[Anthony199]

Hey everyone,

Just had a "4 wheel alignment" on my 325i 2006 sedan, but apparently non-BMW shops can only align the two front wheels, and can't do anything with the rear. Still paid 89.99+ fees and taxes. Anyways, attached are the results of the alignment.
They said that the alignment requires a special tool in the back to do the alignment, and only bmw can do it.
Is what I have right now fine? Or do I need to redo the alignment at a better shop? Or ask for a refund?

[weehe126]

All they did was adjust front toe. That is a horrible alignment

[SnapCoupe]

There is no "special tool" required to align the rear on the E90. They also didn't even bother to set the front camber at all, and considering where its at I'm sure your car drives all sorts of wonky.

Go back, get a refund, and take it to a reputable performance shop. You might end up paying a little bit more, but in my experience you really get what you pay for with alignments. Nothing drives better than a freshly and properly aligned car.

[johnmyster]

My independent doesn't have any issue doing the rear with a socket and a box-end wrench, for $65. No special tools needed. He also doesn't have a rack, yet doesn't mind scooting under there on his back to do it. He would've also worked on your RF camber. Your guy is lazy.

You'll probably have some minor, funny (inside edge) tire wear in the rear. In the end, you didn't get what you paid for.

EDIT: Not to mention, he dialed up e46 settings on his machine.

[perth1]

Hi,
Your rear toe should have been corrected before any other adjustments.

The E90 doesn't have many adjustments in the front (other than toe),
In the rear I believe you have more adjustments, but they less important than the rear toe.

Cheers,

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by weehe126

All they did was adjust front toe. That is a horrible alignment

this.

they didn't even pull up the right specs, sheet says e46.


I'd demand a refund, and then never visit that place again.

edit:
and did they make you aware that they could not properly align the car when you made the appointment, or only after they handed you that bullshit alignment spec sheet?

because they didn't do anything. And no, you don't need special tools to do the rear camber/toe.

[F30lolz]

My local stealer is advertising a $89 four (4) wheel alignment special. OP, as others have mentioned get your refund and visit your dealers website to see if they have that special.

[Anthony199]

Thank you everyone for your replies.
So first of all, I replaced two tires yesterday. The tires in the back were a lot more worn from the inside than from the outside. I moved the 6 month old tires from the front to the back and installed the news in the front.

This is where the idea of alignment came from. The car drives very straight on a flat road, but the uneven wearing threw me off.

The shop told me that they can only adjust the toe before the appointment. I was surprised they only adjusted the front toe since they said afterwards that the reat toe is not adjustable.

Also, before the appointment, I asked them if any other shop can fix the other specs, and they said only BMW can do the other specs, and they would charge me 400$. After hearing that, I accepted the offer.

If he told me that other shops can do it, I'd have cancelled the appointment. The thing is I didn't call other shops to confirm what he said is true, so I believed what he said and went with it.

[Anthony199]

Also, I am not sure if the e46 spec thing is an issue or not, I have seen many threads about shops using e46 specs instead of e90 specs?
I do see everyone has their toe adjusted on the rear though. Thats probably my biggest issue, especially when I said that my rear tires are wearing from the inside.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by Anthony199

Thank you everyone for your replies.
So first of all, I replaced two tires yesterday. The tires in the back were a lot more worn from the inside than from the outside. I moved the 6 month old tires from the front to the back and installed the news in the front.

This is where the idea of alignment came from. The car drives very straight on a flat road, but the uneven wearing threw me off.

The shop told me that they can only adjust the toe before the appointment. I was surprised they only adjusted the front toe since they said afterwards that the reat toe is not adjustable.

Also, before the appointment, I asked them if any other shop can fix the other specs, and they said only BMW can do the other specs, and they would charge me 400$. After hearing that, I accepted the offer.

