an alignment in this town that isnt 70bux!

I went to firestone, they said $70, went to 3 other shops on the parking lot known as Howell Mill Rd and they referred me to Gordy Tire, who could do it for slightly less, but at 8am tomorrow - Im not gonna sit in traffic to sit around for an alignment, only to drive home, wait around for an hour or two, then drive back to work at 11.
I called my favorite shop (see sig for details), and the people they send their customers cars to just burned down :(
I told him that i talked to firestone and he cut me off with a strong 'NO!' at 'FireSto' ...
He said call butler tire or NTB, they quoted 89 and 70 respectively. hell no!

who do you guys recommend ???

Here's the thing. If the guy is doing it the oldschool way with mirrors and a jig - it takes a bit under hour just to set it up for a four wheel alignment. The operator has to have a good amount of skill and training. Then he's got to actually do the alignment. If all goes well it should only take a few minutes, but if you've got rusted adjusters it could take a lot longer. The operator has to have a good amount of skill and training to do a good job.

The other way with computerized machines takes a bit less time, but the machine still costs a lot of money and the operator still needs trainging.

With dealers charging 80+ an hour labor - $70 for a job that takes way more than an hour isn't a terrible deal at all IMO.

hmm...
it should be an easy job. It was pretty much still in alignment, but I replaced a tie rod not too long ago and now it pulls to the right. I dont have any rusted adjusters either, so thats good.

Thanks for the feedback...

I went one day here in Lawrenceville and they said they don't have the equipement for Audis.


Does it depend on the NTB locations?

You won't gt a proper alignment from any places listed. Expect to pay between $100 and $200 for a proper alignment from the dealer. Independent shops do NOT have the proper equipment.

lotsa good food near Gran Turismo, too! Don't be so closed-minded. Just because those people are different from you and the buildings are old doesn't make it the ghetto.

'was' being the operative word...
the change in state from 'pretty much aligned' to 'pulling to the right' occurred when the tie rod was replaced.

Thats where the previous owner bought her tires...but i dont really want to drive out to Chamblee
I'd prefer Marietta and SE Cobb or just NW of midtown...

good to know.
Im not a fan of NTB anyway, so if I'm gonna spend as much money as I *apparently* am going to spend I wont give it to them...

but just wanted to let you guys know

do the walking... find the best price in the yellow pages and just go there. like you said it's not that far out, only pulling to one side. should be easy for a guy named Cooter with three teeth and a tattoo of his ex-wife's name on his arm to fix you right up.

they are all good...
this is a direct result of replacing the upper tie rod.
axels were replaced too, but i don't imagine that would have any affect on steering- please correct me if i am wrong...

so...to summarize
before work was done = straight
after work= pulling right
day after getting all this done => had tire replaced, all tire pressure checked, tires rotated. = car still pulling right like the day before...

and yet you're worried about saving a few bucks and a couple hours with an alignment.

Do you even realize the difference between an OK (or bad) alignment and a really good one done by someone who knows these cars?

My last TT alignment took over 2 hours. The difference before vs. after is astounding.

perhaps drastically, and yes THAT could cause it to pull.

You said tie rod, which typically refers to a part of the steering system. Changing one of those only impacts toe on your car, and incorrect toe would not, by itself, cause the car to pull. It could cause steering to feel twitchy OR slow, and would wear out your front tires.

now that i know, i have adjusted my expectations as to what such a job will cost.

For whatever reason, I thought they were cheaper....
I understand the price of owning and maintaining this car and the price of owning any nice equipment related or unrelated to this car. I now know that alignments are more of a complicated task than I had originally assumed.

Thanks for your input

Thanks for the info, I dont know too much about toe and camber etc.

so if i wait 2 hours for an alignment, it would have to be very close to where I live or work.
I get 1 (one) day off for christmas/new years, etc.
I have some time on the weekends, but everything is closed for the next 2 weekends....

life is all about managing priorities.

and probably close to same in price

I suck at remembering; coulda swore it was less. There was a $30 deduction on the bill for something, though...

j/k, but I know a lot of shops would take offense at hearing that their really expensive equipment isn't as good as an "Audi" alignment. And don't even get me started on Audi service...

here maybe this would help you *:)

and i know ghetto, truuuuust me :)

Alen

Seriously, I can tell you without a doubt that Eric understands what it's like to own an Audi. Ask him about replacing his A/C to the tune of $1500. 'Nuff said.
At any rate, ATL should have a ton of places to do good alignments, and even if the cost isn't as low as he and I thought it should be, there should be some place closer to him.

and well I can say it was good. Much better than Goodyear or any other non-Audi specialist but still not close enough.

