CHOOSE RANT

Title:   Fraud Day:    May 1st, 2000 Author:  Ruiner				We all know that I procrastinate. Heck, anyone who reads the page frequently would know that I rarely write my rants. I have to wait until I get into that right frame of mind before putting something down on the page. Procrastination is one of those true character flaws of mine. I hate to do things before they are neccesary, and I will occasionally screw myself on account of this. But this really isn't about my bad tendencies. It's just a backdrop. You see, my tires have been wearing thin recently. I'm sure I know what part of it was. The swervedriver incident seriously put my car out of alignment and those heinous commutes I go through have just eaten the tread right off of the front two tires. So when one of them was starting to show metal (you know, wire-like strands poking through the smoothed down treadless rubber), I decided I would go get it replaced and get the car aligned. I waited until then, but I wasn't gonna wait until I had a flat tire on the road. No thank you. So I took it to this place called Merchant's Tire. I went there by accident, since it's physically near the other place I had my tires done at (more on them later). So I dropped the car off and had them work on it while I returned to the office. At the end of my day, I go back to Merchant's and talk to the guys at the counter. Seems that they were unable to align the car because I had something broken. A tie rod, whatever that is. Now trust me when I say I am a simpleton when it comes to automobiles. I can put in gasoline and oil, and I can usually find and replace fuses if neccesary. But I know jack shit when it comes to the inner workings of my automobile. So a tie rod? And it's bad enough to keep my car out of align. Okay, so I appreciate the word and ask them about repairs. Sure, they do that repair. It would only cost $150.00, and then it could be aligned. Great. Unfortunately I wasn't able to have the repair done at the time. I haven't quite got that high-paying webmeister job and so times were tight. So I told the guys that I'd come back in a week or two and have the work done. I even asked a friend of mine and he said that yes, a messed up tire rod could screw up the alignment. So I plan to make the changes, but I wait… and I procrastinate. And so the other tire which wasn't in the best shape gets worse. I knew I would need to have it replaced as well, but it was just a matter of time and opportunity. And now it too would need to be replaced. So this time, I decided to try the place I originally had my tires done. The plan: Get the tire replaced, forewarn them about the tie rod, and get an estimate from them. I have no problems being a competitive shopper when I get the chance. So I told them at this new locale about the tie rod. Well the man was perplexed and had a few questions for me. Inner or outer tie rod? I had no idea. He said it probably wasn't broken because I would have been unable to drive the car. But it might be worn down, so he said they would check it out. I go to work and think nothing else of it. That afternoon I go to retrieve my car. The gentleman at the counter says that they replaced the tire, but no alignment. They looked at the tie rods but found nothing wrong with them. Once again he stressed the point that if my tire rods were broken then I would not have been able to drive the vehicle. So what does that lead me to believe? Maybe Merchant's was trying to screw me. You hear all of the time about auto mechanics taking advantage of unsuspecting persons, primarily females. Well I'm sure I look like a ripe, clueless customer as well. That's why I take my vehicle to these shops. I don't have the expertise nor the desire to work on anyone's car. I'm a computer guy. I can take apart your system, replace anything you need, configure it, and get it running. I can install your software, I can get you online, no problem. I have no idea where the head gasket is in a car, but I do remember having one replaced. And so now I'm pondering my situation. I'm sorely tempted to take the vehicle to another neutral place and have it aligned. See if they tell me anything is wrong with the tie rods, any reason why it couldn't be aligned. Realistically I have two separate estimates and opinions from different stores. But my gut instinct tells me that Merchant's was trying to do me wrong. If that is the case, then I think I might get the third store to write up a 'bill of health' about the car, tires, tie rods, etc. Then I could go back to Merchant's and ask them for something similar, a write-up detailing what they intend to do with my vehicle. Then I could take 'em to the Better Business Bureau and report them for fraud. The only flaw with the plan is that it's been over a month since my last visit to Merchant's. They could say that I had the repair done and am just trying to impune their 'good name'. I'm not really looking for any reward from the BBB, or compensation from Merchant's. I just want some satisfaction. And there's part of me that would just love to go inside their store and just blast the clerks at the counter, asking about their policies about 'extra service' and tacking on unneccesary repairs to pad the bill. I would love to see them squirm. There are opportunities when one can take advantage of the Ruiner. But if you decide to follow that path, try your best to not get caught. B.Mooney