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Wheel alignment?

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  • cyclonebri1
    cyclonebri1 Posts: 12,827 Forumite
    It is a simple job and an initial 4 wheel alignment check costs £25 at our local garage. That's the start if anything has been knocked out and most cars have some latitude in the wishbone and subframe mounts, ie, little bolts in big holes, then time is needed to realign everything and time costs. As said if you've really walloped it, which possibly you have if you can feel the effects, it's not difficult do chassis damage which gets you in body shop realignment jib territory:eek:

    Simple wooden tracking jig has served me too for over 30 years, but has it's limitations. And parking the car in the straight position, ie, as it drives not with the steering wheel straight, then running a string line down the centre line of the wheels on each side will give a fair idea how much damage has been done.;)
    I like the thanks button, but ,please, an I agree button.

    Will the grammar and spelling police respect I do make grammatical errors, and have carp spelling, no need to remind me.;)

    Always expect the unexpected:eek:and then you won't be dissapointed
  • Hammyman
    Hammyman Posts: 9,913 Forumite
    It is a simple job

    ...for a mechanic.
  • wouldnt pay more than £20
    ‘It ain’t over 'til it's over’
  • Tiggy10
    Tiggy10 Posts: 443 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Thank you for the National tyres voucher! ill check out and see if i have one near me.

    Im sure it is the tracking due to the fact above 56mph the car starts to shake, which i looked up to be tracking. I dont know enough about cars to fix it my self.

    As for the write off joke.... driving my car i hear it all the time! :rotfl:
    Paying it all off in 2017:
    Finance 1- [STRIKE]115[/STRIKE] Paid Jan 2017
    Finance 2- 335
    CC - [STRIKE]2000[/STRIKE]1800
    OD 1 - [STRIKE]2200[/STRIKE] 1850
    OD 2 - 2500
  • Inactive
    Inactive Posts: 14,509 Forumite
    Tiggy10 wrote: »
    Thank you for the National tyres voucher! ill check out and see if i have one near me.

    Im sure it is the tracking due to the fact above 56mph the car starts to shake, which i looked up to be tracking. I dont know enough about cars to fix it my self.

    As for the write off joke.... driving my car i hear it all the time! :rotfl:

    Probably wheels need balancing.;)
  • Regshoe
    Regshoe Posts: 237 Forumite
    Hammyman wrote: »
    ...for a mechanic.

    And seeing as it's a mechanic (or a tyre specialist more likely) that she will be paying it seems fair to say that it is an easy job, as this is in comparison to other services that might be performed by a machanic, which (should) have a bearing on the cost, that being what the OP initially asked for an estimate of.

    Most of the places around me are around £20-40 for just an alignment (assuming there are no other more serious issues).
  • Lum
    Lum Posts: 6,460 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    Laser alignment?

    Best alignment I ever had was at Avia Autos in Bridgeend by a guy who used to be the suspension guru for a race team. He had none of the fancy equipment or anything.

    I'd previously had a local place with a fancy Hunter machine align it and they'd got the official figures for my car, managed to get them closer to them before giving up and claiming that a bolt was seized, the car drove horribly afterwards, would break traction when turning left but not right.

    Anyway I put some new tyres on and took it to this guy, he had proper old fashioned equipment like plumb lines, he'd never seen a car like mine before (being a very obscure import) so looked it over, jacked it up and spent the first 10-15 minutes examining the suspension set up and poking random things with a screwdriver. I offered him the print out from the first place with the correct figures which he looked at before describing the numbers as "a load of rubbish" and declared that he was going to set it up completely differently.

    On the test drive the car felt transformed, it was totally planted, handled much better and a year an a half later the tyres have worn perfectly evenly and still had plenty of tread left when I took them off to put winter tyres on.

    He suggested that the first place were "all the gear and no idea", and I'd be inclined to agree. He didn't seem to have any problem with the "seized" bolt either.
  • puddy
    puddy Posts: 12,709 Forumite
    i remember once kwik fit knocking the wheel rim back in place for me as i used to go up lots of kerbs where i used to park. they have often put the tracking right for me too.
  • cyclonebri1
    cyclonebri1 Posts: 12,827 Forumite
    Hammyman wrote: »
    ...for a mechanic.


    Yes, (you'll note I have given the simple diy alternatives) and for £25 quid it's fair. Any more than that for the check and it's not. :money:remember.
    I like the thanks button, but ,please, an I agree button.

    Will the grammar and spelling police respect I do make grammatical errors, and have carp spelling, no need to remind me.;)

    Always expect the unexpected:eek:and then you won't be dissapointed
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