a local shop to get them refinished. They all need some work on the sidewall trim anyway- and replacement for those is expensive! Thanks for your info, it helped me not feel like a total dolt in going back to have them explain.

 

Those marks are from using the plastic cup over the wheel when balancing. And not useing either a cone in the center, or an adapter that engages the wheel stud holes with 5 pegs. We use these and we also have the cup that causes that damage(all balancers do) so if someone didnt pay attention on the first or second wheels..........
That being said, i always laugh when i see customers do a damage walk around their cars when they pic them up and then run in to try and point out all the damage "we" did. Its about the only time people actually walk around their cars and inspect them so they see all kinds of stuff when theyre clean that they never paid attention to. Thats why we do walk around with customers to try and show all the dings, dents, scratches etc... Some people honestly think we did it, others just want something for nothing and think nothing of being dishonest knowing the damage was there before.
Youre probobly right and was there before and now you just noticed when clean......but there still that thought in the back of your mind

 

Heh heh....too true. I ran a shop for years and I KNOW, with 100% certainty, that some customers ripped us off for damages that were pre-existing. When I insisted on walk-arounds at time of drop-off the "damage" claims dropped quite a bit.

I also had a "report damage" policy where causing damage and *not reporting it* was a far worse sin than causing the damage. This served two purposes: first, we could report the damage to the customer ourselves, apologize like crazy, and assure them that it would be repaired on our dime. This is MUCH better than letting the customer find the damage on his own. The overwhelming majority of customers understand that mistakes happen and appreciate the honesty.

Second, if shop damage is reported I'd KNOW that the shop is paying for something that we caused and ISN'T paying for something we didn't cause.

Cheers
DD

 

I always do a "walk round" when handing my car over and always again after....its the only way to try and protect BOTH parties IMO and defo a good habit to get into.

Everyday is a school day

 

Combined with the walkaround, that's a very smart investment in future business. Either way, it costs the same to fix. But, the customer is *much* happier if he is not the one that has to find the damage. That makes the shop a standout business in his eyes.

 

Yes, exactly. Besides wanting to be honest for ethical reasons it is a smart way to do business, especially in an industry that has a reputation for dishonesty.

I've long maintained that how a business, *any business*, handles their mistakes is the best way to find out what kind of outfit you're really dealing with.

I could give many examples but I'll just say that in some instances we really bollixed things up....I mean major damage or serious mistakes....and when it was all over and done with the customers remained loyal and still brought their business to us. This as opposed, of course, to telling everyone in town how rotten we are.

Cheers
DD

 

You've probably also gotten the "aw, don't worry about it" too.

The street goes two ways.

It's when someone is feeling insulted where they go after an extra pound of flesh purely for revenge.

 

Yup :-)

Some people shrugged off minor damage as simply a part of life.

Sometimes there was inital upset or anger (naturally) but that's hard for a reasonable person to maintain for very long when the offending party has been honest, apologized, and steps up to the plate for the repair costs.

Others, a minority, wanted a brand new car, demand that the offended mechanic fired (and, if possible, sent to prison) payment for pain and suffering, an apology printed in the local newspaper, etc.

These are the people who, no matter WHAT you do in an effort to makes things right, just keep repeating "That's not acceptable".

In such cases I can only assume that their lives are so pathetically empty that the earth-stopping event of a banged fender gives them more power and sense of importance than they've ever known....and by god they're gonna take it as far as they can.

Cheers
DD

 

Until my cheap mits got this car, it had only seen the dealer, and I've seen their operation. I'm guessing they wouldn't have let that go. While I couldn't prove the shop was responsible, the more I ponder it the more I'm comfortable placing the blame on them. While I'll never get any admission from them, neither will they ever get my business again. And I'll let my mechanic know his recommendation really isn't up to snuff.

 

Has anybody had one of the Star bolts break off on their BBS wheels. One of mine apparently broke off before I bought the car and I did not notice it. Has any one tried to take one of these broken bolts out? I do not know if I want to do it myself or take it to a machine shop. I have been looking for a replacement star bolt but have not located one yet, as I do not want to take out the broken bolt until I have a replacement. I think these bolts are made out of titanium and are torqued to 20 lbs. Any suggestions would be helpful. I called a local wheel repair guy but he did not want to get involved with replacing the bolt, not sure why. He said something about breaking drill bits. All four of my 20 inch BBS's are in real nice condition . The front ones need some clear coat on the spokes, the backs are fine.

Bill N
03 XKR