Ok, So i bought my car about 3 weeks ago and among other accessories I opted for the lowering springs kit for my tC. About 2 weeks after I bought the car, (8 days after the date they told me my springs would arrive), the dealership set me up an appointment with a Performance shop to get my springs installed. The springs are Eibachs with about 1.5" drop all around. After the shop installed the springs they told me to drive on them for about a week, then get the car aligned (this standard procedure, correct me if i am wrong). The shop said that I should talk to the dealership, as they would be able to do it. I called the dealership, and they are telling me that I have to PAY for the alignment. The dealership says that they chose the Eibach springs because they arae only a slight drop and an alignment is not necessary after installation(never heard of this). I called the guy at the shop today and he reiterated that I should at least have the alignment looked at, so as not to eat up my P-Zeros (expensive tires).

Now, you might be saying. "Who cares, why dont you just get the alignment?". My answer would be: I payed $700 for a set of springs that dont cost more than $300. Thats $400 installation (which i knew i was getting screwed, but i figured at least when it was done i would have nothing to worry about i.e. alignment, if they were put on correctly, plus they were covered by warranty). Now the dealership wants me to pay $85 dollars for alignment. Making the installation about a $500 on a $300 set of springs. What i really dont understand is that i bought the springs when i paid for the car. Which, although they had not been installed when i drove off the lot, essentially the paperwork said they were. Would I expect to drive off the lot with a lowered car that hadnt been aligned? F*$% no, so why should I have to pay for it to be aligned after the fact.

Very ____ed.

Anyone else had this issue?


im calling up there today to voice my opinion on the matter. do you guys agree that im getting screwed here, or am i just crazy?

 

Bro, first of all you are an idiot for paying that much money for springs... i payed like $180 on ebay for a brand new set of Eibach springs for my xB and installed them myself in under about 1hr.. i have not got an alignment and my tires are all wearing evenly. So basically i paid $200 total for my whole lowering job.. $180 for the springs and $20 for the 30 pack of Coors Light. haha sorry you just got raped!! PEACE

 

well, i didnt really look into the springs all that much. 650-695 seemed to be the going dealership rate for the springs. I didnt check ebay but i expected that i would pay $300 for the springs + at least $100 - 200 for the install (dont really have the time install myself). So i figured im paying about $200 more than i would have if id gotten them aftermarket (Which honestly, would have been a while because i probably wouldnt have wanted to spend the money up front). Instead I just opted to pay an extra $10-12 per month in financing, to make sure I got it right away. Little did i know they were going to screw me on top of that.

 

So, I'm getting my car dropped with the complete TRD package, springs, shocks/struts, and sway bar. And, I got to talk to the mechanic who will be doing the install, he's very knowledgeable and said he would do an alignment after the install and check it and adjust it after the springs have had a month to settle. Which makes perfect sense to me, align after install since you just tore the entire suspension apart pretty much and then check and fine tune after things settle. And I negotiated this into the install price, which I can't divulge.

As for if you got raped or not, it's your money and nobody elses, if you are happy with the deal then no, you didn't get raped, if you are not satisfied then you have an issue and the only way to deal with it is to well, deal with it, talk with the service manager.

IN FACT, the 2005 Scion repair manual STATES as the last step of a Front or Rear shock absorber with coil spring overhaul is to "Inspect and adjust wheel alignment"

So, if you're being charged for essentially a front and rear shock absorber with coil spring overhaul then the alignment should have been included in that price.

I'd go to the service manager and ask right off the bat "Is my car esentially getting a front and rear shock absorber overhaul?" If he says yes then ask "is that what I'm being charged for?" If he says yes then tell him to get out the repair manual and see that an alignment is part of the procedure and if they are not performing the full procedure as dictated by Toyota you want the cost of the alignment taken off your bill or for them to follow the damn procedure.

 

My owners manual says that alignment and tire balancing are free at the dealership. But then again I may have read that wrong

 

- thanks thread, ill try that.

- i dont remember rob, i'll have to look at the manual again.

 

i love when people say they dont have the time to install things meaning they cant but u just paid about 500 for all your stuff? i dont know no knocking you but people should try things first we have techy articles here anyways thanks jmho

 

i agree with cheCazzo.. unless you are making $500 an hour..which i highly doubt you are.. you should take the hour that it took me to install the springs yourself and save that $500 bucks you spent for install. it took me about exactly 1hr and 15mins with hand tools so if i had air tools it would have been even faster...just my opinion. i dont mean to give you a hard time about the money you spent but i just think that that was a lot of money to spend on a coil install.. i am in the wrong business.. i should become a mechanic! good luck with the alignment.. i personally think alignment is not totally necessary. my tires are wearing just fine after a year with no alignment.

 

When you lower a car an alignment should be done right away. You dealer should have sold you TRD springs and they should have installed them. Don't get me wrong eibach is one of the best springs out. This just sounds fishy. I would go press the issue with your salesman and if they still act funny contact the Better Business Bureau.(spelling)

 

what? i didn't think i'd ever heard of a dealership selling springs for that much. that is unheard of .. they'd be silly to even try. you could've gotten a set of Tein basic coilovers for that price.