Dear all,
I would like some advice on further action regarding something that happened today.
3 weeks ago I took my car into a local fast fit (will not name names) to have a new tyres fitted and tracking down onto the car as the 2 front tyres was worn out due to the tracking.
All went well, car tracking okay and tyres no problems.
Today, went back for a recheck as part of the service for the original job (free recheck after 2 weeks etc..) The lad who was doing the job said that the tracking was out - so went ahead and to do the 'adjustments'. Now the equipment used was a light beam onto a mirror to a guide.
So he did it, said it was all okay, I got the form signed to say it was adjusted.
As soon as I got back into the car I felt something wasn't quite right (before I even turned the engine on - sixth sense?) Proceed to take the car out onto the road and onto local dual road and gaining speed (NSL). The steering on the car wasn't right and the car seems to pull to the left all of the time. Not happy with this and the car steering becomes more a danger as I continued on. Stopped car and phoned the garage up straight away and complained that something wasn't right.
Manager at the time wasn't sure what to do - so I said I will be taking it to Kwik-Fit to see what they can find.
Now on Fiat Seicento the tracking should be -1mm. Kwik-fit told and showed me that Passenger side was -4mm and drivers side was -7mm. No wonder it was pulling to the left!
Now Kwik-fit corrected the problem at cost and I told the garage at fault the problem, that toe out was in total -11mm wrong. And I am not happy and that my safety and other road users safety was put at risk due to this issue. Manager said why I didn?t bring the car back to them to sort out. I said "why shouldn't I", as there is a fault with your staff training on the equipment. They admitted they were wrong.
Now the help - were do I go from here? Do I report them to head office and reclaim the costs back, or do I get legal advice.
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Have you talked to the branch manager himself about a refund of the tracking cost?
That seems the obvious first step, before trying head office.
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Depends on the cost of Kwik Fit puting it right.
You can go to the Trading Standards at the Council; you could claim in the Small Claims Court, but you did not mitigate your loss (by giving the first garage the opportunity to put it right) or you could put it down to experience and decide never to darken the doors of the original garage again. Cerainly tell head office that something is wring with their equipment or training.
Is the first garage an MoT testing station? Maybe worth mentioning it to VOSA.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I wonder if this is the same chain that did the tracking on our car. Our previous front tyres had done 23,000 miles and had slight feathering on outer edges. Had same type of new tyres fitted to front, and tracking done. These wore right down on the inner edges after 7000 miles.
The tyre chain involved were very dismissive, saying that I must have hit a kerb or driven over a steep slope (!!!). They also said tracking needs to be adjusted every 3 months. I\'ve never heard that one before.
I believe that the tracking equipment at the branch where the new tyres were fitted (while we were on holiday) must have been inaccurate - I saw for myself that the tracking APPEARED to be set at the correct angle - zero degrees. However at the local branch of the same chain they couldn\'t check the tracking because the equipment was away being repaired!
Incidentally the old front tyres have done another 7000 miles on the rear - making 30,000 in total.
A good scam would be to have inaccurate tracking equipment, persuade people have their tracking done every 3 months and then sell more tyres because they wear out quicker. They wouldn\'t do that, would they?
Cheers, Sofa Spud
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Without mentioning names, the tyre chain in my post was NOT, repeat NOT A.T.S.!
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Whether the 'tracking' on your car was right or wrong, it would not make your car pull to the left, or to the right for that matter. The 'tracking' has no bearing whatsoever on making a vehicle pull one way on its steering. All the 'tracking' or Front Wheel Alignment as it is properly known does is make the two front tyres run parallel so that when the vehicle is in motion it makes the tyre wear even. So whether it is perfectly accurate or a quite a few mm's out the car should steer perfectly straight on an even flat surface. If it doesn't then there is something wrong other than your 'tracking'.
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Simon,
I don't think that's correct. The two tyres will fight against each other and whichever has the better tread will win out and push/pull the car in that direction. Or am I wrong ?
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Theoretically maybe, but unless one was a racing slick and the other was an off-road knobbly tyre I think you would be hard pressed to achieve this and notice a definate pull on the steering under normal circumstances.
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I'm afraid Simon I can't agree with you either. The car will most definately pull to one side if the tracking is out. The wheels can still be parallel and both be pointing to the left or right.
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If a car pulls to one side or the other, it is worth looking at the tracking - by which I mean toe in or toe out. Of equal value is the inspection of the pertinent suspension components which *should* occur before any adjustments are done. The number of people who actually do this inspection are, regrettably, small.
It is possible to get the toe correctly set, but end up with the steering wheel off centre while driving straight. Some customers will describe this as 'pulling', but if they let go of the wheel, the car would go straight. This can be corrected by making equal adjustments at each side, keeping the toe constant.
However, it is not true to say that errors in tracking will *always* cause a car to pull to one side. It can happen that the only way you find out that the tracking is wrong is when you notice your prematurely bald tyres.
The most important thing to look for when deciding to get your suspension alignment checked is not place with the best and most expensive equipment - it is to find people who take care, and do the job properly. There aren't many.
number_cruncher
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Sorry Simon but I too have to disagree.
When I bought the Polo I left for France about a week after on 1000mile round trip. Tyres were going to be in need of a change within the next few 1000 miles so I thouhgt I'd wait until I got home.
On the way home, the worst of all snow blizzards hit the road I was on - catching everyone by surprise as the roads had not been prepared! The drive through that was not fun and just put it down the Polos handling.
Get it home - 4 new tyres and tracking - the tracking was well out and probably the cause of the difficulties of my cars handling in the ice.
Have since driven on ice again, and the handling is a lot better and I feel a lot more confident to go above 20mph on a motorway in those conditions! :-)
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kennybase,
It is good that you are now happy with your car and its handling.
But, you have changed 2 things at once - tyres and tracking - therefore, you cannot be sure that the tracking has made all of the difference.
number_cruncher
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