If he told me that other shops can do it, I'd have cancelled the appointment. The thing is I didn't call other shops to confirm what he said is true, so I believed what he said and went with it.

rear toe is absolutely adjustable, and is probably the major culprit for why your rear tires wore poorly.

camber and toe wears the inside edges quickly.

if they told you upfront what they were going to do and you agreed, then that's your fault and you don't deserve a refund.

You do however need to fix your alignment, or you're just going to burn through the rear tires again.

[Anthony199]

Originally Posted by nsjames

rear toe is absolutely adjustable, and is probably the major culprit for why your rear tires wore poorly.

camber and toe wears the inside edges quickly.

if they told you upfront what they were going to do and you agreed, then that's your fault and you don't deserve a refund.

.

I don't fully agree with you:
1) I told them my rear tires are wearing from the inside, but they didn't touch the rear alignment.
2) They said no other shop can adjust the rear, but clearly many can.
3) They didn't tell me the rear toe is not adjustable, they told me only the toe can be adjusted, and they only adjusted the front toe, not all 4.
4) They said only BMW can do it for me for 400$, and that's my job to figure out, but they shouldn't have lied about that.
5) The reason for my alignment wasn't that my car won't go straight, and they knew that, but when they were done, they told me that now the car moves straight...

So I agreed on not having thw camber adjusted, but didn't agree on not fixing the only reason why I'm doing an alignment. I cant feel any difference with the car. It drives as straight as it was yesterday. All I'm worried about is the rear tires.

[F30lolz]

They lied to you so you can spend your money on them. Try for the refund and get the car aligned properly.

GL.

[nsjames]

well you can attempt to argue with them over your $90, and be frustrated, or you can chalk it up as a learning experience and move on.

sometimes it costs money to learn who you shouldn't do business with.

if you're willing to drive to akron or west chester I can make some recommendations for people that do race car stuff.

I don't know anyone in columbus.

[Emilime75]

Technically, front camber is not adjustable...we know it can be done to an extent by knocking the alignment pins out, but BMW theory says you shouldn't need to.

Only "special" tool needed for rear alignment is an alignment machine that isn't a POS or an antiquated relic from the solid rear axle days.

Don't go back to this shop, unless it's to demand a refund, and have it aligned at a place that has the right machine and knowledge to do it correctly.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

There's nothing special about aligning the rear of a BMW. There are two bolts to control toe and camber on each side, and they're like 3 inches from each other. I'm really surprised they claimed that they couldn't do it. The alignment machine even shows them how.

[Anthony199]

Well thanks again everyone. I will go back and either get a refund or get the rear toe adjusted. I guess i dont need to worry that much about the other specs. I have many reasons to go back and my main problem was not fixed.

Also, should I argue about using the e46 specs vs e90 specs considering that I have 16in rims?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Anthony199

Well thanks again everyone. I will go back and either get a refund or get the rear toe adjusted. I guess i dont need to worry that much about the other specs. I have many reasons to go back and my main problem was not fixed.

Also, should I argue about using the e46 specs vs e90 specs considering that I have 16in rims?

I would argue they should do everything, my alignmenet was not super either and after they did it it's perfect. And that's from a Honda dealer (indy uses their machine and guy).

[Anthony199]

So i went back and after arguing for 15 minutes, I got half my money back. I think the e46 specs are really close to the e90 specs so I'll keep the front as it is and will find someone to align the rear for me.
The shop manager was super stubborn and not understanding that the job was not actually done, and whatever was done was not done correctly (different specs used).
Anyways, thanks everyone for your inputs.

[weehe126]

You will need to have the new shop do both front and rear.

[Anthony199]

Originally Posted by weehe126

You will need to have the new shop do both front and rear.

Are you saying my front specs are not within factory limits?

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by Anthony199

Are you saying my front specs are not within factory limits?

everything is relative.

you change the rear, you change the front.

you'll be paying for both anyhow, because no shop is going to only do half the car.

well, no shop that knows WTF they're doing and isn't shit.