All I wanted was an alignment and tire balance... I have my own climate-controlled 3-car workshop and do 99% of my own work, but I don't do stuff that requires expensive equipment like the 4-wheel alignment.

I went to a Tuffy Auto Center location in Columbus, OH, and asked for an alignment and balance. They examined the car and said that it needed four new tires. (And, to be fair, it did). They quoted me $293 for "Firestone Tires", mounted and balanced.

When I got the car back that day I saw the tires were not Firestone, but "Le Mans", which Tuffy claimed to have purchased from a Firestone dealer and therefore they were Firestone tires... So they said. Also, my '96 SE take 215/60, and they put on 215/65. I picked up the car after-hours so I had to wait until the morning to sort it out.

I called them back and argue with one of their techs who said; "The tire was purchased from firestone, so that makes it a firestone tire, and that the tires they took off where 215/65, so I'm out of luck." I demanded to speak with the manager who said he's take the car back and put on Firestone Firehawk SH30 215/60s for an additional $100 (Tire was more expensive then the off-brand "Le Mans" crap.) but there would be no labor charge. The manager always seemed like he was trying to help - not the typical oozing slimeball that I've dealt with at AAMCO in the past... The manager aid that they didn't look up the tire size on the computer, and maybe the should have, and he was very sorry for the trouble etc.

Fair enough, I thought, so I took it back. I got my Firehawks and was as happy as a pig in sh*t for about 2 days. Then I noticed the alignment was getting worse, and the front-end was developing a bit of a loose-ness, if you know what I mean. I couldn't tell which side it was from, so I finally pulled it into my own workshop and got under the car.

The tie-rod end adjusting nuts were not cinched down, in fact they were quite loose and one had backed off about 1/2 from the tie-rod end. This, of course, accounted for the looseness and creeping alignment. I called the manager back again and told him I would be there in 30 mins and he needed to redo the alignment from scratch and triple-check every faster they even looked at...

When I arrived they pulled a half-completed car off the alignment rack and did min again immediately. Of course, no charge.

I haven't had a chance to see if they finally got it right or not - there may be a follow-up to this... ;-) The manager tried his best to correct the problems quickly etc, but sending me home with steering components that worked loose is one heck of a confidence-eroding problem that will certainly make me think twice about going back there.

Disclaimer: This is my version of events of an experience that I personally had at one of the many Tuffy service centers. Your experience will probably be different (hopefully better). ie, Please don't sue me, Tuffy. ;-)