Took the A6 to GT and really loved how the guys there were nice and knowledgeable about Audis. That nice hospitality which is so rare nowadays won me over and I will be going there from now on.

Alen

go to work, so i get a check, so i can pay for things for my audi

I have weekend time, but everything will kind of be closed these next two weekends.

this leaves early mornings for me, which get shortened due to traffic...


i think this thread got off track....

is. Unless they have the uberrack or whatever the **** it is that measures the odd toe than it doesn't matter, it'll never be fully in spec and done properly.

Butler Tire.

They did the A8 yesterday. The one just outside the Perimeter off of Buford Highway. Bill knows Audis, I trust him with my car.

I'd say the chances of a screwed up alignment with some random tire shop are pretty good. These things aren't Tahoes or Explorers, John Q. Tireshopwrench at The Random Tirestore doesn't see them all the time, doesn't really know how to do them.

There's nothing special about the equipment needed. It does help having someone who knows where the adjustment bolts are, knows about issues like frozen tie rod ends, etc.

While a random shop is a bad idea, there's nothing wrong with using a qualified independent shop. There is no special equipment required. Butler, for instance, has high-quality laser alignment hardware.

In the end, toe, camber, caster, etc., are all the same. As long as you have the capability to measure these and the tools/ability to correct them to the proper spec, it doesn't matter if you have a ruler or ubertitaniumfirebreathingrack, it'll get done right. (Oh, and before you flame, make sure you read exactly what I wrote above - i.e., as long as they have capability, tools, and ability.)

Yes, these are Audis, and therefore, they are a bish to most alignment shops, and believe me, they hate to do them. But, in the end, here's what you get. You get a good alignment that costs less than what a dealer charges, but they make up their time on the Fords of the world.

Speaking of, I am going to have to have mine done after my new suspension is put in. Not looking forward to having the alignment done. :(

if you dont mind me asking.

;)

Knowing my sister, it wouldn't surprise me. ROFLMAO!

Then you need the proper hunter rack and the ability to adjust "bump" toe / "bumpe steer" / "raised toe" (it's all the same, with different names).

Think your independant joe schmoe tire shop does? Think again. According to Hunter, the Audi machine is the only one with the software to measure it. Most independant shops won't loosen the subframe either like the dealer will to get it in proper spec.

Can you get it close? Yes. Can you get it right? Not unless you are lucky.

And FWIW, you can't tell if your alignment is out while driving unless something is really out of whack. When you install new TREs, even if you are "very careful" it's likely that it's still out, even if you can't feel it.

But hey, it's your car, and as long as you are only getting groceries in it, you're probably right and it won't matter. Why not get the cheap oil next time too?

they are a 'joe schmoe' tire shop.
Are you saying that they dont have the software with their hunter system to align an Audi?
I havent asked any other shops what they use, but i would imagine that most of the ones that use laser alignments use hunter or an equivalent.

We are not talking about going the 'cheap' route. Some of us were mistaken as to what the going rate for an alignment was. Quickaudi got a lifetime alignment (on a laser system, no less) for only $65 (in rural TN)

Dealers want 200-300 for an alignment, but i trust them to be honest and provide good deals like a trust my ex-girlfriend to not [*insert any sex act*] at a frat party on a [*insert any day that ends in 'Y'*] night...espically at 'Eim Jllis'

FWIW, i went paid 90 for an alignment on a Hunter Rack, they gave me a print out of my results and it took them less than half an hour - because the only notable adjustments made were the toe on the front right.

Hunter rack or not, 99.99% of the shops out there don't measure raised toe, nor are they equiped to.

There are some specialty independt shops that are properly equipped, chicago performance and tuning for example, but then again, it's run by ex audi techs with 500HP S4s :shrug:

Like I said, think whatever you want, but you aren't going to convince me that a "laser alignment" is somehow magically going to be right. It's just not. It's a fact.

