Chantilly Auto Repair

Hello Baba, I searched our database for your name and several variations with no luck. I also went through our alignment database and was unable to find a vehicle in the last few weeks with the alignment specs you mention. I then went much further back to May 18th and found your vehicle and subsequently your information. This is the second review you posted, though that one was under the name we have in our database, for the same matter that we had responded and for which you subsequently removed. I’m not sure if this a tactic that you are using to try and hurt our business, but you seem very spiteful and out to do damage not present facts. As was explained to you at the time of service your vehicle has no adjustment for front caster or front camber. However, you do have rear adjustments for camber and toe which were adjusted and looking at your specs it looks like everything looks pretty good to include front toe. While your front camber is a bit out of spec (0.08º is the max) it’s not so bad as to cause any kind of drivability issue or lead to abnormal/excessive tire wear. To be clear these are fractions of a degree. Now, why are there different before and after readings if there is no adjustment? If I were to make and educated guess I would look at how bad your front and rear toe along with your equally bad rear camber and surmise that it is a wonky front camber reading when we first compensated the targets. However, after adjustment of the toe (which will change camber slightly depending on suspension geometry) and first getting the back pretty darn good we got a better reading on the targets. And this could account for the small change. To surmise, your alignment was adjusted as per factory specs at all adjustable points. Your focus on what could be a ghost reading for an angle there is no adjustment for and blaming us for not adjusting it or causing it to change (BTW I would rather have a 0.3º vs -0.55º in regards to tire wear) is pretty disingenuous. Not to mention the charge back you performed on your credit card. So, you got the best alignment your car is going to get and didn’t pay for it, but still felt it proper to leave a one star review in as many places as you could. I hope your pettiness get’s better. Best of luck!! Luis Owner

Mr. Xu, Thank you for the opportunity to respond to you on this platform as my response to you on Groupon is not seen by you, but my response here is. First, to address the camber and caster adjustment on your vehicle - your Volkswagen does not come equipped with either camber or caster adjustment. The only adjustment that can be made for your application is the toe. This was explained to you at the time of service. You mentioned a change in the before and after for those measurements. The change is in the hundredths of a degree not tenths and the reason for this is air flow in our shop that can cause slight movement on the cameras attached to the alignment boom. I have responded with the same information to the credit card company on your chargeback dispute. Again, and I can’t be any clearer, there are no adjustments for caster and camber on your vehicle. If there was, we would adjust it to the manufacturer’s specification. I am more than happy to have you bring in your vehicle so I can show you in person. Please let me know when a good time for you would be. My telephone number is 703-591-5225. Kind regards, Carlos Owner

Hello D, Thank you for your feedback. We also want you to know that we are just as disappointed that price was the source of your displeasure with your vehicle’s service. It seems that you were happy with the brake service, the 72 point digital inspection, the battery replacement, the fact that the technician was able to properly diagnose why your BMW was giving you difficulties starting, and diagnose why your Airbag light was on as well. Unfortunately, when you have numerous items on your bill the numbers start to add up. Inflation is a real issue these days and we are not immune as a small business from the pressures it brings. There are numerous ways this affects our business directly, from increased costs of parts to unexpected rent increases. All the while, wages are growing and putting pressure on us to do the same for our team or fear losing the great folks we have the pleasure of working with. I don’t tell you this to insult your intelligence or to garner sympathy, as I am sure you know all these things, but it bears stating to contrast what to me seems like a reasonable bill considering the scope of work performed as well as the make of vehicle. To expand on how expensive things have gotten we have seen a significant increase in the amount of large ticket item replacements (e.g. complete engine assembly) that we have not seen since the 1990s. We feel like this is due in large part to the cost of the average new vehicle now rising to nearly $50K. While the amount invested in these large repairs is significant it pales in comparison to the increased taxes, insurance, and the huge loans/payments one ends up with going for the alternative. We want you to know how disappointed we are that price was the issue that you were unhappy and we understand the pain of our current economic climate as we struggle with it as well. Best of luck to you and if there is anything we can do for you do not hesitate to reach out to us. Best regards, Luis Infante Owner