I tried to get an alignment and the dealer refused because the tie rods were worn and he charged us like $85 to look at the car. I have a coupon for $37 oil change with tire rotation and balance, i can do the oil change but i am more interested in the rotation. Will the dealer refuse to do any maintenance such as this because of worn parts?
Would a dealer refuse to rotate tires if there was a problem with the tie rods?
depends. have you fixed the tie rod ends? are the tires on the front now wearing on the edges more than in the middle? you don't want to put the rear tires on the front if the tie rods have not been fixed. you may ruin those tires. have the tie rods replaced and get the tires rotated before the car is aligned. hope this helps.
Would a dealer refuse to rotate tires if there was a problem with the tie rods?
The tie rods and alignment are linked service items. If the tie rods are not working right, it's not possible for them to correctly align the car which makes the refusal for that service make sense.
The oil change/tire rotation is unrelated to the alignment so shouldn't matter.
But the final decision of if they will refuse you is up to the dealer's business practices.
Some places won't touch a car if they cannot return it back to you in safe working condition, since you may go back and blame or sue them later when your tie rods fall off, even though you clearly refused the repair.
