NTB Store #622, SPRINGFIELD, VA, 22151-2148

Went in to get a wheel alignment, asked how much and they quoted $89.99 When I pick up the car the bill is $100.54 They added a $9.00 'Shop Fee.' I asked what that is for and they said 'oh for all the sprays we need to loosen the bolts and such...'

I asked 'why didnt you tell me about the fee when you quoted me the $89.99 amount - silence then, 'everybody does it.' If you go here be prepared for false price quotes and hidden fees.

Stay away from Merchant's

All those tire shops are complete shit.

Go to BJs, Costco, Walmart (if you don't mind waiting a long time), or tirerack.com

Costco does alignments? I just purchased tires there and did not know that - if so Ill never go to NTB again.

Shop fees are pretty standard these days.

Hey, you got off easy. They coulda charged you for the electricity to light up the shop so they could see your car!

Bait land switch the clown . Your a fucking idiot.

Yes I do feel like an idiot. Basically they stole 10 bucks from me and I didnt have the time to argue with them. My questions were basically answered with 'you fucked up you trusted us.' Im glad I only got beat out of 10 bucks. I would have paid the full amount and been happy if they had just been honest about the price.

Dont go to NTB

OPPP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes I do feel like an idiot. Basically they stole
> 10 bucks from me and I didnt have the time to
> argue with them. My questions were basically
> answered with 'you fucked up you trusted us.' Im
> glad I only got beat out of 10 bucks. I would
> have paid the full amount and been happy if they
> had just been honest about the price.
>
> Dont go to NTB


Must be a newb. Yeah, it's a rip-off. But one that you should have known going in to ask about. Now you know.

I dread every time that the wife takes her car in for anything when I'm not around. She'll come home with gold-plated deluxe valve stems, nitrogen fill, the useless lifetime warranty, and the rest of the sucker package. Plus wheels torqued to about 300 ft. lbs. Dammit. lol

Costco, Wal-Mart/Sam's, BJ's generally don't dick you around with the nickel and dime add-ons. Most of the rest usually do.

The world is full of fine print, and while we'd all like to live in a world where the "quoted" or estimated price is the best and final, out the door, "I'm not paying a penny more" price, most of us know what an estimate is, or even a "quoted" price is just an approximation. Suck it up, or try to haggle with them over the 10 bucks. Decide what is the best use of your time. But please don't perputate the too-prevalent role of the "victim" of a crime. They didn't steal it from you, they charged you what they thought was fair, even if it was more than your original "quote". And if this is a significant afront to your sense of rightousness, or a severe burden on your budget, I'll pay you $15 to mow my lawn, and you don't even need to bring the mower or the gas, I have that covered. $15 is my quote, and I won't pay you a penny more.

Good Vibrations Wrote:
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> The world is full of fine print, and while we'd
> all like to live in a world where the "quoted" or
> estimated price is the best and final, out the
> door, "I'm not paying a penny more" price, most of
> us know what an estimate is, or even a "quoted"
> price is just an approximation. Suck it up, or
> try to haggle with them over the 10 bucks. Decide
> what is the best use of your time. But please
> don't perputate the too-prevalent role of the
> "victim" of a crime. They didn't steal it from
> you, they charged you what they thought was fair,
> even if it was more than your original "quote".
> And if this is a significant afront to your sense
> of rightousness, or a severe burden on your
> budget, I'll pay you $15 to mow my lawn, and you
> don't even need to bring the mower or the gas, I
> have that covered. $15 is my quote, and I won't
> pay you a penny more.

Nope. Fail.

Anytime I have anything in for service...I ALWAYS tell the service writer once he gives me the estimate. "Ok, thank you...I understand you are estimating this work at {repeat given estimate here}. Please call me if there are any charges beyond this."

Every once in awhile, they'll call with a, "Well, we got under there and we found {insert unknown repair, parts and labor}..." and then I make the decision as to whether it gets done or not. I don't put up with shop fees and when I get charged them, if it's beyond the estimate and I didn't approve it...I don't pay it. Sometimes this gets handled at the counter...sometimes I have to spend 5 minutes on the phone with my credit card company.

I disagree all they had to do was 100 bucks and I'd gladly pay. Saying 90 knowing its one hundred is not 'adjusting an estimate' it's a lie. I do most of my own work but obviously don't have equip for measuring alignment. Op is right to be pissed. Part of the reason they do this is that shop fees are not taxi le income. Btw, idiots here claiming costco, SAMs do alignment are flat wrong.

Not to beat a dead horse here, but an estimate is just that. It's not a contract, and unless you want to negotiate up front a not-to-exceed price, which most businesses would be reluctant to do without first sizing up the job (and asking you to make it worth their while to prepare a not-to-exceed estimate), I really don't think you should accuse a business of lying or stealing from you when they provided a service to you, which was your choice to do business with all along, and the price ended up being more than the initial "quote". Ten bucks overage on a $90 estimate? Sounds like a first world problem for someone who really doesn't get out very much, or feels compelled to belive that an estimate should equal a "not to exceed, I'm not paying a penny more" price. If the $10 overage is a big problem for you, either you don't get out very much, or ... I can help you offset your budget problem if you will cut my lawn for $15. That's my quote, and I realize that you haven't had a good look at my lawn, but I won't pay you a penny more.

