I took my car to BMW of Fairfax Body shop a few months back and am writing about my experience with them, so that u guys dont take your cars there if you ever need to. Well the body panels they painted to match dont even match, the original Carbon Black paint is much noticably bluer than the paint they used on the front bumper and fender which is much purpler. Its not noticable in the dark but very noticable under the light. When I got my car back I noticed someone tried to slimjim my car and left a crack at the top of the driver side window. The driver side window trim was also deformed. I KNOW my car was not like this when I brought in there in the first place. The manager (I presume) then gave me attitude when I accused them of this shit. He said the body shop was not responsible and that the crack is from the window automatically going up when you close the door. He then started to mumble about someone trying to break in my car before I brought it into the shop. Which one is it dude? Unbelievable and totally unprofessional. When I got the invoice it said they had done a 4 wheel alignment, but when I drove my car on the highway I noticed my steering wheel vibrate. I then brought it in for an alignment at Curry's Auto. After they aligned the car the problem went away. I then called the body shop to tell them that my car was not aligned at all and they had even charged me for it. The guy I was talking to (His name is Danny Miguel) or something, paused for a second, and then tried to bullshit me like I was some dumbass. He told me that the vibration I felt was most likely caused by tires that weren't balanced correctly and that steering wheel vibration has nothing to do with alignment at all. It has everything to do with alignment!!!! I could see if the wheel was still vibrating after Curry's Auto did my alignment then it might be the tire balance. Since the vibration went away after the alignment then it has everything to do with it! This is totally something I WOULD NOT expect from a "Top Notch BMW" high end body shop. Do not take your cars here.

They took the wheels off for painting, correct?
Then perhaps if they are all the same size wheels and tires they were mixed up and replaced at the wrong hubs. Wear patterns are different for each tire.

Your alignment shop balanced the wheels and re-aligned.

Originally posted by chubbyasian
I He told me that the vibration I felt was most likely caused by tires that weren't balanced correctly and that steering wheel vibration has nothing to do with alignment at all. It has everything to do with alignment!!!!
Actually he's totally right. Steering wheel shake is caused by bent rims, unbalanced tires or worn/damaged suspension parts. A bad alignment will cause the car to pull to one side or uneven tire wear.

Originally posted by chubbyasian
I took my car to BMW of Fairfax Body shop a few months back and am writing about my experience with them, so that u guys dont take your cars there if you ever need to. Well the body panels they painted to match dont even match, the original Carbon Black paint is much noticably bluer than the paint they used on the front bumper and fender which is much purpler. Its not noticable in the dark but very noticable under the light. When I got my car back I noticed someone tried to slimjim my car and left a crack at the top of the driver side window. The driver side window trim was also deformed. I KNOW my car was not like this when I brought in there in the first place. The manager (I presume) then gave me attitude when I accused them of this shit. He said the body shop was not responsible and that the crack is from the window automatically going up when you close the door. He then started to mumble about someone trying to break in my car before I brought it into the shop. Which one is it dude? Unbelievable and totally unprofessional. When I got the invoice it said they had done a 4 wheel alignment, but when I drove my car on the highway I noticed my steering wheel vibrate. I then brought it in for an alignment at Curry's Auto. After they aligned the car the problem went away. I then called the body shop to tell them that my car was not aligned at all and they had even charged me for it. The guy I was talking to (His name is Danny Miguel) or something, paused for a second, and then tried to bullshit me like I was some dumbass. He told me that the vibration I felt was most likely caused by tires that weren't balanced correctly and that steering wheel vibration has nothing to do with alignment at all. It has everything to do with alignment!!!! I could see if the wheel was still vibrating after Curry's Auto did my alignment then it might be the tire balance. Since the vibration went away after the alignment then it has everything to do with it! This is totally something I WOULD NOT expect from a "Top Notch BMW" high end body shop. Do not take your cars here.
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Good luck
vern

Originally posted by bimmer95
Actually he's totally right. Steering wheel shake is caused by bent rims, unbalanced tires or worn/damaged suspension parts. A bad alignment will cause the car to pull to one side or uneven tire wear.

Yeah but if the problem went away after I got an alignment then that tells me something right there. The rims weren't retouched or refinished but were replaced, so they were brand new.

Did you ask if
Curry's balanced your wheels?

Like I said, the BMW place might have put them back on in the wrong order.
Now, if they are staggered and directional this wouldn't be the cause simply bc the tires have to be placed in the original positions for the arrows to point forward.