I do agree that JE sucks the big one, but an alignment is just one thing you have to eat it on when you own a quattro audi for the most part.

that requires a specific rack and has to have specific measurements taken that no other AWD car system has? That these awd Evos, STIs, Volvos, etc., are inferior to the great Audi quattro system and don't have to have these measurements taken? That these $20k-$40k alignment systems just aren't good enough for the almighty quattro and its perfection? That camber, caster, toe and SAI weren't enough for Audi - they had to go create even more specific standards for their cars that no one can measure but them?
Give me a break.
From doing an internet search, the only thing specific to Audi is the cars that have adaptive cruise control and some other radar bits involved. Not a requirement here.
However, I've learned to be open-minded. How about you post the website address that says the S4's have to have a specific alignment? I've browsed the Hunter site for the last 30 minutes and found nada, beyond what I just typed above.

went to Germany as one of the Master Technicians who helped design the '86 5kcstq. He's never heard of all these specs you have brought up, and he uses a regular 4 wheel alignment setup.
And just because they have 500 hp cars doesn't mean they know anything. Whenever you actually provide us with some real information, not just Audi propoganda, let us know.

or just lying about the 30 minutes you spent searching.

either learn to use the internet, or learn to read, here is 10 seconds worth of searching for you.<ul><li><a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/lrqc/msgs/9216.phtml">http://forums.audiworld.com/lrqc/msgs/9216.phtml</a</li></ul>

If you notice on your tie rods you have the usual threaded end, which is nothing special, but the part that goes onto the steering knuckle can be moved up and down on the steering knuckle. This is where raised toe is adjusted. There is a special tool for measuring it while on the alignment machine. It doesn't matter if the car is Quattro or not, if it has the 4 link front end, it will have this adjustment point. The whole point of being able to move the tie rod up and down for the raised toe is to keep the tie rods as parralel &lt;sp&gt; as possible to help avoid bump steer. Hunter has told us that we (Audi Dealers) are the only ones with this software built into our racks. How true that is, I don't know, but again there is a special tool for setting the car up for this to be measured which I doubt many independant shops will have. If in doubt, you can ask a shop what raised toe is and if they don't know, I doubt they have the tool. Hope that helps.

i agree with quickaudi on the statement about 500hp cars...

While its nice to see a stimulating thread in SE, i think this thread got off track. I mean, no one even commented on the shop that burned down. My original post was more of a passing thought while i was killing time at work. I certainly have learned a good bit about alignments and suspension from this discussion.

Yea, there are good alignment shops and there are bad ones, and yea, they cost more than I originally thought, but to imply that audis suspension is so proprietary that only dealerships and shops that have tuned S4s to the Nth degree can do it seems a little far fetched. If a shop has a s4 only tuned to 350 or 400hp, do they not get hunters secret recipe for success? And secondably, I wouldn't be surprised if some dealerships, despite having the secret hunter sauce and/or recipe, don't half-ass it, like they half-ass everything else and lie about something else being broken so they can overcharge you for that too.
I think that 'not caring how expensive it is' is not an approach I would take; having that been said, i am not going to go on the 'cheap route' either. After getting feedback from a handful of you guys on the forum, I know that my expectations were out of line.

I didn't want this discussion to become a yelling match, which is <b>exactly</b> why I posted this here, as opposed to in OT or B5S4. The SE forum should be more like a community of people giving advice on the best shops to go to (other than JE) and their experiences and misadventures of driving their great cars among the crappy ones in a great, but crazy, city like Atlanta.
And now, Im going to go to bed and dream about driving my soon-to-be chipped S4 on freshly paved roads free of dumbasses in SUVs and whatnot.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and New Years and Happy Modding - I hope we all get something cool for our cars.

I said I spent 30 minutes searching HUNTER's website. Next time, before you decide to flame, Please, Please, for the sake of this board, read everything that I said.
And, what still confuses me is that the suspension guys on the S4 forum, like RyanS4, have never mentioned this raised toe. Now, that could be because they don't know about it, but wouldn't you think that a guy who's whole thing is suspensions might know about raised toe?
I've got an Audi technician friend that I'll call on Monday to see what he says about this. Until then, if you find something that's on the Audi website, that'd help. I usually takes posts here with a grain of salt.

Do you have a link to some website that would tell the specs for this? I haven't seen any in the internet; Audiworld, maybe, internet, no.

Russ is one of the most helpful and knowledgeable techs that I've ever run in to. I knew he could put it more elloquently than I which is why I asked him to respond.

After my first experience with a $175 dealer alignment I had the same question.

