Quote:
Originally Posted by wparsons
And this is why I can't stand most service advisers. Who cares what you suggest to people that have no clue and actually need the service done, why would you suggest the same thing to a person who is clearly more into their vehicle than the average driver AND would have had an alignment just a couple weeks prior? It's the blanket statements that are really just used hoping people fall for the bait and pay for something they don't need.
I'm not saying all shops are like this, but throwing out blanket statements like you always need an alignment when changing tires angers me beyond belief. Tailor the advice to the situation, it's WAY better customer service.
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If the OP had an idea then he would not be asking the question of doing alignment after suspension when clearly he also pointed out he had the opportunity to wait it out to have the new wheels and tires on as well and do it the alignment after all in one shot....
Which means if you could wait to have all components including wheels and tires put on and then do alignment, why not? What's the rush? Why leave a variable and possible future problem to chance? Why recommend otherwise? It's just simple common sense...
Which brings back to blanket statements... They are made not with the intent to milk you out of your hard earned money... Its meant for people to take notice and use their own common sense and judgement. It's like warning labels on cigarettes... It's there to let people know what potentially can happen and for them exercise their own judgement... Or even using electronic equipment on airplanes during take off... Blanket statements exist for a reason... Try have the stewardess apply and tailor no electronic equipment usage during takeoff policy to each of the 500 passengers on a plane for each flight and I'm sure it will be chaos...
Which in your case I feel bad you had a lot of bad experiences with mechanics...and perhaps hence your negative perception towards mechanics. Partly to blame is the fact that the repair industry has gotten too reliant on following sop that they forget how to think and solve problems and become part swappers...and of course the consumer foots the bill. But on the flip side, consumers are so blame happy that they tend to blame the problems on mechanics without asking themselves if they are also part of the problem... Especially in the age where lawsuits are filed on a whim, are consumers every bit a contributor to the plethora of warning labels, recommendations, and policies put in place? Unless consumers exercise the same type of restraint and common sense, manufacturers, installers, and related products and services have no choice but place blanket statements and policies in place to protect from lawsuit happy consumers that needed only a bit of common sense to avoid problems in the first place....
One example with wheels and tires. The hella flush movement. Tire manufacturers and wheel manufacturers always recommend to have wheels fitted with a certain range of tire sizes. However, consumers disregard this and stretch on the skinniest tire possible. While we dont condone this and recommend it, consumers will do what they want. But all it takes is one kid to get in an accident from this and have their parents decide to sue the manufacturers, the installer, the wheel manufacturer because they didnt label or warn the consumer enough.... And at that point another blanket warning pops up... ( BTW, the OP's stock 215/45R17 tires are not recommended on 17x9 wheels... only recommended on 7-8 widths which further deviates from factory settings)
As for shop experiences, similarly, I've had situations like yours... But I've also had mechanics that gave me sound advice and saved me a ton of money... It's like any profession where there will be good guys and there will be unethical ones...
So while you may be the one out of every 100 individuals that can think like a mechanic and exercise common sense, blanket statements are intended to protect the rest of the public from themselves... Give them recommendations and for them to think for themselves...its not intended to steer unsuspecting public to paying more than they should.. Because let's face it, a world without blanket statements or policies or warnings would be chaotic...and blanket statements and policies exist because we the general public perpetuate their existence.