What line of B.S. is Les Schwab feeding me and WTF did they do?

[sxman69]

Went and got an alignment tonight. Took about an hour and a half (said it would take 30 minutes), so I walked outside to see if they even were working on it and when I saw my car up on the lift, I noticed 4 techs crowded around the front right wheel. Didn't think much of it, so went back inside. Cutish hick girl calls my name and proceeds to tell me everything went well except they couldn't align the front right wheel. Her words exactly, "Audi doesn't make a kit for that." On the printout, the techs even wrote something along those lines...



So whatever, I took there excuse and left. When I was driving, every time I would accelerate (as I usually do) the whole car would clunk. I would start moving, push in the clutch to shift from 1-2, CLUNK, 2 gear, clutch, CLUNK, 3 gear and so on. And my fucking speedometer doesn't work. WHAT THE FUCK DID THEY DO TO MY CAR!?! Just like any good AZ'r, I can tell when my car feels even the slightest bit difference, so I can assure you that my B6 did not arrive at Schwab in that condition.

[DNasty777]

Well, there is no adjustment for front camber on these cars unless you buy adjustable upper control arms. As for clunking and speedo, I have no clue.

[A4SoftWalker]

Pretty simple u need to either tighten, or get them to tighten - the bolts in ur suspension they loosened in an attempt to align ur car.

Next the dealer doesn't charge too much for alignment from what I remember. Take it there for peace of mind and give them any special instructions they need for any adjustable ctrl arms u might have.

[BARRY]

HAHAHA...wow this thread is hilarious. sorry.

yes like someone else said, they probably loosened up some bolts they should NOT have. nobody goes to LES SCHWAB. an audi has A LOT of things that can break if you just touch it wrong, always goto a audi specialized repair shop.

[Turbwhistle]

Since we are on the topic, should i trust a local tech school to do the alignment on my car? (its free) If a shop that specializes in alignments cant do it should i trust a bunch of high school students?

[jojoampt]

Since we are on the topic, should i trust a local tech school to do the alignment on my car? (its free) If a shop that specializes in alignments cant do it should i trust a bunch of high school students?

Cant.. tell... if.... serious..... I would say absolutely not.

[Kittrell]

^wow, no. You take your '78 Pacer to the high school auto shop class to be aligned.

[sxman69]

Well, there is no adjustment for front camber on these cars unless you buy adjustable upper control arms. As for clunking and speedo, I have no clue.

What threw me off was that they said they adjusted the front left no problem. Needless to say I will be going to the dealer for my next alignment.

[Turbwhistle]

Cant.. tell... if.... serious..... I would say absolutely not.

Well, only reason i would consider having them touch my car is its free. Also, the teacher is a technician who teaches people how to do this stuff, he should be very very knowledgeable about this. My thoughts were, if you know enough to teach it, you should be a top class tech. So, i guess i will just go else where.

[Kittrell]

My thoughts were, if you know enough to teach it, you should be a top class tech. So, i guess i will just go else where.

Something to remember about these auto shop schools. People go for one-two years and then they might go into a special BMW, Audi, Ferrari, etc. training program, or they might not. At any rate, they are just taught a lot of the basics for your domestic type vehicles. So you don't have to be a European auto tech wizard to teach these kids.

[Turbwhistle]

Well, looks like i am either going to audi or finding another place.

[Kittrell]

Audi or an indie shop. Any jiffy lube chain is gonna leave you wanting.

[B6A4Avant14]

We live near a one of those junior/senior high program schools, I hear countless story's about them fucking up on cars, even domestics. I would never trust one of them with our B6.

[Turbwhistle]

Audi or an indie shop. Any jiffy lube chain is gonna leave you wanting.

One of my friends went to a local town fair tire, and i guess they did a good job, also family members have been going to fire stone places for ever. I will look into it. Thanks for every ones help. By the way, i am b5, but its the same concept.

[CrazyCal]

Rule #1 in my automotive book: Do not take any vehicle to any Les Schwab for ANY reason.

Once upon a time, my 1993 Ford Probe had one of the rear calipers locking up. Took it to Les Schwab to get checked out. After an hour and a half they came back and said I needed new calipers, new pads, and new rotors and it would be $800. I didn't have that kind of money right then, so I took it home, jacked it up and checked it out myself. Turns out, the e-brake release clip was gummed up with road grime. A little WD-40 to clean it out was all it needed. And thus, my wrenching hobby began. I will NEVER go to any Les Schwab for ANYTHING..... EVER.