Didn't mean to get into it so much. =)

I forgot, that people on AudiWorld know everything.

:rollseyes:<ul><li><a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/southeast/msgs/13435.phtml">http://forums.audiworld.com/southeast/msgs/13435.phtml</a</li></ul>

But I have never searched the internet for it. I use the information given to me by the factory.

I agree. I wasn't using any sort of S4 as a justification of having the proper equipment, but rather saying that 99 times out of 100, indie shops just don't have it unless they heavily specialize in VAG cars and have a passion for it, why else would they spend the extra money?

There are definitely dealerships that are worth avoiding, and others I wouldn't think twice about, but the other thing I've learned, is that more important than the dealership, is the technician that you actually get working on your car. Even at great dealerships, there can still be screwballs who are going to take shortcuts and half ass things to save time. There's not much you can do about it other than finding a combo that you feel you can trust.

I think the discussion only escalated because of peoples snap response of calling me a liar without knowing what they are talking about. The fact is that there IS a raised toe spec on Audis. Whether or not all dealerships even adjust it is surely debatable, but the fact remains that they are the best equipped, and likely to do it, therefore the best place to take your car when an alignment is due. Like everything, it's your own decision if you feel that it's worth it, but that's just like you telling me that I'm wrong for running S03s on my car when any old $50 pep boy special is going to get me to work and back. The dealership isn't the ONLY place to get an alignment, but the point is that you can't take the car just anywhere. It's not a focus.

:shrug:

Sorry it came off harsh, was just trying to share little known knowledge that is often overlooked. I'll buy everyone a beer at the next gtg =)

I have nothing to gain at all by making my earlier post. I doubt anyone here is going to drive up to Illinois so that I can align your car, nor am I going to commute down there to a dealer to work at. That being said, Walter had asked me to explain what he was trying to explain but couldn't.
I've worked for both independant shops as well as for the dealer. There are sh!t heads on both sides of the fence. There are good techs and bad techs no matter where you go. Walter is 100% right in the best thing you can do is find someone you trust and are comfortable with and stick with them. Not to say they will never screw up because no matter what side of the fence you're on, each one of us is human. At some point we all make mistakes and will either misdiagnose or screw up a car in some way. A good tech however will owe up to his/her errors and do what he/she can do to make it right.
I will not dispute that it costs more money to have work done at a dealer. I'm not blind nor am I stupid. I do know the reasons why we are more per hour than an independant shop. Our over head is alot higher. ALOT higher. Every time a new car comes out, we get shipped thousands of dollars of special tools, and not by choice, it's mandatory. Everytime a new car comes out it costs the dealer thousands of dollars to get some tech's certified for that car. Keep in mind that when a new car rolls out, we get trained on it before it is in the showroom. An independant shop does not nor can not go to our training classes. In a few years when those cars are out of warranty, that's when the indy shops get to start trying to figure them out. If I did the math, I would guess that it cost my dealer about $25,000 for my training to get me to master status, and that's just me. This doesn't count the other 10 guys I work with. And yes, I make more than I ever could at an indy shop. Which as far as I am concerned, my pay is justified as well. I also make a large finacial commitment to doing this job. I don't have $30,000 in tools for bragging rights. (Although my yellow tool box is bad ass.) Yes, it costs more to get parts from us. What sucks is the average person can buy parts cheaper over the internet then what we can buy them from at cost. I think that is sh!tty, but not much I can do about it.
But again, the best thing you can do, whether it be an indy shop or dealer, is find someone you trust. Walter brought up Al who is a guy up here who used to be at a dealer and went to open his own shop. Since Al was a dealer tech he knew what to look for in an alignment rack and had bought a used rack with the software. So, yes, he does have the tools and the know how to get it right. I have oftened said that it's one thing to get respect from a client, but it is very hard to get respect from another tech. Al has mine 100%. I worked next to Al before he left to do his own thing and still keep in touch with him. I have recomended him to many of my clients for various things and wouldn't hesitate to do so again. I would trust him with my own car.
Sorry this is so long. Again, I have nothing to gain by speaking my mind. I am just another club member who happens to be in the business. You can either take what I say, or not. I won't be offended or hurt in any way. It is your car and you are free to do what you want. I hope whoever does work on your car does a good job and is a honest person.
Happy Holidays.

