Typical price of four wheel alignment?
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From: Scott Dorsey on 23 Mar 2010 15:27 In article <hc2iq5hg7gi07bjtkanfk4rinngrjqqemb(a)4ax.com>, <me(a)privacy.net> wrote: >2000 Mazda Protege ES > >Just bought four new tires and installed at Sam's Club > >Local garage wants abt $80 to align all four wheels. > >Is that price good? Bad? That's about the going rate around here for an alignment. Problem is that most of the people doing alignment work have no idea what they are doing. They put the car on the machine, punch in the model of the car, and they do what the machine tells them to do. This is a recipe for disaster if everything else isn't perfect. And, a bad alignment job is a lot worse than no alignment job at all. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
From: C. E. White on 23 Mar 2010 15:36 <me(a)privacy.net> wrote in message news:hc2iq5hg7gi07bjtkanfk4rinngrjqqemb(a)4ax.com... > 2000 Mazda Protege ES > > Just bought four new tires and installed at Sam's Club > > Local garage wants abt $80 to align all four wheels. > > Is that price good? Bad? Why do you think you need one? Were your old tires worn improperly? I think in my life, I've had more problems casued by incompetent people "aligning" my car that were fixed by them. If you have a reason for having the car aligned, shop carefully. I'd rather have the alignment done by a good experienced technician using an older machine than by some jack leg using the most modern new machine. Unfortuately the only shop I truested in the last twenty years is out of buisness now. The owner got old, and the property was very valuable. He cashed in (I wish I could). Fortuantely, I haven't needed anything aligned in the last 10 years. Unfortunately given the numebr of potholes in my area this year, I might soon need to find a shop. Sooner or later I am goign to hit a big one. Ed
From: m6onz5a on 23 Mar 2010 16:31 On Mar 23, 2:35 pm, m...(a)privacy.net wrote: > 2000 Mazda Protege ES > > Just bought four new tires and installed at Sam's Club > > Local garage wants abt $80 to align all four wheels. > > Is that price good? Bad? If your old tires have no wear problems you don't need an alignment.. All shops usually try to tell you that you need one even when you don't. That price is fair BTW.
From: N8N on 23 Mar 2010 17:01 On Mar 23, 3:36 pm, "C. E. White" <cewhi...(a)mindspring.com> wrote: > <m...(a)privacy.net> wrote in message > > news:hc2iq5hg7gi07bjtkanfk4rinngrjqqemb(a)4ax.com... > > > 2000 Mazda Protege ES > > > Just bought four new tires and installed at Sam's Club > > > Local garage wants abt $80 to align all four wheels. > > > Is that price good? Bad? > > Why do you think you need one? Were your old tires worn improperly? > > I think in my life, I've had more problems casued by incompetent > people "aligning" my car that were fixed by them. If you have a reason > for having the car aligned, shop carefully. I'd rather have the > alignment done by a good experienced technician using an older machine > than by some jack leg using the most modern new machine. Unfortuately > the only shop I truested in the last twenty years is out of buisness > now. The owner got old, and the property was very valuable. He cashed > in (I wish I could). Fortuantely, I haven't needed anything aligned in > the last 10 years. Unfortunately given the numebr of potholes in my > area this year, I might soon need to find a shop. Sooner or later I am > goign to hit a big one. > > Ed That reminds me of the last suspension job I did myself... on my '55 Studebaker. I got it all back together, eyeballed it and called it good, and drove up to the alignment shop. I brough the shop manual with me, with a sticky note on the page with the alignment specs and procedures. They were unable to align the one front wheel - I tore that corner back apart and here the NOS trunnion that I'd bought didn't have the recess for the hex key to adjust it stamped in it! D'OH! I think they felt sorry for me, because they only charged me a couple bucks extra when I brought it back instead of charging me for a whole 'nother alignment. nate
From: Scott Dorsey on 23 Mar 2010 19:09
N8N <njnagel(a)hotmail.com> wrote: >That reminds me of the last suspension job I did myself... on my '55 >Studebaker. I got it all back together, eyeballed it and called it >good, and drove up to the alignment shop. I brough the shop manual >with me, with a sticky note on the page with the alignment specs and >procedures. They were unable to align the one front wheel - I tore >that corner back apart and here the NOS trunnion that I'd bought >didn't have the recess for the hex key to adjust it stamped in it! >D'OH! > >I think they felt sorry for me, because they only charged me a couple >bucks extra when I brought it back instead of charging me for a whole >'nother alignment. No, they felt sorry for you because you're driving a '55 Studebaker. I get the same sort of response when I call the BMW dealer up and ask for points and plugs. ---scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |