Just replaced the front struts on my car... need wheel alignment...

[boyRacer]

... problem is it's $80... they said it's 4 wheel alignment but how the hell would i know it is... don't really trust them... be it Pep Boys, Sears or whoever. 🙁

 

[Evadman]

how do you know they replaced the struts and not just painted the old ones? :Q

 

[pyonir]

I got mine aligned at Pep Boys. IMO they didn't do a very good job.

 

[NutBucket]

Take it to a shop that does a "4 wheel computer alignment" They will put it up on a rack and use lazers to align everything. Where are you in LA? I can recommend some shops.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Beware of any shop that offers to check the alignment (without setting it) for free. I've talked with independant mechanics about that and their response has been that nearly all of the labor is getting the car on and off of the machine. My favorite mechanic's reply was something like, "Why would I take all that time to put the car on the machine and then not take the 10 more minutes I need to make the adjustments?"

ZV

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: Evadman
how do you know they replaced the struts and not just painted the old ones? :Q

Because I brought my own struts for them to put on... 😀

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Take it to a shop that does a "4 wheel computer alignment" They will put it up on a rack and use lazers to align everything. Where are you in LA? I can recommend some shops.

YGPM

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Beware of any shop that offers to check the alignment (without setting it) for free. I've talked with independant mechanics about that and their response has been that nearly all of the labor is getting the car on and off of the machine. My favorite mechanic's reply was something like, "Why would I take all that time to put the car on the machine and then not take the 10 more minutes I need to make the adjustments?"

ZV

That's what I was thinking... $80 for that? Geez... 🙁

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: boyRacer

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Beware of any shop that offers to check the alignment (without setting it) for free. I've talked with independant mechanics about that and their response has been that nearly all of the labor is getting the car on and off of the machine. My favorite mechanic's reply was something like, "Why would I take all that time to put the car on the machine and then not take the 10 more minutes I need to make the adjustments?"

ZV

That's what I was thinking... $80 for that? Geez... 🙁

Well, remember that the mechanic's labor includes the time to put the car on the machine and take it off (since he can't do two things at once). So if the whole thing takes an hour then you're talking $62 of labor (the going rate in my area). Last couple alignments I had were about $60.

ZV

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: boyRacer

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Beware of any shop that offers to check the alignment (without setting it) for free. I've talked with independant mechanics about that and their response has been that nearly all of the labor is getting the car on and off of the machine. My favorite mechanic's reply was something like, "Why would I take all that time to put the car on the machine and then not take the 10 more minutes I need to make the adjustments?"

ZV

That's what I was thinking... $80 for that? Geez... 🙁

Well, remember that the mechanic's labor includes the time to put the car on the machine and take it off (since he can't do two things at once). So if the whole thing takes an hour then you're talking $62 of labor (the going rate in my area). Last couple alignments I had were about $60.

ZV

Well i don't have a problem with that as long as they actually do the job... but if they're just going to say yeah its aligned... and i have no way of finding out until my tires starts to wear unevenly... that sucks. 🙁 We'll see tomorrow...

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Finding a good front end alignment guy is like the finding the holy grail. Brother took his 67 Firebird to get done and it wasn't long afterwards the nuts backed off and broke his A arms. My neighbour was well know all over the province as being really good at it. He had people from out of the province come down and get it done on vacation time. Now me on the other hand, I have done it with a tape measure to get by on. 😉

 

[JC]

Originally posted by: Antisocial-Virge
Finding a good front end alignment guy is like the finding the holy grail. Brother took his 67 Firebird to get done and it wasn't long afterwards the nuts backed off and broke his A arms. My neighbour was well know all over the province as being really good at it. He had people from out of the province come down and get it done on vacation time. Now me on the other hand, I have done it with a tape measure to get by on. 😉

Well, you can check toe-in with a tape measure....but that's about it 😛 Of course, misadjusted toe-in is what'll screw up your tires the fastest!