Joel (aka. quickaudi), I know from experience that you are knowledgeable with cars and very picky about where you take them - i.e. you arent letting 'cooter' anywhere near your car.

Walter, you definitely know more about Audi suspension than I do and I'm glad you and Russ could fill me in on raised toe. And I may take you up on that offer to buy drinks after the next GTG.

Anyway, lets just lay this one to rest, what do you say guys?

-Eric

Weirdly enough, people jumped on me on the B5S4 forum for ordering S03's. That didn't end up being what I got, but I thought that was weird.
At any rate, I completely agree and apologize as well. In the end, with our cars, it is about people you trust, whether they know anything about raised toe or camel toe (whoops, thought this was AWOT.) :P
Still, even though it looked ugly, I did learn a lot, and that was the point of the entire thread. Thanks again for the input.
Oh, and I may not be there for the next GTG, but you definitely have to show up for the dyno day!

I can tell you right now he is only going to put down 6 HP. =P

Ive always been curious how an SC'd V6 performed.
I used to have a 12v...and i thought it was relatively fast...how naive :)

this thread is stupid.

By all means just go anywhere. An alignment is an alignment, right?

absolutely no accountability for their work.

See that's the difference between "car guys" and everyone else.

I'm a "car guy." Everything I can do, I do myself. An alignment is a little too much work to get the string and the squares out, so I reluctantly take it somewhere. BUT... I don't just let anyone do this. WHY??? WHY??? Because I take it to Butler or Joe's Alignment and Salad Bar or National Tire Butchers and guess what??? Some a-hole who's been there 3 weeks starts wrenching on my car. Well, when my car drives like dog **** and my tires are all f'ed up, well guess what? I go back and the tech who lovingly spent 27 minutes on my car is nowhere to be found. Cuz he's now at Jiffy Lube doin' brakes.

Whatever. This is a stupid thread. Eric... please... take your car wherever. I really don't give a rat's ass.

We all came to a conesnsus that I wasn't just talking out my ass, and that there are actual reasons to take your car to a dealer for an alignment.<ul><li><a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/southeast/msgs/13435.phtml">http://forums.audiworld.com/southeast/msgs/13435.phtml</a</li></ul>

woah...woah
simmer down there captain uptight.
From your tone and handful of posts, it sounds like you <i>do</i> give a rats ass...about being right.
Walter and I had a good discussion about this and now I have a better understanding of the subject [thank you walter, russ and the rest].
I don't recall you giving me any advice on where to take my car, only where not to take it. People like JimR, choppo, walter, CTGBrad and alen all gave me input based on their experiences. You did mention tire pressure and camber on upper control arms, for which I thank you.
Beyond that, your posts were counterproductive and not helpful to the advancement of this tread. I am unsure why you felt the need to berate people for: seeking advice on an alignment / ignorantly complaining about price, for calling an area a ghetto and the likes. I hope that helped you gain a better sense of self-accomplishment, as it certainly could do nothing else.

Not that you give a rats ass, but the guy at Butler has been doing alignments for 13 years, not three weeks. And if you think that JimE takes responsibility for their work, thats fine...please OldSchool AG take your car there. (note i have never delt with Nalley, or Audi of North Atlanta, so i cannot speak to their work)
But considering the fact that they dont even inspect their CPO cars before certifing them (my dad has a CPO S4 that has been back for work that should have been done before the car was sold 4 times in 5 months, not even counting the 2nd week he had it, where the car was back at the dealership all week), or the fact that my mom took her car in for a scheduled oil change and they took the liberty of racking up several hundred in other work. How about the guy at the dealership that had been there only a few months that sold my dad his car: he was 'accountable' for getting him floor mats and a few other parts, GUESS WHAT??? GUESS WHAT??? when he went back to the dealership, he was no longer working there. So wheres the accountability there? Why the hell would I take it there? If you dont take your car to the dealership, tell me where you take it instead and why! Everyone else figured that out and posted their advice and experiences.
If I have a problem with Butler Tire, I can go talk to my old neighbor/old boss, Mickey Butler: his dad started the place.
I am glad you are a "car guy", I wish I could say the same thing about myself. Instead, I am a computer guy, albeit an underpaid computer guy. I work for a company that has 3 employees . Does that make us (the independent shop) crappier at supporting the computer than the superstore (aka dealership) that a client may have bought their computer from? I dunno... We have 3 guys with a combined experience of 30 years and we all do a minimum of 100 hours of continued training a year while they may have 10 people with combined 20 years...maybe not tho. Despite being small we have the right tools for the job. My point: nobody would have any way of knowing...unless they asked. I asked Butler how long their guy was doing alignments, I asked them what system they used and had I gone after seeing Russ' post, I would have asked them if they could measure and adjust raised toe.
The only thing stupid about this thread are the posts like <a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/southeast/msgs/13373.phtml">THIS</a>

should cost somewhere south of $70.

