Alignment Cost
 

This is going to be my first alignment. So what does it cost?

I called the Dealer and they said $200 over the phone and when I was in there picking up a part they said that I was quoted wrong that it was $300.

So I called some independent places around Detroit and Ann Arbor and they were all about the same price.

Might as well take it to the dealer......

But, there is a shop here that has been in the suspension business for years and they are a sub for most of the Foreign car repair shops. They said they have done P-cars before but not a lot of them. They are $130. They have done work on just about every car I ever owned and have done really good work.
Would you guys try them out or go to the dealer?

Also, what have you guys paid for an alignment? $300 seems high to me for just an alignment.......

no dealer. I'm going to try Jeff Jones this summer for my '83.

Whoever you choose, make sure they are experienced with these cars. A correct four-wheel alignment is not a simple job, and will reasonably cost $300. I would say that a $130 alignment will not be a full alignment. I was fortunate that my mechanic allowed me to perform mine on his rack on a weekend while he was catching up on other work. I spent the entire day getting it right, and I'm pretty comfortable with working on this car. In the future, I will happily fork over several hundred dollars for him to do it for me.

911SCfanatic, who and where is Jeff Jones? Do you have a contact number, so I can give him a call. I'm in Lansing, but I don't mind driving for good work.....

ZOANAS, it took me 15 min to read your post. You and those da#n Avatars! ;)

Yes, I was thinking $130 is pretty cheap, but on the other hand I thought $300 was a little high. I thought about $200 sounds about right for the job?

Avatars? I thought those were called fun-bags. (rimshot)
Seriously, though, I was quoted $50 for a 4-wheel alignment from a local shop with the digital/laser/whatever alignment rig everyone speaks highly of. This guy does all the alignments for the local independent European auto repair shop and has done a bunch of Porsches.
Of course, we're really behind the times down here in Ioway....

Bill, the guy in Lansing you are thinking about is good, from what I have heard. Is it Williams? I think the guy has been around a while and really know these cars. I believe the shop is actually in Okemos but I don't know Lansing.

A four corner alignment takes a while and must be done right - critical for our cars - $300 is not bad.

The corner alignment will usually cost more than a standard fixture-on-hub job, figure $250 is average. Then is based on trust and reputation of the one doing the job.

A corner balance AND alignment will be around $400 if you have adjustable spring plates... a bit more if not because the torsion bars have to be removed multiple times to get the rear height correct and even.

I'll have to look into what the $50 job includes. I'm sure it doesn't involve f***ing around with the torsion bars and ride height. Whatever else can be adjusted back there, I don't know. My ride height is fine.

By the way, acapella8, any Porsche get-togethers coming up in Chicago area late April/early May? I'm planning an extended weekend and would like to drive up in the Carrera and attend one. I'm about 3-4 hours away.

Why not corner balance when the alignment is done? It's worth the extra time and money.

Williams Auto World is the Porsche Dealer and that is located in Okemos. $300 dollars. There is a guy there that I've heard does good work. I don't know his name.

The shop for $130 is Liskey's. They have been great on all my other cars. This alignment sounds like defcon65s. They don't mess with torsion bars, ride height, etc.... They make the car go straight and true.

Actually, I would think setting an alignment on these cars would be the same if not easier than most. I mean all the adjustments are easily accessible. Or do you guys mean by achieving certain toe in/out, etc numbers?

Bill;

The quality of alignments varies. Some places, if the measurements at one corner are within the range allowed by the manufacturer, no tweaking is done. On to the next corner.

A good alignment will entail tweaking all of the measurements to a prefered number within the allowed range and making sure left and right sides are equal.

A really good alignment for a 911 or 930 includes adjusting the corner weights. If this has never been done to a car since it left the factory, I highly recommend it.

A full alignment including adjusting the corner weights is generally more than $300. I've seen the job burn up an entire day, especially on an early car, without the means to fine-adjust the rear spring plates, or on a car that is being lowered.

You generally get what you pay for. I'd suggest speaking to the shop ahead of the alignment to find out exactly what you are getting for your money. I wouldn't have my car aligned by anyone that doesn't do a lot of work on 911s and has the equipment to do it right. The adjustments on the rear of a 911 are not done like the ones on the front, which are likely to be familiar to just about any shop.

JR

I've done the alignment myself. I promise you it is not simple. The theory and the adjustments are simple enough. Performing the alignment requires patience and skill. Each adjustment affects every other corner. You will get what you pay for.


edit: how many tries did it take for you to freeze the naughty frame on my avatar?

Ok, well since the dealer is local and the same price as the independents I guess I'll take it there. I'll just have to find out who that one person is and make my appointment with him. $300 doesn't sound too bad I guess, I was just trying to save a $100 bucks or so. I gotta get tires too, and cause I need tires I'm thinking about rims, and well you guys know how it goes.......

Zoanas, I'm still trying to freeze it! Where is the 'stop' button? Hard to work one-handed...

It's the "escape" button for non-IE browsers.

Get new tires first. Then get the alignment.

I have found a corner-balance and alignment runs around $300 - $400.

Ask your dealer what they will do for $300.

Most shops around here will indeed do a four wheel alignment (only) for $89 - $130. Depending on if they know what is involved with a four wheel alignment on the 911. This is with the laser alignement tools.

The rear is where a bit of time is required. If you change the camber it affects toe adjustments. When I call my local Les Schwab, they looked it up and quoted me about 1 1/2 hours per their spec book if the rear had to be adjusted at all. They suggested they wanted to book it for 2 hours.

Others look at the book and only quote an hour and find they went behind in their estimate and it affects their ability to do other cars.

Good luck.

Oh, that's the one I pried out of my keyboard - kept hitting it by accident and exiting the program. Where do you get this stuff? From a friend, hopefully!

Boy, you folks have high prices for alignments. For a normal 4 wheel Laser alignment I pay $145.00 at one of the best P-Car shops in the state. Takes the technician about an 1.5 hours to set up and adjust.

What are these $300.00 prices for. Corner Balancing?