Does Alignment need to be checked due to car accident

[CoryM]

Originally Posted by Hershey

Thanks . A bit disappointed . Should it be taken back ? Or will they dance around it and then tempers be flaring ? I would point out the settings of the right and left toe to 0.07 and they would likely say something like are you a technician and / or where did you get this information ?

There isn't much point taking it back. It is w/i spec and I doubt you will notice any change in MPG or tire wear. Chances are they will just say it's w/i spec and that's as far as you will get. If you play nice and explain that you would like to see it closer to ideal they might work with you but it really depends on the people there. The mechanic will be annoyed to redo it because he loses $$, but it's not his choice. The foreman or manager can tell him to do it and he has to. The only other thing I can see is if your steering wheel isn't centered well and taking it back. Even if you are careful you get the odd alignment where all the specs are good, but the wheel is slightly off-center. This way if you bring it back with that concern, you could also ask them to get the toe closer to perfect than that.

The reason you don't set toe to 0° is because you want to be at 0° while driving down the road, not sitting still. As you are moving the bushings flex due to drag on the tires, and drive forces. The engineers calculate how much they will flex, and adjust the toe specification so it is as close to 0° as possible while driving.

End of the day, your car is still w/i spec, your steering wheel is straight (presumably), and you will probably not notice any negative effects. Was your money well spent? That's for you to decide. I would have done the alignment better, the guys up front would have explained it better (I hope), and you would have spent $109+tax to get the steering wheel straightened and toe set to as close to perfect as possible.

If it were me, I would take it back and ask them to do better just for the sake of principles. Do it right or don't do it at all (especially when charging for it!).

I hope I've been helpful.
Cory