Hey guys, a little help when you can. I got some guy looking to align my car, he is telling me that he has to "shift" the motor to align and now the $75 dollar alignment has turned into $175. WTF??? Is this guy trying to squeeze me out of $$, or is this true?? Is this what I can expect for an Acura dealer??

 

that's crap, unless something is really screwed up. I got my aligned when I put springs on and it cost $54 and took all of half an hour.

 

Danny, I'm thinking the same thing. I've never heard of this before

 

I've used this place many times before and I thought I could trust them. I'm not so sure

 

Correction, he told me he had to "shift the cradle". I talked to Acura and they said that it's had to be done before. Maybe this guy is being straight with me

 

I got mine done at a local place and it was $60 to $70. Sounds like they're messing with you.

 

The guy at Acura told me that it sometimes had to be done, the guy at the alignment said that he had the same problems with BMW's. I believe this guy. He's never done me wrong

 

i havent heard of it.

 

Sounds fishy. Doesn't hurt to take it to another place.

 

yup. shop around.

i've had my alignment done twice and have never heard of this. maybe if they were installing a camber kit would it be so much...

 

Most FWD's have an engine cradle. The engine and some suspension components are mounted to the cradle and the cradle is mounted to the unibody w/ rubber mounts. Helms call them front and rear beams and have to be marked if removed so they could be put back together in the exact location to keep the proper alignment.

Usually if the cradle is shifted the car has been in an accident or hit something with the tires hard enough to throw the alignment so far out it can't be adjusted the conventional way.

Get a second opinoin, but beware most shops will adjust the toe and call it aligned.

Ask your guy to show you what he's going to do and the before alignment specs. If he's using a newer computerized alignment machine there should be a screen that shows you how and what to adjust.

 

I am a mechanic and he is telling the truth,Sometimes the (subframe) needs to be shifted foward or back to slightly adjust caster.Do it on a daily basis.ANn extra $100 bucks is robbery,I charge 39.99 extra to do and should only take an extra half hour.I would try another shop.

 

Roo, shill, thanks for the advice. I ended up having the car aligned there. I really trust this guy. He said exactly what you said. $100.00 extra was a little steep, but the car rides a hell of a lot better.