Issues GETTING an alignment?

jgold47 · #1 06-05-2015, 01:48 PM

I called around to a few places inlcuding firestore and my local BMW independent about getting a 4 wheel alignment and they wont do it. Didnt really say why, just that their machine wasnt very good at doing them.

am I missing something? I dont want to get killed with dealer prices.

Sponsored Links

srmmmm · #2 06-05-2015, 01:52 PM

Sounds strange. But my dealer price was $225 when I had it done, which I didn't think was out of line. They charged a little less for my wife's 325 - $185. Both times though, the work was done properly and they identified a couple of wear points that a Firestone shop might not have.

2002 X5 3.0 289,600 miles
2004 325i 120,000 miles

Ricky Bobby · #3 06-05-2015, 02:27 PM

Find a better shop. I had one shop decline to do mine because they said they didnt have the proper rear toe adjustment tool (Hunter machine tells them they need a special wrench). However I wouldn't use a shop that goes by that screen or hesitates.

Find someone who uses a Hawkeye Elite machine and does Euro cars exclusively.

Joshdub · #4 06-05-2015, 02:30 PM

I have purchased two Firestone lifetime alignments (one for my old.Audi, and one for a Volvo). They can never get it correct and is a total waste of money. They have had the Volvo 5 times (split between two different shops) and it still pulls to the right (no frame damage, they claim torque steer even though it is when braking, coast, or accelerating, on top being awd). The Audi also always pulled to the right. The only reason I purchased them was because our serious alignment shop is 30min away and I would like a some what safe alignment to get me there. The other reason is because I change suspension setups to find what I like, and its cheaper to have them do a quick, albeit crappy, alignment instead of shelling out $200 for a pro one and a half an hour drive one way.

Long story short, don't to the Firestone.

4.8isX5 · #5 06-05-2015, 03:41 PM

I think your problem will be the wheels...

I took mine to sears that had a hunter hawkeye machine, at first tech said he tried one before and couldnt do it..

Well told him to try and did it on mine.. Reason being the toe adjustment i had the 20" 168s on and spacers as well, the wheels give you more room to work in there and adjust. If it was a 3.0 with 17s like he previously tried i think the wheel gets in the way if you dont have the special tool... Dont quote me on it tho.

jgold47 · #6 06-05-2015, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4.8isX5

I think your problem will be the wheels...

I took mine to sears that had a hunter hawkeye machine, at first tech said he tried one before and couldnt do it..

Well told him to try and did it on mine.. Reason being the toe adjustment i had the 20" 168s on and spacers as well, the wheels give you more room to work in there and adjust. If it was a 3.0 with 17s like he previously tried i think the wheel gets in the way if you dont have the special tool... Dont quote me on it tho.

does it matter if I get it aligned with my normal wheels on? I just got a set of staggered 19's that I was going to put on AFTER the alignment.

I found a place near me that has a hunter hawkeye, and its in a pretty high end area so I'm assuming they do a lot of euro cars.

BMWizard · #7 06-05-2015, 05:14 PM

dealer has alignment on special every other month... $100.. regular price $160...
1980+ alignment machines will do precise alignment with 4 different rims.

4.8isX5 · #8 06-05-2015, 07:29 PM

Why would you get it aligned with the different wheels if your going to run 19s on it. I dont think it matters much although possibily in small variances it can...

Throw the 19s on and get it aligned, with the staggered 19s the X5s came with should be enough room to do it.

itscoo2pyopants · #9 06-05-2015, 10:53 PM

I never had a problem doing an alignment. I took it to les shwab

g300d · #10 06-06-2015, 05:39 AM

A lot of non-BMW shops seem to get stumped when they cant get parameters to spec by adjusting the parts.

I've started to accept the fact that getting a BMW aligned to specs often involves replacing perfectly serviceable suspension parts because they've deflected just enough to get parameters out of range.

It took me a while to realize and accept it, and I'm sure a lot of people still wont accept replacing rear upper arms with unbroken bushings and ball joints to get camber to spec, or the tech does not have the experience to know this. So often there is a situation where the suspension seems fine but you cant get alignnmnt to specs, and it causes trouble with the shop and customer. They'd rather just avoid it it seems.

Sponsored Links