[intylerwetruste]

http://www.lesschwab.com/

i had to look that up -> why did you take your car there in the first place ?
no independent audi shop around ?
coupon in the mail ?
cutish hick girl that cute ?

post pics of her so we can discuss if this might have been the reason.

sorry to hear about that dilemma though, let us know what it was in the end.

[iamshayan]

check your abs module for speedo not working, also check your wheel speed sensors. these are common faults.

[A4Turbo04]

I dont get how they were able to align your other 3tires except that one...? isn't the front of A car the same both sides, left and right?

[onceover]

Anyone else notice they spelled "consurn" wrong? That's pretty sad.

Speedo not working is probably due to them screwing up the wheel speed sensor while adjusting stuff

[rollerton]

I cannot even tell you how many times, how many people I know, that have been literally ass-fucked by les schwab.
They will absolutely screw you at any opportunity.
-
Ok, one example.
Ex-gf had a 67 bug back in the day. Take to les schwab for simple snow-tire swap for winter. She had chrome wheels, with a lug nut/ stud kit (vw's had bolts like our cars stock). The ****** swaps the tires and starts putting the wheels back on.
Something isn't right. Some of the studs had unscrewed (as they usually do) and he was putting them in backwards.
He gets it back together, backs off the lift and the rear brakes LOCK up solid.
Inches forward. Says something is wrong with the brakes. He screwed the long end of the studs into the drum and they went too far and RIPPED the brakes off inside the drum.
Then guess what!?
He said " It was like that when you brought it in."
Fuck that place.
I have dozens of other stories.

[DBM]

Anyone else notice they spelled "consurn" wrong? That's pretty sad.

Speedo not working is probably due to them screwing up the wheel speed sensor while adjusting stuff

I couldn't even figure out what word they were trying to spell. CON8URN

[Elliott]

people I know, that have been literally ass-fucked by les schwab..

I'd expect that from Jiffy Lube.

[Charles.waite]

I'd expect that from Jiffy Lube.

ISWYDT....

[bondar1989]

Im glad i can to it myself at my school on this nice hunter machine :D

[AudiA4_20T]

Since we are on the topic, should i trust a local tech school to do the alignment on my car? (its free) If a shop that specializes in alignments cant do it should i trust a bunch of high school students?

I would. Audis are cars just like anything else. I get mine done at BJs wholesale

[boy412]

I make all my shops take a literacy test before they can work on my car.

[03A4]

My local Audi dealer charges $200 for the alignment which I think is pretty damn pricey

[nvds4]

I bought a lifetime alignment for my B7 at Firestone, for $179. It's good for the as long as I own my car, at any location, nationwide. I had to go back twice in order for them to it done just the way I wanted, but hell, it didn't cost me anything more. I'll be going back again soon, to get things checked after my track day last week. That works out to be just $60 per alignment. Which helps a ton, considering what I've spent recently on my suspension adjustments thru my local Audi shops. For an adjustable control-arm setup, or anything else, I'd go to one of my 2 local Audi specialized shops. That is, for what I can't do myself. And very rarely, I'll go into the dealer for a small thing, such as a full coolant flush, just so they can take a thorough look at the car, and I get another opinion on what's going on. But yeah, for most stuff, def go Audi authorized/specialized.

[Hammie]

people I know, that have been literally ass-fucked by les schwab..

lol

[rollerton]

They are black death. Then the was the time the guy at ASS schwab stripped 16 out of 20 of the studs on the ALUMINUM drums on my old 59' Porsche 356. SIXTEEN OF THE STUDS!!
Or the next time the guy was swinging a huge weight at the bead of the tire on my newly powdercoated rims, I don't even know what that monkey was doing, but he didn't give a shit when I showed him the dents he just made.
Just thinking about that place makes my left eye twitch, like the chief in the old inspector clouseau movies.

[BlackB6quattro]

The camber adjustment on these cars is done by loosening the subframe and shifting it from side to side. They probably didn't tighten all the bolts back up, and said they couldn't align it because they couldn't get it to stay in the right place. Just helped my friend do an alignment on my car and this is how it is done. Eff that place, and I wouldn't give them my business anymore.

[BASARAB]

Since its so hard to break loose tie rods, many shops dont even do it. I went to Belletire, they wrote some crap on the paper and did not do shit, just charged me. After that I went to my friend's shop and we spent almost an hour trying to loosen tie rods,they were seized, and they clearly were not even touched by Belletire douchebags.
Go to a dealer .

[DownhillA4]

Cant.. tell... if.... serious..... I would say absolutely not.

LMFAO. Win! Bringing your car to have a bunch of HS dipshits touch your car? That shouldn't even be a question in the back of your head to think about.

OP, sorry to hear. The 4 techs standing around your car should of sent up a redflag, a big redflag.