Tie Rod Help Please

Hi
I have a 2005 Ford Focus and hit a curb by accident. :frown:
Therefore, I took it to a local shop and they said that I should get the tires balanced and rotated. So I did that and they said that the front inner Tie Rod is slightly bent some and would be able to fix with alignment. So I brought it back for alignment right away. When I picked the car up they said, the tie rod is still somewhat bent but not bad and if I notice the car pulling at all then I should replace the tie rod. My car seems fine but I am worried about something going wrong. ***The first shop I took it to told me about the tie rod. When I went to the second shop, they did not say anything about it so I told them what the other shop said about the tie rod so he had the mechanic go look at it again. He came back in and said oh it is so slightly bent that he did not even notice until you said something and he could fix with the alignment. I am lost when it comes to this car stuff!! Any suggestions would be nice at this point, I am just not sure what to do. Should I replace my tie rod when car seems fine or not? It is like $200.00 to get it fixed and that is alot of money for me to shell out. Thanks for your thoughts, suggestions, etc.

The shop should be able to properly align the vehicle if it's not bent bad. It is probably OK to drive IF the tie rod appears tight. I would only drive it long enough to save up for a new one.

How do I know if the Tie Rod is tight?

Grab it and jerk around on it with the front end jacked up, or on the ground with the steering wheel relaxed(turn key to run, put car in neutral and rock the car back and forth about a foot, then put it back in park and shut off the key). If there is any slack, you should fix it very soon.

if there was any problem with the tie rod the mechanic would have told you... i think you'll be fine. because believe me the last thing a tech wants is to be reamed by the car owner, then his boss. drive it for (i dunno) 10 grand miles(many shops have to fill our a checklist, and for us steering linkage is one). if you start to feel a problem (ie pulling, uneven tread wear, "shimying", shaking at any speed in the steering wheel or car) then take it in have them check it again.or power steering fluid consumption(if you keep adding and it keeps draining, something internal is bad) just dont be overly critical of it. many things on your vehicle is designed to be able to take a minor to moderate hit and still get you places. hell we take drums off of brakes by striking with a hammer to break it away from the hub. replace it if it makes you feel better but i drove a 90 laser that had bent tie rods, and it was a pile of rust, but i never had a problem.