Quicky car question....alignment

[Batman]

How often are you supposed to get an alignment? Once a year? I always forget until my car hits 40,000 miles and one half of the tread is completely worn down. Then I have to get new tires and forget about it for another 40,000 miles.

 

[Sleeper]

How often are you supposed to get an alignment? Once a year?

No way. Judge by the wear of your tires. Like Sam said, unless you've jumped a curb or hit a massive pothole at a high speed, you should be good to go for a long while after getting an alignment.

If the tires wear out on one side unevenly (say the right side edge of the two left tires is bald while there's still tread left on the rest of the tire), you need an alignment. And also like Sam said, if the car pulls hard to one side or the other, you need an alignment. But make sure if you do the "hands off the wheel test" that you car isn't just drifting away from the crown of the road. That's not true pulling.

 

[Songbird]

Our beloved ' 94 Camry needs an alignment.

Any idea how much this will cost?

(I know I could google around and look but it's Friday night and I'm lazy)

Thanks in advance.

The father of an athlete i used to cover owned a tire place, so he gave me a deal for $49. I think usually it's $75, give or take a few bucks.

 

[HC]

I've never had my car aligned and it's 8 years old. Is that weird?

Yes. Usually, the alignment can be knocked askew by a tire rotation, new set of tires, climbing a curb, hitting a wheel against a curb, clobbering a pothole, etc., etc.

Does your vehicle track straight - without your having to hold the wheel in place? If so, I need some of what your vehicle has.

One of us (HC probably :)) hit a curb.

And Sam is right. You need an alignment if the car doesn't track properly at 120 km with your hands off the wheel.

Hey, Sam, can I drive down there and get you to do it?

You want to be celibate, don't you honey?

 

[old_tony]

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.

 

[OTD]

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.

 

[MacDaddy]

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.

What are your tires made of? Granite?

 

[Football_Bat]

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.

 

[old_tony]

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.

What are your tires made of? Granite?

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.

 

[BBJones]

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.

 

[JR]

Thanks all for the advice. Much appreciated.

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