ICBC-approved shop didn't do alignment properly, but any recourse after 3 months?
 

I took the car back from a shop that fixed a rear ender three months ago and already noticed a very minor if annoying alignment issue. I spoke with the manager and he and I went on a test drive, and after a while he convinced me there was no issue and it was just the road I was running on. Fair enough, I took it back. Fast forward three months, and I am starting to really notice it much more than before.

Can I take it back to the shop and ask them to fix it? Does the ICBC shop warranty apply to issues like alignment? Can the alignment continually worsen after 3 months if it was not perfect in the first place?

The shop BTW was Mainland Automotive, and I can't say I am too happy about their work overall for future reference. Fantastic paint job, but messed up a number of things including what I believe to be a shoddy realignment.

How can you prove you didn't hit anything to mess up the alignment within the 3 months.

try to talk to the same manager?

Should have gotten a written guarantee that they'd fix it if it gets worse. Call them up and see what they gotta say.

I don't think it's ok to drive in a misaligned car--you might as well throw away your tires--so I advise against doing that until you get it fix.

Not an expensive job though.

Come to think of it, a lot could have happened in three months I guess so it's impossible to pinpoint it to the repair job in the past. I haven't driven the car too often so I don't know if it was gradual or sudden. I recently had my wheels rotated and that has somewhat coincided with it being noticeably worse (although they were rotated a week ago but I really noticed it this morning). Maybe it was a pothole that did it.

I'll chalk it up as lesson learned and will have the alignment looked at elsewhere.

Hard to say in these situations. You have been driving it for a while (now, 3 months isn't along time, but a lot could happen in that time period)

Ask the shop to give you a copy of the alignment spec sheet. I don't really see how the alignment could have been messed up, unless the alignment place messed up, or maybe you hit something (not pointing the finger at you here, I'm just stating all possibilities).

an alignment is something that goes out out spec very easily, a pothole could mess it up...

i'd just get it fixed as its only going to cost to MAX 100$ and for all you know you drove on shitty roads and messed your alignment up. Stop being cheap and trying to blame the shop. its not the shops fault that there are shitty roads.

^ Without a written guarantee, you're kind of screwed.

In any case, aren't most alignments just $100 or so?