$300 for an Alignment.....WTF?!?!

hongsc · 01-19-2014, 04:38 PM

Also have Firestone Lifetime Alignment. Paid $200. But I had to call 5 Firestone locations to get that price. Got the price in Glendale, CA Firestone. The one on La Brea wanted $400. My next alignment, I'm taking it to La Brea just to spite them.

JazStar740 · 01-19-2014, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hongsc

Also have Firestone Lifetime Alignment. Paid $200. But I had to call 5 Firestone locations to get that price. Got the price in Glendale, CA Firestone. The one on La Brea wanted $400. My next alignment, I'm taking it to La Brea just to spite them.

Next time you may want to take it to BMW, it more than likely was not done right... You have to put a certain amount of weight in it first then align to the correct specs which are not straight up and down, plus I do not remember my last alignment from BMW being that much.....

scotty_miller · 01-19-2014, 04:53 PM

Have any of you guys used sears? They have a hunter alignment rack or would you say go to the dealership. I'd rather take a 5 minute drive over a 45 minute to the dealership

Dark_Knight_335 · 01-19-2014, 05:05 PM

I get my winter wheels and summer wheels swapped out every season at a local shop here called Belford tire - they've been in business for several decades, and the car runs like a top every time they swap them.
Hell, they put on my 18 inch Michelin Alpin PA4s onto my stock rims when I ordered them from Tirerack- very convenient as they're only 2 miles from my house.

xxxjecxxx · 01-19-2014, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike3000fl

Firestone lifetime alignment.

I've gone there and it's not valid for lowered cars.

krhodes1 · 01-19-2014, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skhmund

I called them to get my PE installed, and they quoted me $430 for 9 hours labor, just to cut off the factory exhaust and clamp on my PE. I paid $250 at BMW Southwest and I was good.

And even $250 for that job is highway robbery. I did it in my garage in <30 minutes, and that was with taking the exhaust completely off the car to cut it.

I agree that $300 is steep for an alignment. My $tealership charges $199. And tries to get me to have them do it every single time my car is in for service. Uh, no. If the indy does a better job than the dealer, well, no, it is still too much. The best BMW indy near me costs about the same as the dealer, but the difference is I trust him to do a job correctly, the first time, with no need to keep taking the car back. I do NOT trust my local dealer to that level.

hongsc · 01-20-2014, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JazStar740

Next time you may want to take it to BMW, it more than likely was not done right... You have to put a certain amount of weight in it first then align to the correct specs which are not straight up and down, plus I do not remember my last alignment from BMW being that much.....

The car feels fine. Had it realigned at another Firestone. Just want to take it La Brea location because they tried to rip me off initially.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxxjecxxx

I've gone there and it's not valid for lowered cars.

My car is lowered and they had no issues with doing the alignment. I would call another Firestone to verify.

fazman · 01-20-2014, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JazStar740

Next time you may want to take it to BMW, it more than likely was not done right... You have to put a certain amount of weight in it first then align to the correct specs which are not straight up and down, plus I do not remember my last alignment from BMW being that much.....

While u r correct about the weight bags needed as per "spec". I just bring my car with a full tank of gas and i haven't had any alignment issues over 50k miles. I don't need 100% dead on alignment... 95% is good enough. The real key is are your wheels shooting straight!!!

fazman · 01-20-2014, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxxjecxxx

I've gone there and it's not valid for lowered cars.

Try a different location or bring some 2x4's to build a ramp to get up their machine ramps. But as the saying goes... You gotta pay to play, if u wanna ride low, it'll cost u.

pruettfan · 01-21-2014, 03:46 AM

I did Firestone's lifetime alignment, I was a little skeptical but they took their time, used the weights and it turned out great, on top of that I can bring it by as often as I want to have it checked and adjusted for no additional charge. Dealership charges 200 per pop, Firestone was 135 for life.

01-19-2014, 04:38 PM	#45
hongsc Captain 153 Rep 982 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 328i Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Amazon Prime iTrader: (1)	Also have Firestone Lifetime Alignment. Paid $200. But I had to call 5 Firestone locations to get that price. Got the price in Glendale, CA Firestone. The one on La Brea wanted $400. My next alignment, I'm taking it to La Brea just to spite them. __________________ 2011 BMW 328i Space Grey\|18" Avant Garde m359\|Michelin Pilot Sport A/S2\|Eibach Pro-Kit Springs\|Koni FSD\|M3 U+L Control Arms\|Lux Angel Eyes\|Stoptech\|Hawk 5.0\|aFe Race Pipes\|BMW PE
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01-19-2014, 04:53 PM	#47
scotty_miller Captain 185 Rep 936 Posts Drives: 2003.5 E46 M3 Join Date: May 2013 Location: Hollidaysburg, PA iTrader: (13)	Have any of you guys used sears? They have a hunter alignment rack or would you say go to the dealership. I'd rather take a 5 minute drive over a 45 minute to the dealership __________________ You'll find me at the track BMW CCA Club Racing #905 Instagram: scottynotpippen
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01-19-2014, 05:05 PM	#48
Dark_Knight_335 Came to the N55 Darkside 1112 Rep 12,740 Posts Drives: 2011 335 E93 M-Sport Join Date: May 2010 Location: NY/NJ iTrader: (28)	I get my winter wheels and summer wheels swapped out every season at a local shop here called Belford tire - they've been in business for several decades, and the car runs like a top every time they swap them. Hell, they put on my 18 inch Michelin Alpin PA4s onto my stock rims when I ordered them from Tirerack- very convenient as they're only 2 miles from my house.
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01-21-2014, 03:46 AM	#54
pruettfan Brigadier General 1622 Rep 3,402 Posts Drives: 2017 M2, LBB, DCT, Exec Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Chandler, AZ iTrader: (0)	I did Firestone's lifetime alignment, I was a little skeptical but they took their time, used the weights and it turned out great, on top of that I can bring it by as often as I want to have it checked and adjusted for no additional charge. Dealership charges 200 per pop, Firestone was 135 for life.
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