How often should you get an alignment? My car does not pull to the left and it seems i have even tread wear, do I still need to get it checked?
Does it pull to the right?
;-))
Seriously, however, if you want to retain your even tread wear, you should rotate the tires at the same interval each time–every 5k or every 7.5k miles.
I can work with an alignment schedule based upon need, but then I know what to look for,and how often to look. If I was dealing with a situation where I know I had hit something hard (like a curb) this would call for an alignment check before a visible sympton appeared, but then I never hit curbs. Same thing if I was driving a car with fast wearing performance tires, this would be taken into consideration when making up my alignment schedule. I am the type that will let alignments slide when some suspension components are replaced on my personal car, but I would recommend one when the same circumstances are applied to a customers car.
Go to and read the thread named: You need an alignment if…
Keep Doing What You’re Doing. Leave It Alone And Save Your Money For The Next Tire Purchase.
I don’t rotate tires, as I too experience even tire wear on our cars. To me, tire rotation is way over-rated. I like leaving the tires right where they live. That way I get to “read” the tread wear and the information I get from it just in case a problem were to arise (bad ball joints, tie-rods, struts / shocks, for example). I often get 100,000 miles on my tires. That’s a huge money savings.
Although not getting alignments because your car doesn’t pull and the steering wheel is still “centered” makes sense, what doesn’t make sense is to ignore having the car periodically “safety checked” underneath. This is usually part of a good alignment and you would be missing this. Having the tires balanced at a quality shop, once in a while, is a good time to have this done. Many do this for free (They can get extra business).
Pay a little extra for lifetime tire balancing if you can and save even more, the money you’d pay for balancing and safety inspections.
Also, some makes and models of cars are problematic when it comes to tire wear, requiring frequent (5,000 to 10,000 Mile) tire rotations. I avoid those vehicles like the plague.
Others will offer differnet opinions, but that’s how I roll.
CSA
Thank you for your responses! Good information. I ll get it checked for adjustments. Money well spent!
If tread wear is even across the tread, you don’t need and alignment. But to get the best wear out of the tires, rotate them as required by your owner’s amnual (usually 7-10,00 miles), and check the balance if you sense any vibration.
Costco and others have free lifetime rotation and balance check with their tires.
A shop once told me to get the maximum life out of my tires I needed a yearly alignment check for $60! Since I get about 65,000-75,000 miles out of a set over a 6-7 year perid without any alignment check, that would be 6x$60=$360 extra on a $550 set of tires. In other words, the extra tire life to justifiy this expense would have to be 360/550x65,000 miles=42545 extra miles. No way, Jose!
These alignment checks are great for the shop, since it amortizes the expensive machine they use. For the motorist it is a waste of money, unless obviously necessary due to uneven tire wear. However I would recommend an alignment check if you hit a curb at speed, or the car has a front end collision of any sort. In that case the insurance will likely pay for it.
The last time I had an alignment done was in 1996 when I replaced the front springs on a Chevy Caprice.