I will be sure to avoid NTB. It was good you questioned it, the dumbfuck above is just trollin. I would love to be a contractor working at his house.

Come in our shop and act like nova dude and we will do so much bad stuff to your car you wouldnt belive it. Stuff that wont show up for months.

Yes it's sneaky. But welcome to capitalism, All companies want to advertise a low price and then try to add some cost back in after they have you committed. Ever looked at your cell phone or cable bill? There are multiple fees added to your advertised monthly charge.

Its lying. I walk in as 'how much do you charge for the alignment' he says $89.99' not 'about $90.00' he uses an exact number '89.99' For work where part of the job is diagnosing a problem of varied scope I totally understand that the job can get more or less expensive depending. For example you go in for an O2 sensor code - they might give you an estimate for diagnosis but it could be one of a dozen things.

Here we are talking about completely known procedure - its basically the same every time. Sometimes you turn 2 bolts sometimes you turn 12 bolts but that is it. If you run into damage to a rocker arm well then that is fine as well as it is a repair and you need to charge more.

'Shop supplies' are also a known factor not something they have to estimate. Did they really use 10 bucks worth of Liquid Wrench and locTight on my alignment? Nope. They knew from the minute I placed the work order they were going to charge me 10% above the quoted rate and they knew I would not be told until after they had my keys.

I told them they lied, I told them it was bogus and they didnt give a damn. That is all their right but I think people should know to expect this from the NTB on Port Royal Rd. Springfield. They will lie to you on what they charge for an alignment.

Good Vibrations Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not to beat a dead horse here, but an estimate is
> just that. It's not a contract, and unless you
> want to negotiate up front a not-to-exceed price,
> which most businesses would be reluctant to do
> without first sizing up the job (and asking you to
> make it worth their while to prepare a
> not-to-exceed estimate), I really don't think you
> should accuse a business of lying or stealing from
> you when they provided a service to you, which was
> your choice to do business with all along, and the
> price ended up being more than the initial
> "quote". Ten bucks overage on a $90 estimate?
> Sounds like a first world problem for someone who
> really doesn't get out very much, or feels
> compelled to belive that an estimate should equal
> a "not to exceed, I'm not paying a penny more"
> price. If the $10 overage is a big problem for
> you, either you don't get out very much, or ... I
> can help you offset your budget problem if you
> will cut my lawn for $15. That's my quote, and I
> realize that you haven't had a good look at my
> lawn, but I won't pay you a penny more.

A more realistic example would be you call a company to ask how much to cut your lawn. They come out and say they will charge $65.00 to cut your lawn today. They have the equipment on the truck and will do it right away. You say great. They knock on your door 25 min. later and say 'we are all done that will be $75.00 plus tax.' When you ask why the price changed from $65 to $75 they say 'equipment fees.' You asked how much, they told you, then they raised the amount.

The point really isnt the amount of the overage its disclosure. For example in my business I charge by the hour. My contract explains I also charge for expenses so the cost of my service is an hourly PLUS EXPENSES.

F-35 Fighter Jet is another good example

"Initially, the planes were expected to be operational by 2012. The program has also seen cost overruns. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the cost of F-35 development has risen from an estimated $306 billion in 2001 to an estimated $390 billion now.

And while the cost increased, the military also reduced the requirements for the planes, accepting longer takeoff distances and a reduced combat radius (the furthest point that the plane can effectively go to and patrol.)"

shop "fees" have been pretty standard since bush41 was bombing sadam, or longer. if youve taken your car anywhere for work in the past 25 years, theyve been added. when youre sitting there in the waiting room look at the wall where they usually have their flat fees for all sorts of work plastered up and youll see where its written. it used to just be a flat shop fee, now a lot of them itemize what that fee covers, and ive seen lists that include 20+ things.

sombody getting panties wadded over shop fees, in 2014, hasnt had their car in for work since reagan bombed lybia.

i bet people get really butthurt when theyre charged 2 hours of labor for an alternator replacement and find out the mechanic did it in 30 minutes. !?!?!!?

Just another reason I do everything myself.

Kudo's to the the OP and his/her supporters for identifying a perpetrator of this unscrupulous business practice called "Shop Supplies". We must all bond together to publicly shame any business that engages in this criminal business practice, and I'll do my part by starting a petition on Change.org that calls for legislation to outlaw the charging of "Shop Supplies". Perhaps we could come up with a catchy name and acronym for this ... like the Affordable Car Alignment Act or ACAA. And after I'm done setting up the petition, I'll promote it with a clever selfie of me holding a handwritten sign - #NoShopSupplies

We all need to band together on this one, because if we allow NTB Springfield to continue this practice, surely other businesses will learn of this criminal method of extortion. We need to bring out the activist in each and every one of us. We all can help make a difference on this issue.

I have seen the light ... and this unchecked aggression will not stand, man.