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?

I got it in 3 tries:)

OK, now we're cookin' with gas! It's nice to accomplish something at work for a change. Why the half-screen? Got a problem with symmetry?

I don't know where these prices come from. I could see that price coming from a dealer. But independent Porsche shop? That $300 dollars is JUST for a four wheel alignment. I called three places. Two were $300 and Liskey's was $130. The Corner Balancing was extra. I asked the dealer if that included a corner balance and the guy didn't know what that was. He said just bring it in and we'll set you up. It sounds like a set up alright. I'm not very confident in them. But the guy that does the actual alignment I've heard was really good.

Just my artisic flair.

If I could get away with it, I'd make it my screensaver instead of the 'girls jumping rope at the beach' avatar I got from another Pelican. It mesmerizes me.

Hey, I hear there is a guy in Long beach, CA area that do a pretty good job on older 911 wheel alignment. Anyone know the guy number or address?

Bill,

Drop by the dealer that you are thinking of using and meet the guy that will be doing the work. Ask him what he intends to do, for your $300. Refer to my previous post as to what the likely responses will be. You ought to also be familiar with what this work entails on your car, so you can decide if what you are getting suits your usage of the car. Lastly, you want to drop off the car with a full tank of gas.

JR

Now a 4 wheel alignment may on the extreme take 2 hours. At $300.00 that's $150.00 per hour....

Now "corner" balancing is more entailed and $250.00 is more in line for that.

Bill, the guy at Williams is the one that has mucho experience with 911's. A fellow Pelican takes his car there. As someone suggested, go in and meet the guy and get a feel for him. Again, I have heard that he is one of the old school guys that honed his skills on the older cars like ours. Maybe test drive a 997 while they do the work?

$300 for a 4-wheel alignment only is nuts IMO. These cars are not that complicated. Modern alignment equipment makes aligning cars really quite a simple procedure. As long as your not asking for camber & caster values that are testing the limits of the factory adjustments, it's basic.

I've done it both ways: the $300 way and the $100 way. After the $300 bill, I made some new friends. Now I'm lucky enough to have a local shop who let's me use their equipment, and I basically do it myself. He does help me set everything up. I watch the computer screen as I turn some eccentrics and stop turning when I achieve the values I want. Yeah things change when you play with other adjustments, but lowly me can get all settings within .05 degrees of where I want them.

But I do agree that $300 - $400 is a good deal on a complete ride height/CB/alignment.

I think some of you guys are missing out by not trying some of the 'ol- timer methods out there for DIYS'ers.

Admittedly, they are somewhat crude by comparison but once you get a feel for your car and watch your tires like a hawk to see how evenly they're wearing - it brings you immense satisfaction.

Getting a nice contact patch at 4 corners is what you're after. It can be done. I know others that have done it. All those diagnostic tools are a great way to bring in income - however, they do a very nice job -without a doubt. DIYS takes work, time and patience if you're interested - and you will get better at it with practice. Using strings and straight edges is what I use.

Be careful... you WILL succeed. If you don't have the time and patience - you will have M A J O R problems with tire wear.

Phil
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'74 fiat 128
'80 928
'82 Targa - sold

Phil akes a great point. After I performed the full alignment on mine at the shop, I've kept it in shape at home via the DIY alignment methods found on this forum. I use a laser and digital level to check and make any small adjustments. Like Phil says, pay attention to the tire wear.

TRE motorsports (who are considered specialists in the world of porsche) charge 235-285 for a 4 wheel alignment and corner balance. Coming from TRE motorsports I'd consider 235-285 the standard.

David

Zoanas, could you offer a few ideas about how your devices help you to check 'camber'. Camber has given me some doubts as far as how well
it can be done.

Thanks,

Phil
_________

'74 fiat 128
'80 928
'82 Targa - sold

After rebuilding my SC's suspension I had it C/B and alignment done on a $35000 rack. It took almost 4 hours and the guy has alot of 911 experience. After watching all the tweaking and driving it, I did not mind paying $390.
Dave

Phil, I use a Sears "Smart Tool" pictured below to measure camber at each wheel. I remove the center cap and place the tool across the wheel's center hole, which is an extremely flat, true surface for measuring camber.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1141785283.jpg

I place two thin pieces of steel with grease between them under each wheel (two at a time, front or rear) to allow movement when I adjust. This allows adjustment to be made with the car on the ground, and negates the need for re-settling the suspension between adjustments.

For toe, I use a Black & Decker laser line level, which I place on the hub and point towards the ground. I mark the resulting line in front of, and behind the tire, and repeat for the other side of the car. The difference in measurement between the front and rear of the tires is the total toe.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1141785829.jpg

Where is this shop you speak of?

I am located in central PA.

Either Performance Automotive in Malvern or Dougherty's. in West Chester.

Phil, I use a Sears "Smart Tool" pictured below to measure camber at each wheel. I remove the center cap and place the tool across the wheel's center hole, which is an extremely flat, true surface for measuring camber.

Good idea, but how do you reassure yourself that the floor is true or 'flat' in other words ?

The surface of the average garage - most are not perfectly flat and tilt slightly to one side or the other.

If the car was positioned properly, then it would seem to be a better reference to measure against.

Phil
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'74 fiat 128
'80 928
'82 Targa - sold

I measure the floor first, silly. Then add or subtract the angle. That's why they call it a "Smart Tool".