"Jeff Strickland" <crwlr@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:GoudnYK7QPaO1v_YnZ2dnUVZ_hydnZ2d@ez2.net...[color=blue]
>
> "Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote in message
> news:ab660$45623516$44a4a10d$8405@msgid.meganewsservers.com...[color=green]
>>
>> "Big Blue" <aclaritan@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:4h94m21g6ifdncet95vc6oto1ku84ab6hk@4ax.com...[color=darkred]
>>>
>>> My wife took our new Camry 2007 SE V6 in for oil change at 5,000 miles
>>> and the dealer tries to pressure her into an alignment saying she
>>> "needs it everytime she does an oil change." Luckily she gave me a
>>> call and I told her no and it's bull that you need it every oil
>>> change.
>>>
>>> However, this does raise an interesting question, how often should I
>>> do it? I know the old conventional wisdom is every 10,000 to 15,000
>>> miles but someone has told me that you don't need it ever if your car
>>> don't steer to the side.
>>>
>>> Thanks for the replies.
>>>[/color]
>>
>> There is no manufacturer-recommended interval for having the alignment
>> checked, and I do not bother with my car unless I notice one or more of
>> the following symptoms:
>>
>> Steering wheel not centered
>> Uneven or unusual tread wear (invest in an inexpensive tread depth
>> gauge - well worth the $10).
>> Vehicle drifting or pulling to one side
>>
>> In a modern vehicle, when it is time to get an alignment, get a 4 wheel
>> alignment, not just a front-end alignment.
>> --
>>[/color]
>
> I agree with Ray on this one, with a tiny caveat. I think it is okay to
> drift slowly to the right because this can come from the crown in the road
> sending the car to the lowest side of the pavement. One has to discern if
> the drift is caused by the roadway or the suspension, but I give the
> roadway some of the credit for the error. The freeway has enough crown to
> send the car to the side at an imperceptable rate unless one removes his
> hands from the steering wheel to see how straight the car will go.
>[/color]
I think some vehicles seem to go out of alignment rather quickly and with
monotonous regularity....I'm thinking the large Fords of the early 1960s for
example. I knew a man who had one and had to have it realigned a number of
times. But in my experience with Toyotas, (3) I've never had to have a
wheel alignment, the tires wear quite well, and even in my '97 Camry, you
can leave hands off the wheel and drive on a flat highway for a mile before
you have to tweak it a bit. Just like being on tracks.
I'm sure folks who make a habit of parking too close to the curb, or drive
over curbing, etc. may have more opportunity and need to get alignments.
The fact that a Toyota dealer (or his service writer) states that you need a
wheel alignment with every oil change sort of indicates that the next
payment on his boat is due.
That's why dealers get bad reputations, and rightly so.
If dealers charged reasonable labor rates and didn't overdo their service
requirements, they might get more business than they do. I for one would
sooner deal with one or two mechanics I KNOW and who know me, than with a
mega dealer whose employees think of my car as just another job, to be dealt
with as quickly as possible to get onto the next job.[color=blue]
>[/color]
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