front wheel tracking cost.

alan_m · 2016-05-07T09:53:09+00:00

Ford Focus Mk1 (2001) I've just had two front tyres fitted by Formula 1 at a competitive price (purchased on-line and fitted at the local outlet)[1]. This came with a free wheel alignment check which found problems. The fitter took me to the machine to show me the 'figures' of +0.9xx and -0.4xx for the front wheels. And then came the up-sell of £19+VAT for EACH of the back wheels and £39+VAT for the front wheel adjustment. I said no and immediately the price came down by 12%, which I also decided not to accept. I'm glad I didn't tick the on-line boxes for all the other 'free checks'. I also opted for the inclusive wheel balancing rather than paying extra for the precision balancing. In the front office they seemed very surprised that there wasn't an additional cost for adjustment (I had already paid for the tyres on-line). Its almost as though they expected each free alignment check to result in an extra £50 to £100 of revenue. I will check the wear on my front tyres and have the tracking done if the wear is found to be excessive. What is a reasonable cost for having the front wheel tracking adjusted? [1] national tyre outlets seems to have 3 pricing structures, on-line = cheapest, phone for a price = second cheapest, just turn up = just make up a price that is x2 of the on-line price - and then the valve balancing etc is extra rather than being inclusive all-in price.

May 07, 2016 21 Replies

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Dave Plowman (News) 10 years ago

Not round here it's not. ;-) To get the wheel absolutely straight (as it left the factory) takes far more time than the likes of KwikFit will spend.

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Clive George 10 years ago

Some years ago I drove a car a few miles with a bent steering rod (from a crash), effectively having the tracking _really_ out. It didn't pull to one side, though you could sometimes hear the tyres chirping as they were trying to go in different directions.

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