Wheel alignment rip off?

djcat

Hello,

I am seriously crossed with a few garages that I am inquiring about my GF's car front wheel alignment.

I passed by two garages so far, not only did both not align the front wheels, one of them even charged for it anyway! That one said he checked and the wheels are pointing forward (I am happy about that - imagine if they were pointing sideways) . I asked why the steering is nearly 45 degrees out of the central position but he said all the wheels need to be is pointing forwards - I feel like I am really taken for stupid....

Excuse both of them had was that the camber is wrong, as that can be seen by the naked eye - but that was exactly what I went there for and I asked for wheel alignment on the phone when booking the car in.

Proper wheel alignment means to set the geometry of the car and that includes camber adjustment, at least to wikipedia, alignmycar.co.uk and all other websites that will show up if I search for "wheel alignment".

Now I just heard from a third garage I inquired at "if its possible to adjust", but what is all that about? If it wasn't possible to adjust, my take is it wouldn't be wrong in the first place, wouldn't it?

And yes, I also checked online about my GF's car model and it can be adjusted.

My question: What on earth am I going to do with these grease monkeys? Can I get my money back? I thought they are the mechanical experts and paid for their services and knowledge. How do I get a decent mechanic here around Reading, Berkshire, that will not rip me off, nor take the mickey because (s)he is too lazy to do a proper job?

forgotmyname

If its possible to adjust meaning that if you have any play in the steering or suspension then aligning the wheels will be a waste of time because within seconds or you turning a corner or hitting a bump it will be out again.

Who are ripping you off?

Wheel alignment wont be a service item, Unless you specifically mention an issue or ask them to check it.

Nodding_Donkey

Some cars don't have fully adjustable geometry. That's what they meant by if it's possible. You don't need adjustable suspension for the geometry to be out, abuse e.g. kerbing or driving through deep potholes can bend suspension arms.

Robisere

Here's a tip from an ex-workshop foreman:

Do you have any LARGE body-repair shops nearby? If they are used by insurance companies, they will almost certainly have a proper body jig, used to realign every part of the steering and suspension after a serious RTA.

During my time as a workshop foreman, the body lads would occasionally carry out such checks for customers who left their numbers to call when they had a "slot" in which to carry out the check. In several instances, these were people who had similar experiences to yours, and wanted the job done properly. This was pocket money for the lads, often at weekends.

The problem with your steering wheel being set at 45°, is caused by mechanics without the knowledge to handle a wheel assembly with an airbag fitted. if you find the right place, ask if they can resmove and reset a steering wheel that is fitted with an airbag. I believe you have grounds (via Trading Standards) to ask for your money back from the garage which did this.

Unfortunately, there are not enough people with the resources and training to do this, it has become a bit specialised and the cost is consistent with that.

Mankysteve

Most modern basic car only have toe adjustment and that's it, Unless of course you've got something special.
If you've got camber problem something most likly bent and will need replacement which also tally with the steering wheel being out by 45degrees as that's some pretty out.

Ectophile

If the steering wheel is that far out, it's always possible that the steering wheel has been fitted crooked onto the steering column. The wheel alignment itself could be fine.

vaio

Robisere wrote: »

...........The problem with your steering wheel being set at 45°, is caused by mechanics without the knowledge to handle a wheel assembly with an airbag fitted. if you find the right place, ask if they can resmove and reset a steering wheel that is fitted with an airbag. I believe you have grounds (via Trading Standards) to ask for your money back from the garage which did this.......

Surely unless some *has* previously taken the steering wheel off then it should still be aligned with the rack so the procedure would be to centre the steering wheel/rack and then adjust both track rod ends until the road wheels are pointing in the right direction?

The OP can check if the steering wheel needs to be touched by centring it and then seeing if there is difference between how much it will turn clockwise and anticlockwise.

If it's broadly the same in both directions then the wheel & rack are ok and the adjustment is needed elsewhere. If the camber is visibly out and non adjustable then something is bent/broken and needs fixing before doing the alignment

bigjl

Any garage or tyre shop that offers front wheel alignment is not going to be adjusting much.

You need to take your car to a specialist that uses Hunter or similar equipment.

The one i use checks it for free. And shows you the issues on a print out.

Not all cars can have camber adjusted. But many can by a specialist using camber bolts.

Stratus

I asked why the steering is nearly 45 degrees out of the central position

Years ago I drove a Citroen BX with the steering wheel angled such. This was the era when all Citroens had their trade mark single spoke steering wheel so it looked odd.

Remembering this was pre air bag days, it was explained that the logic for this was that in an impact the steering wheel was designed to collapse in a manner that would lead the driver towards the safer, centre of the car.

Another Citroen, the CX had self centring steering which over time would suffer wear in the control unit and the wheel had to be held at an angle to maintain the straight ahead position. It was possible to get this adjusted out but it slightly affected the effort required to turn the wheel in different directions.

Oh happy days.

What is the car by the way?

Retrogamer

Take your car to somewhere that uses the Hunter Allignment system.
It's 4 wheel laser allignment.
Ask for a quote and advise them the steering wheel is off centered on the car.
Expect prices of around £80-130 but it should be perfect after that.

Most garages will just do tracking (toe in / toe out) and it's possible to have the tracking perfect but the steering wheel being off centered which sounds like what's happening.

djcat

Thanks for the advice everybody, the camber can definitely be adjusted on her car. To say in fact, I have seen enough material online that I would easily be able to do that myself with a spirit level or a Gunson adjustment tool.

Its a VW Polo and fiddling with two bolts at the lower end of the strut where it connects to the hub setups the camber. Another two garages confirmed to me by now that it can be adjusted.

I went to a National tyres place before and the guy said it can be adjusted as well, but he didn't have the correct values so he didn't touch the setup at all and sent me home with no charge at all. The car looked straight on the ramp, there was no indication that it had been in a crash and there was nothing bent on it either.

By what I learned about alignment this week, it is all about centering the steering wheel first, then to measure the toe in and toe out.

That garage was recommended by a friend, I specifically asked for a quote for several services including the alignment. The quote he gave me, 75 Pounds, would have been really good if it really had included a front wheel alignment - I didn't expect 4 wheel laser precision and hour long adjustments. However he spent just a little over an hour on her car changing a fan belt whilst the oil was dripping out (I supplied the oil btw). With a price like that just for that, I would have done these easy to do services myself and go to an alignment specialist.

I would have been ok not to have the alignment if that mechanic would have been decent enough not to charge me for it. But to come to me and say he checked just because he put some funny mirror on the wheels for two minutes and then go ahead and charge for that sounds like a joke.

On top of that he started sending text messages to the friend who recommended him to me, not sure what exactly was the content of these but the friendship took a hit. In my view that is nonsense and bullying and I let the mechanic know straight away if he doesn't stop, there will be Police involved.

I feel I was ripped off, do I understand it right that the best way forward is trading standards?