Sunshine Service Brake & Alignment
Took truck in for alignment. I was a little uneasy from the get go when the employee told me they charge an hourly rate for alignment. He told me sometimes it takes an hour, sometimes it takes 4 hours, and recently they aligned a car and it took them 9 hours. So I left hopeful that it was going to take 1 hour as a normal alignment should take, but scared I was going to end up paying $400 or more for an alignment? They are the only shop I have encountered that doesn’t have a flat rate for an alignment and left me feeling uneasy. I dropped the truck off then later received a text message advising they were unable to complete the alignment because of a loose bolt, worn steering component, and bad tires. The bolt they were referring to was loose. No doubt about it. Took be about 2 minutes to get a wrench and tighten it when I got the truck back home. The steering parts are about one year old and are not worn. They have no play in them whatsoever. I asked the staff at Sunshine to show me the play and they said they did not have a lift and were therefore unable to show me. They showed the loose bolt only, which I agree with. The tires were also worn but not nearly bald or unsafe. I was scheduled to get new tires and that’s why my truck was in for an alignment. Worn tires is not a reason to not align a vehicle. The employee sent a short and unprofessional text message advising the alignment would not be done. They won’t even take the time to make a phone call? When I went to pick it up he promptly told me I owed $65 dollars. He did not give a quote to do the repairs or offer any assistance whatsoever! I think the goal of an auto repair shop should be helping people repair their cars And get them safely back on the road. This shop had no interest in helping me. The least they could have done after charging me $65 was tighten the loose bolt. How could they care so little about their customers. I asked the employee, Kali, if he had any interest in helping me with the truck and making the repairs. He said he was too busy to give me a quote... he did not follow up and say, “I can get a quote by the end of the day” or “I can call you tomorrow with that”, things you would expect from an auto repair shop. I was very disappointed with Sunshine Auto Repair. They were quick to charge $65 for a very brief inspection of the vehicle and had no interest in actually helping me. I ended up taking my vehicle home and tightening the loose bolt they had pointed out. I later brought my vehicle to another alignment shop where they had no issues with any worn parts and were very quick and professional and charged me a flat fee for their service. Please see my five star review for A Master mechanic. It’s right down the street and seems to be a good honest business. I would not recommend Sunshine Auto Repair to anyone. I believe they should/could have tightened one loose bolt on my vehicle and aligned it without any issues. Instead, they Charged $65 for doing no real labor and sent me on my way. Sunshine Auto does not care about helping their customers
Kenny, Thank you for taking my call. We do, as discussed, believe your upper ball joints should be replaced and the other things we discussed, will give you a better alignment. You have some room for improvement, but as you say it's an old truck and maybe for your needs it doesn't have to be perfect. Thanks again for speaking with me. Mark
- Sunshine Service Brake & Alignment