Alignment that won't rip me off

[AP9]

After having had more than enough negative experiences with Firestone (and I'm not just talking about feeling a strong pull to the right as I'm driving home from my alignment, or waiting at the shop two hours just to find out they didn't even look at the camber & caster), I am looking for a lifetime alignment plan with someone else on my other vehicle. Like a lot of members on this forum, I am very distrustful of chain auto maintenance shops. Any advice on who to go with for a lifetime alignment?

 

[buck91]

That is a tough spot. To their credit, Firestone did a great alignment on my '96. But a poor one in our Oldsmobile. I've had some luck with small mom and pop local shops.

 

[qjohn]

NW Suburbs of Chicago? Thalman Alignment in Glenview always does good work. They are 100% trustworthy. I don't think they have a lifetime alignment plan and they will cost more than a chain store, but your car will be precisely set-up.

 

[hansj3]

Amazed they don't do the caster camber sweep. We do it for cya purposes at the very least. Which car are you trying to align?

Not defending them, but adjustments do freeze up here in the rust belt, but they should at least try. Some cars also don't come natively with adjustment bolts, did they inform you with an additional cost to get it in spec? Lastly do you have any comical tire or out of round tire issues? They can both induce a pull that will change with a side to side tire swap

 

[JHZR2]

We have a shop called justires. They (at least last time I bought tires there a few years back) sell just tires and will do alignments. However, if your car is out of alignment or worn, they do not perform suspension repair. I thought that was fair - they would take an honest shot, and if something was off, they couldn't be upselling you so you knew it was true.

Honestly I've found dealer jobs best. My determinant in that is just steering wheel centering. My MB dealer does the best job for $99, up from $89 recently. I know they use an appropriate spreader bar on the front wheels, which if mentioned to other alignment techs, they look at you funny, recognize its existence and utility, and confirm they don't use them...

 

[raytseng]

The does not rip me off and lifetime are in direct contradiction.

Any place that is offering you a lifetime alignment is going to be out to rip you off. Maybe not now, but later on sometime. They need to get their money back somehow.
If they're giving you free lifetime, they're giving a ton of people free lifetime, and they just want to cycle you in and out as fast as possible, perhaps skipping the fine steps.

If you truly are looking for great service for a fair price, you cannot expect the cheapest price. You should immediately just cross off anyplace that does lifetime and think about places where you need to pay for each alignment.

It's like saying for lunch, I want the best lunch but it has to be a value combo meals. You're only going to find combo meals at fastfood joints, and no good restaurant is going to offer value combo meals.

 

[Nick1994]

Why do you need a Lifetime Alignment? Is your alignment changing or you just like to take it in?

Your alignment isn't going to change, if it does, then something is worn or bent and needs to be replaced. Also, it's amazing what tires will do for your alignment to mess it up or fix it.

I took my VW in for an alignment at a local Mexican alignment shop, cost $50 cash and they didn't speak a word of English. They did the best alignment I could have asked for.

 

[Andrew1972]

Lifetime alignment is a get what you pay for situation......

Ask mechanics who they use and typically it winds up being a particular individual at a particular shop which may even turn out to be a chain.

In twenty five years of driving I believe I have performed about 8 alignments and get decent life out of tires. Many tire shops offer free alignment check which I find out the vehicle is in alignment so I don't count those.

 

[Olas]

Any reason you don't buy Dunlop gauges? Used ones are cheap..

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: raytseng
The does not rip me off and lifetime are in direct contradiction.



This x1000. The tech gets ripped off on the "comeback". Read a firestone employee rant that a re-do on alignment literally pays $5 flat rate. They treat it as a warranty deal. If you read the fine print on many (not all) lifetime warranties they don't cover re-aligning after parts are replaced which would be the reason I'd want one.

I worked at a tire shop and had a camry come back in with 1.3 degrees of positive camber (and a sure pull), but we didn't fix it because it "wasn't adjustable" (eg, easily-- could grind or get cam bolts for extra $$$) and this wasn't communicated to the customer, and he probably returned again, dissatisfied, to our store or another one in the chain.

The best deal is to find a guy who only does alignments. There's one here; he's good enough to hang his shingle. Pay once, get the job once and a shortish (30 day) satisfaction guarantee/ warranty. I used said guy (Pauls Alignment) and he got me nearly perfect. Good enough, I thought, until I got new tires which proved the alignment was actually perfect and an old tire was pulling.

