The wheels of your vehicle provide maximum fuel efficiency and least amount of damage when they are aligned parallel to one another and perpendicular to the ground. This article will focus on how much a wheel alignment cost is.
Whilst wheel alignment is sometimes confused with wheel balancing, the two are completely different although both are important.
Wheel balancing is simply the continuity of the distribution of weight in each wheel. If you’re concerned about the cost of wheel alignment, it’s important to understand that maintaining alignment can reduce your repair and replacement costs for tires and other parts of your vehicle.
If tires aren’t aligned regularly, unnecessary and damaging pressure can occur in vital parts of the drivetrain.
How Often Should You get Your Wheels Aligned?
Despite the importance of wheel alignment, most manufacturers don’t specify when you should get it done. Auto servicing professionals generally suggest that you get the alignment checked once per year.
In addition, if you are experiencing symptoms that indicate your wheels may not be aligned properly, it’s a good idea to have them checked.
Symtoms Of Wheel Misalignment
Symptoms of misalignment include pulling of your vehicle to the right or left when driving, uneven wearing of your tires and sudden twisting and movement of your steering wheel. If you have a major repair performed on the front end of your vehicle, it’s also a good idea to get the tires aligned.
It’s understandable to be concerned about any vehicle maintenance or repair but the cost of getting a wheel alignment actually saves you money in the long run.
Costs for wheel alignment vary significantly, depending on several factors. These include the number of wheels you have aligned, the labor cost charged by a particular garage and the equipment used to do the alignment.
Additionally, the severity of misalignment can increase the cost of making the adjustments and if tire replacement is necessary, can significantly raise the price.
The effects of wheels that aren’t aligned can be initially evident by examining the wear on your tires. Tires that wear unevenly on the inside, known as camber, will cause your car to pull to one side when you’re driving.
This can place strain on the axle, swing arms, shock absorbers and ball joints.
Tires that ‘toe-in’ also place a strain on these areas and can cause a sudden fracture that incapacitates your vehicle and requires expensive repairs. Perhaps the most obvious effect of poor wheel alignment is abnormal wear on your tires. If severe enough, this kind of wear can cause tire failure prematurely.
So what is the real cost of wheel alignment?
Well it’s far less expensive than the costs required to replace more complicated vehicle structures like an axle. The cost of getting just the two front tires aligned can average between $35 and $75.
If instead, you get all four wheels aligned, you can expect to spend between $45 and $105. Most vehicle service companies also offer periodic sales on wheel alignments.
Because alignment is usually optional during regular maintenance, consider adding it to other regular maintenance such as oil changes or tune ups. This packaging of services can also help decrease your overall cost of wheel alignment.
You don’t necessarily need a vehicle maintenance professional to help you determine whether your wheels need alignment. When tires don’t wear evenly, showing signs of wear on one side and not the other, you are likely overdue for an alignment.
If your steering wheel pulls you forcefully to one side or another when driving, your tires have probably lost their alignment. Unfortunately, one of the most common symptoms of wheels that aren’t aligned is a problem with other vehicle structures.
Worn shock absorbers, brake problems and broken tie rods can occur when wheels are left unaligned for long periods of time.
What Causes Wheel Misalignment?
Factors that can cause affect wheel alignment include low tire pressure, driving over curbs or large objects, and placing too heavy of a load in your car.
If you’ve just had your car repaired, don’t assume that the mechanic has also realigned your wheels, because this service is optional. Problems with other parts of your vehicle such as the sway bars can cause your tires to become misaligned.
Having just two of your tires aligned and leaving the other two misaligned can lead to excessive force in the misaligned tires. Fortunately, most causes of wheel misalignment can be identified quickly and resolved before additional costs are necessary.