My point is not that you have to take your car to Jim Ellis to get a good alignment. My point is to take your car to someone who you trust will spend the time getting the car set up RIGHT, not just within spec. Someone who knows how slight changes will cause the car's behavior to change.

If you'd do a search you'll see I've recommended German Master Tech and Gran Turismo East in the past.

Bravo that NTB has one tech who has worked there for years. For every one of those there are 10 who have worked there three weeks.

As for my post about the Gran Turismo not being a real "ghetto" -- what's so stupid about that? Because it's certainly not in the ghetto. And I was trying to make a little joke about it. So who's captain uptight now?

So sorry for trying to offer some sound advice only to be met with resistance and rebuttals from some kid who obviously can barely afford to keep his S4 on the road. Perhaps you should buy a Civic or something more befitting your expectations of maintenance costs.

Oh and why don't you go easy on the Jim Ellis slander? I have no problem reporting you to the moderators, AGAIN.

of the car. I figure things are a little cheaper in a town of under 50,000 people as compared to a metropolis of 5+ million.
As for the dealership stuff, I don't know anything about Jim Ellis, but I've had a lot of problems with the Nashville dealership as well, which is why I support GPO and all they do for me. I don't see anything wrong with that or what Eric says in his sig, b/c he's had a lot of bad, bad experiences with them. I guess, if nothing else, you could just turn sigs off in your preferences. I pretty much ignore them anyway. Of course, mine's probably annoying to some people as well, and I don't know what to say about that. Anyway, I'm off track.
Thanks for the recommendations of the places to get an alignment. That'll help some in a search and as a reference for future people who want an alignment in ATL.
As for Eric's financial status, I truly don't believe that should matter. I'm happy for everyone who buys/gets a loan for/test drives/leases/lusts for an Audi, because they have great taste in automobiles. Yes, I'm very biased. If they struggle, which Eric does not, that shouldn't mean that we as the AudiWorld community should treat them any different from someone who is able to perform maintenance or pay for upgrades without any thought towards the cost. I can agree with several of your points and his points, but questioning anyone's finances is just way out of line. I believe what Eric was trying to determine was what made a $200 alignment any better than a $70 alignment, all things being equal. We came to a good conclusion, in my opinion.
I apologized to SCd_Walter and Russ@ConAudi because I did write some stuff out of stupidity. Please don't let my earlier take on the thread affect your response to Eric or anyone else, because I believe we've all learned a lot.
Again, thanks oldschoolag for your input. I love seeing big threads because it means people are getting interested in the southeast and other forums, and good things can happen out of them. In fact, just this past week, I met b6bydesign, and we installed his new intake and newspeed short shifter into his B6 S4. That would not have been possible without the forum, and I hope that everyone posts with that in mind.

Yea, I started the thread. Yea, I educated myself thanks to the posts from several people, yourself included.

I did find some posts from you recommending GMT in Alpharetta, and even commenting on the price of only $60. <a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/tt/msgs/1261764.phtml">here</a> and <a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/southeast/msgs/8448.phtml">here</a>. I am unsure why you felt the need to say that $70 is cheap, when you pay less.

As far as being captain uptight, i dont think that anyone could possibly take <a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/southeast/msgs/13373.phtml">this</a> post as a joke. And reporting sigs to the moderators certainly helps back my original assertion.
In regards to the slander of JE (although the word you were looking for is libel): statements made that are truthful, despite being defamatory, are not slanderous. I agree that people should take their cars somewhere they trust, I do not trust them and I do not want others to come into the same problems my friends and family have.
All of these things only bother me slightly. But your comments about me being some kid who can barely keep my s4 on the road, and to buy a civic are simply out of line. You dont know me, or anything about my life. I do not work 52+ hours a week, in order to pay all of my bills, have no debt except for FAFSA and save/invest no less than 40% of my income every month for someone to make such a remark!