Am i getting ripped off with "camber needed"

[rrrich7]

hey, newbie here and not very knowledgeable.

i bought the lifetime alignment deal from firestone in a moment of weakness a few years ago. i take my car to them every 6 mos or so for an alignment. last time they said i needed new cambers (which i had no idea what that meant). my "free alignment" cost $80.

i'm about to take the car to them again. is it normal for a car to need cambers with each alignment? please note i live in new orleans with notoriously bad streets, but i try very hard to "drive softly".

any suggestions or info appreciated.

[Miataracer]

this needing new cambers you speak of must be them saying you need a camber adjustment. there really should not be much adjustment to be done as far as that goes. it isnt something that just needs to be adjusted out of the blue. have you lowered the car since the last time you had an alignment done? if so then the car might need a camber adjustment. it is also possible that maybe you bent something somehow.

other than lowering the car or bending a suspension piece there is really no reason that a car would need a camber adjustment done all of a sudden.

[unknownluder69]

I would have them point the 'problem' out to you because $80 is not free. I always ask to see anything that someone says needs adjusted or changed.