FRONT END ALIGNMENT

I have another alignment story. Not good either.
Back when I bought the 99 Dakota I used to have, it came with a pile of receipts from the last 50k miles and like 17 years of the trucks life.
The reason that truck came available for sale was that the PO was 84 to and had his driver's license taken away because of health issues.

He had a "go to" shop that he apparently told them "fix it"(whatever "it" was) and wrote a check for whatever they asked him to.
Given the history of that truck while I had it and seeing some of their work, if I wasn't 100+ miles away I'd have been inclined to walk in and sucker punch the first employee of that business that I encountered right in the face as bad as they had screwed this poor guy over the years.
Pertaining to the alignment, that service was in a couple of the most recent bills I had on the truck.
In 2 consecutive months he had taken it there for alignment. Less than 300 miles between transactions.
And the last only 1200 miles before I got the truck.
On the first bill it said he complained about it "pulled left". They "aligned" it (supposedly, they charged him for it) in July of that year. Then in August he took it back again for another alignment. They charged him again.
1200 miles later I bought the truck. In between a relative had had the truck for a couple of months. I had gone 80-some miles from home to look at it. Well I'm the way home I had a hell of a time trying to keep it from dragging me right into the ditch. Once I had gotten it home I checked the whole truck out a little deeper than I could in the street in front of the seller's house and the short test drive I made with it while there.
I discovered 3 of the 4 ball joints ready to fall out. They were very bad. The 97-04 Dakota and Durango were notorious for this back when they came out. How in bloody hell could they even attempt to align it with 3 sloppy ball joints? I don't mean slightly loose ... So I replaced the ball joints and took it in to the guy who more recently aligned my 12 ram 1500 that is currently eating tires... He had done a great job on that Dakota.
He was also the 2nd shop to align my 96 Dakota and corrected an alignment gone bad from another place I had taken that truck.
So I took my '12 to him first this time. And he did me wrong. I wish I could get him to make it right and pay for those expensive Michelins that got scrubbed off after he last aligned it but I know that won't happen.
I occasionally see alignment racks for sale on market plans CL, this crap makes me wish I had enough garage space to buy my own
And this is exactly why I refuse to pay to have anybody work on my cars but me unless I absolutely have to. Every time I pay to have something done I end up pissed off