Quicky car question....alignment

I haven't had an alignment in many, many years. My vehicle is a 1999 Toyota RAV4 and I got 89,600 miles on the first set of tires. Got new tires in 2004 and have more than 80,000 miles on those and they're still wearing nice and even. I get them rotated every 18,000 miles or so. When I had the new tires put on in 2004 I asked the guy if I should have an alignment and he said that considering I got 89,600 miles on the first set he wouldn't change a thing. Good advice. And it still tracks straight and rides like a new car. I'm going to hate having to replace it in a few years.

But to help you out, JR, as others have said, somewhere in the 60-80 range should be about right for an alignment for a two-wheel drive vehicle such as a Camry.

 

The prices on alignments are about right. The only thing I can add is that way back when I lived in the frozen north, I was advised not to bother getting an alignment in the winter, as you'll just wreck it next week when you hit a snow berm. Unless it's real bad, wait until the snow melts.

 

What are your tires made of? Granite?

 

Get your front end checked out as well. I've gotten a bit of an education over the years on things like ball joints, idler arms, tie rod ends, etc.

Find a tire person you can trust and have them check your front end out; otherwise, an alignment will do you no good.

 

I know it sounds strange. I've never gotten more than 50K on a set of tires until this vehicle and I kept having to get alignments about as often as I rotate the tires now.

 

Unless your tires are OE, there is absolutely no reason to pay for rotation and balancing. Ever. And given that JR's car has nearly a billion miles on it, I'm pretty sure they're replacements.

 

Thanks all for the advice. Much appreciated.

See, this is a thread where even people like Tony & I can get along.