I breathed a sigh of relief this morning after I avoided nearly getting ripped off by the dealer from which I bought my WRX and where I go for regular maintenance. It’s there today getting the clutch replaced — and there through tomorrow I recently learned (grr…gotta roll the ghetto Buick Century till then) — and I almost got suckered by the new service adviser into paying for a wheel alignment. Here are my emails to my WRX mailing list about the saga:
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 14:43:41 -0400 (EDT)
From: Gabe
To: subaru_wrx@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: advice re: alignment
Phew! I’m glad I checked with my local, long-time tire shop (Mark Morris
Tire in San Francisco) that did the tire replacement. They have a LIFETIME
(once every 6 mos.) alignment for the SAME PRICE as what the dealership
charges for ONE ($150). So I’ll be bringing my car there tomorrow…and
from now on. And they charge $69 for a one-time alignment.
I feel like a fool for almost having been ripped off at the dealer…but I
had a bad feeling about it, so I’m glad I trusted that instinct.
Generally speaking, do you guys have your regular service & maintenance
done at your dealership or a local shop?
Thanks,
Gabe
On Tue, 24 Jun 2003, Gabe wrote:
> Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 12:15:12 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Gabe
> To: subaru_wrx@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: advice re: alignment
>
> I dropped off my WRX at the dealership this morning to get the warranty
> clutch replacement. I have about 19k miles and recently had that problem
> with the nail in my tire, so got a whole new tire. Alignment was not
> included when they put on the new tire, but they balanced the tires, of
> course (at a tire shop, not the dealership).
>
> This morning there was a new service adviser there (dealership). He said
> it looks like I’m getting some outside wear on my tires and suggested I
> get the $150 four-wheel alignment. I told them to hold off on it until I
> give them the go-ahead. I don’t think I’ve had an alignment to date, since
> I don’t think it’s included in the 15k service, right?
>
> Should I go for it? Is it included in the 30k service?
>
> Thanks for the input.
>
> -Gabe
>
> —
> http://gabeanderson.com/wrx