 

[philipp10]

Originally Posted By: AP9
After having had more than enough negative experiences with Firestone (and I'm not just talking about feeling a strong pull to the right as I'm driving home from my alignment, or waiting at the shop two hours just to find out they didn't even look at the camber & caster), I am looking for a lifetime alignment plan with someone else on my other vehicle. Like a lot of members on this forum, I am very distrustful of chain auto maintenance shops. Any advice on who to go with for a lifetime alignment?


"lifetime alignment plan"....lol what is that? Get a good alignment and unless something changes, leave the bleeping alignment alone...

 

[e40]

I typically go to the dealer for alignments. Doing one today on the new to me Lexus RX400h for $104.61 out the door + complimentary car wash.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
This x1000. The tech gets ripped off on the "comeback". Read a firestone employee rant that a re-do on alignment literally pays $5 flat rate. They treat it as a warranty deal. If you read the fine print on many (not all) lifetime warranties they don't cover re-aligning after parts are replaced which would be the reason I'd want one.


When I was a tech at Sears, we did not get paid anything to redo an alignment of any kind. There was a customer that would come in a few times with a 80s Mercedes and neglect to tell anyone he had an alignment plan until he was picking the car up. The one time I helped him, I had the tech next to me and told the customer he was taking money from the tech by doing that, the customer said he didn't care. That is literally the worst thing you can do to someone working on your car.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Why do you need a Lifetime Alignment? Is your alignment changing or you just like to take it in?

Your alignment isn't going to change, if it does, then something is worn or bent and needs to be replaced. Also, it's amazing what tires will do for your alignment to mess it up or fix it.

I took my VW in for an alignment at a local Mexican alignment shop, cost $50 cash and they didn't speak a word of English. They did the best alignment I could have asked for.

What is the different between "Best Alignment" and "So So Alignment" ?

If before aligned the suspension is of specs and after alignment all are within specs, then it is good.

Do you mean to say all specs are exactly at middle, example: 2000 E430 Rear Camber -1.20deg +/- 0.40deg, your Mexican shop had been able to set Rear Camber at exactly -1.20deg for both sides ?

The shop I went to had 1 side at +0.xx deg and -0.xx deg on other side. They are within spec(less than 0.40 deg) but not optimal.

 

[bdcardinal]

"Best alignment" would have all the specs perfectly in the middle. A "so-so alignment" gets everything just within the tolerance range. When I did alignments, I always tried to get every car as close to perfect as possible.

It was nice when a customer would come in wanting a custom alignment spec, and they had done all the work to make every angle adjustable. Those were the nice ones to work on.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Why do you need a Lifetime Alignment? Is your alignment changing or you just like to take it in?

Your alignment isn't going to change, if it does, then something is worn or bent and needs to be replaced. Also, it's amazing what tires will do for your alignment to mess it up or fix it.

I took my VW in for an alignment at a local Mexican alignment shop, cost $50 cash and they didn't speak a word of English. They did the best alignment I could have asked for.

What is the different between "Best Alignment" and "So So Alignment" ?

If before aligned the suspension is of specs and after alignment all are within specs, then it is good.

Do you mean to say all specs are exactly at middle, example: 2000 E430 Rear Camber -1.20deg +/- 0.40deg, your Mexican shop had been able to set Rear Camber at exactly -1.20deg for both sides ?

The shop I went to had 1 side at +0.xx deg and -0.xx deg on other side. They are within spec(less than 0.40 deg) but not optimal.
I don't think they just centered everything. It was a laser alignment and they stuck the gauges on the outside of the 4 wheels and aligned it up on a computer.

 

[AP9]

Good discussion. This is for the 96 Impala SS, which I plan on caring for meticulously. This is NOT a vehicle I plan on taking to the track or driving in a way its 9C1 siblings were driven by many of their "original owners" -- I'm just concerned about things getting knocked out of spec (some of these roads up here are in downright bad shape, and it only gets worse after every winter) as I have seen on the Explorer. I guess at that point it would be about time to start replacing ball joints, UCAs, and tie rod ends anyway... I think you fellas may have convinced me that the "lifetime alignment" is no deal after all -- unmotivated techs, methinks.

 

[Merkava_4]

Moral of story: Don't go to national tire store chains for chassis alignment.

 

[SatinSilver]

Honda dealer here has a 6 month time frame to bring the car back in for adjustments on the alignment. They fixed it during a subsequent oil change and were very nice about it.