Alignment Shop in Orange County CA?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 293
Likes: 6
From: Santa Ana CA
Ended up getting the alignment done at Accurate Alignment in Orange CA. Sharon (wife of the owner) is incredible. Very helpful, knowledgeable, and all around quite personable....and its a good thing she is there. It helped counter balance a little funkiness with Chris, the owner. I must have caught him on a bad day. He got easily frustrated, which he directed at me in the form of funky remarks and attitude, felt the need to throw in a few unnecessary small jabs and digs on a couple of things, but that aside, he does know what he is doing.
He struggled with my spreader bar for some reason. First he asked me what it was and what it did (I was surprised by the questions), then struggled removing it for more than 30 minutes (Its just a simple nut and bolt that hold the hemispherical ball joint to the bracket...pretty simple stuff).
However, all that being said, he really did take the time necessary to get the alignment right, and for that, I appreciate his effort. He charged me $25 more than he quoted me, but I didnt say a word. Just paid the $125 for the front end only. I knew he put some time into it..I was there for 2 hours.
All and all, a significantly improved alignment. Just wish his rack-side-manner was a little more even-tempered and customer friendly. I dont want to be too hard on him, just reporting my experience as it happened. Overall, Im sure hes a good guy, and I assume I just caught him on a bad day. He did accommodate my request to wait for it instead of dropping it off, got me in the same day I called, and he was thorough once he got past removing the spreader bar, and did get me really close to the Borgeson 3 degree castor they recommended. I really can feel the difference in how the car drives.
Id give them a solid 3.5 star rating. If it wasnt for the funky vibes from the comments and the attitude, it would give him a 5 star rating. Im not entirely sure Id go back to him again, but I am happy with the result.
He struggled with my spreader bar for some reason. First he asked me what it was and what it did (I was surprised by the questions), then struggled removing it for more than 30 minutes (Its just a simple nut and bolt that hold the hemispherical ball joint to the bracket...pretty simple stuff).
However, all that being said, he really did take the time necessary to get the alignment right, and for that, I appreciate his effort. He charged me $25 more than he quoted me, but I didnt say a word. Just paid the $125 for the front end only. I knew he put some time into it..I was there for 2 hours.
All and all, a significantly improved alignment. Just wish his rack-side-manner was a little more even-tempered and customer friendly. I dont want to be too hard on him, just reporting my experience as it happened. Overall, Im sure hes a good guy, and I assume I just caught him on a bad day. He did accommodate my request to wait for it instead of dropping it off, got me in the same day I called, and he was thorough once he got past removing the spreader bar, and did get me really close to the Borgeson 3 degree castor they recommended. I really can feel the difference in how the car drives.
Id give them a solid 3.5 star rating. If it wasnt for the funky vibes from the comments and the attitude, it would give him a 5 star rating. Im not entirely sure Id go back to him again, but I am happy with the result.
For the past few months the tires have been wearing poorly, and the handling became progressively worse. Today I did an inspection of the steering system, and found that all of the shims were missing. Clearly something was not done correctly. The upper control arm was floating around with an inch or so gap where the shims once lived. Could have killed me.
Last edited by Zero1Niner; May 14, 2015 at 01:55 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 7,098
Likes: 378
From: Las Vegas - Just stop perpetuating myths please.
U should check the studs that hold the shims and the bar piece they go through. They will losen up and prevent the nut from tightening. No easy fix either as once the stud serrations turn in the mounting bracket holes even new studs wont tighten. Yep your into welding in new metal on the brackets and redrilling holes for the studs.
If u find and easy fix please post.
If u find and easy fix please post.
