Biased mechanics...

[Hick]

So they can only adjust the front two wheels, and nothing with the rear?

from factory, yes. you can adjust anything if you go aftermarket.

[ivo316]

I just got it aligned a month ago at a Goodyear center, they did it without complain, and i didn't see any weight added to the car, the computer they used displayed a couple of green lights and off i went. :)

[Jscotty]

As it relates to fuel and ignition related problems, BMW's can sometimes be a PITA to work on if you are not familar with the car. I think that there are some problems that can be tempermental or intermittant enough to the point where someone can bring their E30, 36, or whatever to the mechanic and have something unrelated done to the car and then bring the car back the next day and say, "Well it worked FINE before I brought it here" thus leaving the burden of correcting the problem on the mechanic. And I can say from personal experience that I have encountered a few problems that were very hard to solve.

[WillisE30]

As a mechanic, I'll chime in on this. Most average mechanics are SCARED TO DEATH of BMWs and anything else foreign for that matter. For one the parts cost more, most rednecks aren't familiar with them, and they have a reputation in the industry for being complicated. My old boss would outright refuse to work on BMWs and Mercs because he was afraid of them.

As for working on lowered cars, or anything modified most people would prefer not to deal with the hassle since there's a possibility of the task making more time, which in the flat rate repair world means you will make substantially less money. Honestly I can't blame shops for turning some work away.

[Borat]

^ I know what you mean,
quite often certain jobs are just not worth the time/money.

However, wimping out on an e30 (stock) alignment is pretty pathetic.

I feel sorry for the poor bastard who does my car with the IE toe/comber kits in the rear. So little space in there they wouldn't touch it until I went home and modified (read chopped bits off) a spanner so we could swing it.

[Tree18is]

ill get it

i might take a picture of this dude so you can see...
well WOOT! for the professional mechanics im a "professional" army mechanic. so if you got a 6.2 or 6.5 diesel let me know! lol
IN iraq we aligned hummv after hummv so i might be able to do it my self, but i agree that guy was a Poone.

[Nick]

Hah! One of my friends got deployed to Iraq....and for fun they like to jump HumVs off of dunes, apparently.

This guy comes at the dune at just the wrong angle and snaps the control arm...the right front wheel goes 90 degrees to the right and the thing buries itself in the side of the dune.

I saw it on video...hilarious.

I saw the

[Charlie]

I've had mechanics refuse to align my car because it is "lowered." I don't see how lowering affects anything but camber, which is not adjustable on these cars anyway (without special modification).

A lot of these jiffylube/ntb type places have guidelines where they can't send a car out with anything other than the factory settings for allignment when you bring it in. Obviously a car with aftermarket components that drastically change the allignment specs isn't going to be able to achieve that. At this point, it's a liability for them.

-Charlie

[kommissar]

Sad but True

A lot of these jiffylube/ntb type places have guidelines where they can't send a car out with anything other than the factory settings for allignment when you bring it in. Obviously a car with aftermarket components that drastically change the allignment specs isn't going to be able to achieve that. At this point, it's a liability for them.

-Charlie

Truth.

Unfortunately, it is hard to find a good shop with decent equipment AND actually get the mechanics to believe you when you say that you won't sue them. The mechanic that does work on my car when I cannot do it myself is a great guy who will even let me borrow tools from him when I need to. It is hard to find someone like this anymore.

I have noticed a "I'm going to sue your pants" off mindset now-a-days that has ruined a lot of trust people have for one another. These ideas prevent not only mechanics, but anyone selling something, from deviating from the "status quo" for fear that they will be liable for doing something that is not "by the book."

It is a shame, but the even bigger shame is that society has changed to the point where they are justified in doing so.

[Jscotty]

When a customer promises that he will not sue, I think that at the time he says it, he really means it. But because he knows not what he asks, when he encounters the consequences of his decision, then he feels that the mechanic should have at least warned him.

My buddy who happens to have a tow truck with the sling type of hoist decided long ago that he would not tow any car that does not have a steel bumper (unless it was something urgent like an accident or an impound). So one day he encountered this guy who was too impatient to wait for AAA and he explained to the guy why he does not tow plastic bumpered cars. The guy asked him how many cars has he towed without damaging the bumper. My buddy told the guy that he towed over 50 cars without damaging them (big mistake) so the guy was like, "Well you won't damage my car either." Long story short- the bumper and the rear tail lights got ripped off and the guy wanted to sue because my buddy never suggested that the tail lights would get damaged too.

[mikeedler]

do not allign your BMW the sorry ass Army mechanice allign Hummers! that wraping a string around the truck crap is for Army vehicle O.K.?????!!!???well, not really- because you aint paying for the tires. Just go to a different shop. it is cheap, and it will be EXACT.

I had the exact same problem here in germany with my truck trying to get it alligned. Noone wanted to do it, cause they didnt know anything about it. took a while till I found a shop, and needed to bring the specs in myself.

[Tree18is]

well i know the "sorry ass wey" but we measure 6.5 up lik4 4 in and center it exactly! then we get it within and 8th of and inch to perfect according to the manua which is so much toe out and toe in front and back of tires, Its very effective and i bet it would be perfect on a machine. My boss is anal, so trust me, there rolling out fuckn perfect everytime, and hum-v's arnt even my job.