general question for advanced car mechanics

I have a 2000 buick lesabre . I recently hade my car in for an alignment. I put 4 new tire on. My back shocks were replaced. My question is how long should an alignment last? My car is pulling right again. I feel like Im going round in circles with this. Thanks for any info. Maureen p.s. This site has been very helpful to being prepared to talk to my mechanics.

I have a 2000 buick lesabre . My question is how long should an alignment last? My car is pulling right again. A good alignment should last indefinitely, provided you do not have any loose suspension components, or hit curbs & pot holes. Did you get any warranty with the alignment?

I respect HotZ28 a lot. But I disagree. (Hope this isn't going to start a problem).

An alignment, with all the factors, is not even meant to last "indefinitely." (it's not that, its supposed to last indefinitely, but it doesn't, it's not meant to).

During my life, I've been taught by several different people over the years, that an alinment should last about a year, under normal driving.

I found a few articles;

#1 "How long it lasts is relative to how much driving you do and what happens to the car, say when you hit a pot hole, and such. If you hit something (pothole, curb ect.) it is a good idea to check alignment. Rough road conditions require more frequent alignments

A general rule of thumb is to check alignment any time you buy new tires and at least once a year for rough driving areas. At any time you SEE uneven wear on your tires you probably need one, and may need other work as well. Alignment is also a good way to check suspension and related components (ball joints , tie rods,)which wear out over time."

#2 "Barring abuse, an alignment should last 10K or so ... if you can afford the $59 I'd get it done on every 7,500 mile rotation."

#3 "How often should you have your wheels aligned? Some manufacturers recommend as little as 10,000 miles. Personally, I feel once a year is a good interval between alignments. A yearly alignment can add thousands of miles to your tires over the years. That's money in your pocket in tires not bought and extra fuel not burnt. Of course if you buy new tires, that's an excellent time to have your wheels aligned."

I resonantly had an alignment done. I did not feel it was done right (Steering wheel was turned while going down the road).
I took it back and they did it again. It still is turned while going straight.

I won't go back to the same place again.

One suggestion; Have the guy drive the vehicle, while your in the car, and show him what your talking about. Let him explain to you.

Years a go, I thought a car was pulling. I had him drive and he explained to me, it was a good alignment.

To make a long story short, I had to agree with him. He was right. Other factors made the car pull, the car had a good alignment.

Chris.

All due respect to all, I bought our 2000 Lesabre new and traded it with over 200k on it. It never had a wheel alignment while I owned it. The tires had three years of driving on them, and they showed no wear due to misalignment. So...in my experience an alignment can last indefinitely. In 40 years of driving, I probably have had two alignments done. Getting it done yearly, as a matter of maintenance, is a waste of money in my opinion.

Hi happydog500,
Actually what HotZ28 mean to speak is that, alignment last for more than 2 to 3year and if you drive cautiously, then it could last more then a decade. Don't you think it's better deal. Well, it all depends on type of driving, more rough driving more damage to the cars.

Regards,
Razor

Thanks for your experience. I agree, an alignment every single year, under normal driving is a little soon.

If you never had an alignment, how do you know if it was off? I'd of bet if you went in, at 200,000 it would of been out of specs. Did you ever have it checked? If not, how would you know?

The car I have now drove straight (Just like yours). I've never rotated the tires, I keep looking, and no uneven wear (just like yours). Went in for an alignment, it was out of specs.

I think you didn't "need" an alinment is because you such a good driver (would of loved to take the 200,000 out of specs bet. The range is only -0.10* to 0.10*).

I really do value what you say. I talk/ask people all day long about what they know and there experiences, to increase my knowledge.

I see here that we're not really talking about the same thing.

I know an old guy just out of town. He has never changed his oil in his Honda, for years. One of the guys who works for him, shows people the oil on the dipstick. The stuff is black. Black-Black. Car still runs good.
If this guy was asked how long regular oil should last, he could answer, from his experience, it will last indefinitely.

Even tho he is correct, you never have to change regular oil in a car, there are guidelines.

Most say, for regular oil, 3,000 - 5,000 miles.

So his experience, of never changing his oil, has nothing to do with how long oil is, "supposed to last."

Chris.

Point taken Chris, although I am not sure I would agree with the oil analogy. Certainly would not neglect my oil changes like the "old guy just out of town". You are probably quite correct in assuming my 2000 was out of specs when turned in, however up to that point there were no front suspension problems or tire wear. Maybe if it had been driven another 20k, something may have shown up to indicate an alignment was necessary. Maybe I have been lucky in driving over good roads or that I drive like the per verbal little old lady. (smile, I am a guy))
One thing I did do, and recommend, was rotate the tires regularly. Anyway, as you suggest, we all learn from others' experiences. Have a good one.

Thanks,
I just heard on the radio, we got Obama stimulus funds to fix some of the roads here.
Pretty bad, plus I'm hard on cars.
Chris.

Could be a tire pull. I have had new tires pull on occasion. If they are swapped across it will often correct it. Another possibility is a bad tie rod. If they aligned it and a tie rod is bad (like the right front), it could still pull out because there is play in the tie rod. I had been driving with a right pull and replaced a tie rod. After, it did not need aligning. Most shops won't try to align it with a bad tie rod.

My left wheel baring was warn and it couldn't be aliened. Chris.

My car also pulls to the right got an alignment around two years ago. just dealt with it. When I got all new tires in January I was informed that I had bad tie rods on the driver's side. That explained the vibration I would feel around 70mph depending on the road angle. They said that my tires would wear very unevenly if I didn't get it fixed for $300+ (scare tactic). Asked another shop about getting an alignment but was informed it was pointless with the bad tire rod it "wouldn't hold" So I changed the outer tie rod but was still play so it's the inner tie rod and I can't fix it myself. So it's 10k later and I did a tire rotation. Tread is barely worn really it doesn't seam worn at all except for one tire it is slightly,slightly more worn on the inside but not really uneven. And its on the side with the good tie rod, go figure. :shakehead

More than likely you probably have a worn suspension component.

One thing no one has mentioned is that you need to start with a GOOD alignment. So many tire shops have alignment equipment, but that does not mean the operator can do a decent job. I've had a new set of tires ruined by a bad alignment and my lack of attention. When I bought my last set of tires, I took the car a local frame and alignment shop recommended by several people. I also committed to having the tires rotated and checked every 5K miles. Tires are looking fine.

A bad alignment is the same as no alignment, maybe worse because you could end up worse off than when you started.

Hi happydog ,
Basically tire alignment depends on the design of the cars as well as the tires and shock absorbers. That causes more impact on alignment.
So some cars are designed as such that it cause damage to the alignment. Cars with wider base faces less problem then parallel base.

Regards,
Razor