Hey folks, so I’m going to need an alignment on my jeep at least 3 more times this year, so I was thinking about buying one of those Lifetime alignments. The jeep has some aftermarket suspension and larger wheels so the shop has to support that.
Are they worth it? What shops do you recommend? I figured Firestone was the best and called to confirm they knew what a solid axle and a trackbar was
Firestone won’t honor my lifetime alignment on my jeep because it’s not stock… terrible customer service at every location I’ve ever been to. Don’t bother with them.
I’m not sure how those warranties apply to vehicles that have been “enhanced” and aren’t stock. If they cover experimental engineering then that’s a great deal.
Had the same experience with my Mustang. I had full air ride suspension when I purchased the life time alignment. Went to the same store for about 1.5 years till they shut it down. Then went to another Firestone and was rejected due to aftermarket equipment. Only good for bone stock vehicles and even then you will have to deal with firestone tearing up your air filter and other BS as they try to up sell you to make the visit profitable for them.
Pepboys say they don’t care if you modify your vehicle, their lifetime alignment is lifetime. Going to go in and read the fine print lol
I wish shops had a special code for “don’t touch anything besides what I asked you to do” lol, I know I have leaks, they add character! Air filter? Nah!
That is the KEY ! (the Reading part - that most ignore )
Most chains won’t cover raised or lowered vehicles under their lifetime warranty.
Do let us know what you find out.
And keep a copy of what you purchase. Another tactic is to change terms later and then try to use the new terms against older plans.
Good luck, I hope you found the hole in the matrix.
As for air filter BS,
My sister had NTB claim her air filter was trashed, by showing her a beat up filter they had in the shop. Luckily, my sister is quick and noticed that the tech hadn’t even popped the hood on her car and asked, “Is that my filter?” The tech said yes and it is too damaged to put back in the car without possible damage being done to your vehicle. She then pointed out that no one had popped the hood on her vehicle and thus that air filter couldn’t be the one from her car.
BS followed and she ended up calling me. I told her to just leave and go to another shop. Not all NTBs are bad, but I have seen a few that definitely are.
FWIW I’d be glad to discuss DIY alignments with you after lift class tonight. We do our own string alignments on the race car and once you’ve done it once or twice it’s stupid easy. Would be even more so with access to a lift.
What is a reasonable price for an alignment? Had wheel bearings replaced on my kids 2004 Toyota RAV4. Told me I needed an alignment. Brought it to Discount Tire for my free tire rotation and they referred me to Jefferies Automotive in Watauga for the alignment. They said $45 when referred by Discount Tires. Reasonable?
Luke, having had solid axle Jeeps aligned in shops, I’d recommend just doing it yourself. You only have caster and toe to worry about to begin with, and those are the easy ones. Half the time, the shops forget all about the adjustment on the drag link and you end up with a perfect alignment and your steering wheel 45 degrees to the right. Or, worse, they set your caster to 6 degrees and say it’s maxed out and insist that you buy eccentric balljoints at their markup as if that will help at all.
Not to mention, the only shop I’ve ever contacted who said they’d definitely honor their lifetime warranty even if the Jeep was not stock, was a specialty shop that demanded $400 for the front suspension alone.
As a rule, I avoid franchise and chain shops for the various scam tactics they employ, to say nothing of the unqualified “techs”. But an alignment isn’t worth $400 from a specialist either.
Granted my vehicle is stock but I’ve always done Pepboys. Firestone aligns it but they take fooooreverrrr no matter how slow it is. Presumably so they can find something major when they rack it. Pepboys has the common sense to not try and upsell me just because I’ve got lady parts given the back of it is filled with the husbands snap on spares
Hey Phil, 45 bucks is pretty cheap. My dealership charges somewhere close to a hundred. (40 bucks is what I charge friends on the side after hours) Make sure to ask for your print out alignment spec sheet.
I’ve worked at a firestone years ago… alignments done at firestone are 9 out of 10 times done improperly, pretty much “toe and go” is the saying there. And if you have it modified they tend to turn you away. Stay away.