A pleasant surprise at the alignment shop today

[Derald Rice]

Took it out for a for alignment today and I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the shop.

Normally it is tedious to get on the rack ,.......

But today was the first time for me to see an alignment rack that was recessed into the floor, so that there are NO ramps to climb.
The car just drives onto the rack, then the rack raises to working height.....

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When done, the rack lowers to the floor level and the car drives off.....Absolutely no drama
The owner says that his biggest advantage is........Chrysler PT CRUISERS, that have an extremely long front overhang.
But he also does a ton of street rods, Porsches, and other high end cars with very low clearance issues.....

[CraigS]

Nice. I haven't seen that either. A bunch of extra $ and planning ahead to build the shop w/ that recessed floor area.

[GoDadGo]

Nice. I haven't seen that either.

Ditto!

[GTBradley]

That is simply brilliant. I've been turned away from an alignment shop once they got a look at the clearance of the roadster. Can I ask where the shop is and what they charged you?

[Derald Rice]

That is simply brilliant. I've been turned away from an alignment shop once they got a look at the clearance of the roadster. Can I ask where the shop is and what they charged you?

Nelson's auto tech, Downtown Fort Collins. http://www.nelsensauto.com/

Wade is the owner and the one who did my alignment. He did a 4 wheel alignment, and it took about 90 mins.

He even offered to check the pinion angle.

I don't want to publish his prices, call him direct....... Not Cheap, but it was reasonable.

[MSumners]

I’m just now scheduling an alignment. Anything I should be asking other than letting them know the clearance and specific caster/camber recommendations? Any red flags for shops to avoid? Thanks gents any insight is appreciated.



That is simply brilliant. I've been turned away from an alignment shop once they got a look at the clearance of the roadster. Can I ask where the shop is and what they charged you?

[GTBradley]

For my initial alignment, aka fixing my initial-initial alignment work, I went ½ a mile down the street to Firestone and they did a decent job. Since that worked okay but they had gone out of business, the next time I asked the guys at BigOTires, where I bought my Nittos, if they could do it. I told them what the car was and what the clearance was. When I showed up bright and early on appointment day they flat refused to even see if the Cobra would drive on to the ramps:mad:. That got me to thinking I shouldn't be relying on that kind of shop anyway, so I went to a shop like Derald did that specializes in sports cars. No problem at all except they wouldn't tell me the price until they were done. $89 at Firestone, nearly $300 at the experts.

I would double-check with them to make sure they can get it up their ramps and they have an expert four wheel alignment technician available.

[Avalanche325]

I've even seen scissor lifts in home garages recessed into the floor. You guys should get out more.

.......or watch more YouTube.

[GTBradley]

I've even seen scissor lifts in home garages recessed into the floor. You guys should get out more.

.......or watch more YouTube.
I try to, but it always drags me off into never, never land where I end up watching cats do weird things. An hour later I realize I forgot what I wanted to watch.