How Much Does A Wheel Alignment Cost?

Having bad wheel alignment can cause your tires to wear down on the inside or outside and can cause your car to pull in one direction instead of driving straight.  There are three main adjustments that can be thrown off over time by hitting potholes and other bumps in the road, those three adjustments are toe, camber, and caster.  But how much does a wheel alignment cost?

Wheel alignment costs can vary widely depending on what tire service center you take your car to and what area of the country you live in.  If you have not had your vehicle’s alignment checked in a while it would be a good idea to take it into a tire shop to have them check it over to make sure that they are all properly aligned. 

Wheel Alignment Symptoms

Steering Wheel Pulling In One Direction

If you notice that your steering wheel wants to pull in one direction rather than driving straight your wheels are likely out of alignment.  You may also notice that your steering wheel is turned in one direction when you are driving straight down the road.  It’s important to note that some roads are slanted to allow rainwater runoff and that may cause your car to pull in one direction.  But if you are on a flat level road and your steering still wants to pull in one direction your car likely needs to have a wheel alignment.

Excessive Tire Wear

Excessive tire wear on the inside or outside of your tires is also an indication that your tires need to have your wheels aligned.  If your toe or camber settings are off then your tires can be pointed outward or situated in a way that they don’t align flat with the ground.

Your tires are designed to be flat on the pavement that way the tire wear is evenly distributed over the surface of the tire.  However, if your toe or camber settings are not properly aligned it can cause excessive wear on the inside or outside of your tires because the wheels will not align flat with the ground.

If you notice that your tires are starting to wear down on the inside there are steps that you can take to get the issue corrected.  If you wanted to learn more about what it means if your tires are wearing down on the inside check out my other article that details what is typically wrong and what you can do to get the issue corrected.

Wheel Alignment Costs

The average cost for a wheel alignment is $80-$130 depending on what area of the country you live in and how many local tire service centers or mechanics there are around you.  If you have multiple tire service centers in your local area then it’s best to shop around to try to find the lowest price.

A lot of tire service centers make you request a quote for the service so you may need to request a quote for your specific vehicle by calling or requesting a quote online.  Wheel alignment cost

Wheel Alignment Adjustments

Camber Angle

Camber adjustment is the adjustment angle that allows your tires to sit flat on the road. If you have too much positive camber or negative camber that is where you will start to see wear on either the inside or outside of your tires depending on which way the wheels are adjusted.  

If your wheels were out of alignment with too much positive camber this would mean that the tops of your tires would be sticking out further than the bottom of the wheel and tires. This will cause the outside edge of your tires to start to wear down unevenly when compared to the rest of the tire.

If your wheels were adjusted with too much negative camber this would mean that the tops of the wheels would be angled inwards towards the car and the bottom of the wheel would be sticking out further than the top. This will cause the inside edge of your tires to start to wear down unevenly and quicker than the rest of the surface of your tires.

A popular trend now is to adjust your camber with excessive negative camber to give your car a unique look.  This will ensure that the inside of your tires is worn down quickly and effectively lowers the handling capabilities of your car.  If your tires do not sit evenly on the surface of the road the less effective they will be at being able to grip the road and the more likely they will be to lose their grip in a turn.  

If you want to see what the different camber adjustments look like in a video I’ve included two links below that show you how too much positive and negative camber would look on a vehicle.

What is Camber Youtube Video

Negative Camber Youtube Video

Toe Angle

The Toe angle of your wheels ensures that your wheels are pointed straight when you have your wheel pointed straight.  If the toe angle of your wheels were off this can cause your tires to wear down unevenly by wearing the inside or outside edges of your tires depending if your toe is adjusted in or out.

If your toe angle is adjusted inwards then the front edge of your wheels will be pointed inwards towards the vehicle.  If your toe angle is adjusted with too much toe-in then that can cause your tires to wear down unevenly on the inside edge of the tire because it will not be pointed straight ahead.

If your toe angle is adjusted with too much toe-out then that means the front edge of your tires would be pointing outwards or away from the vehicle.  If your vehicle has too much toe-out this can cause your tires to wear down unevenly on the outer edge of your tires because the tires will always be being pulled on the outer edge of the tire.

Caster Angle

Caster angle is the angle of your shocks and struts and is specified by your vehicle manufacturer when they first design the vehicle.  Most vehicles on the road are going to have positive caster which means that the shocks and struts are angled away from the front bottom part of the vehicle.  This allows the vehicle to have better stability at high speeds and allows the suspension components to be able to soak up bumps coming from the front of the vehicle better than if they were aligned in a negative caster.  

Your vehicle’s caster can be adjusted but is typically not the culprit of tire wear as much as toe and camber can be.  If you have an issue with your camber you are looking at a bent suspension component that may need to be replaced. If you are interested to see for yourself what a negative or positive caster angle looks like I’ve included a youtube video below showing the differences.

How To Align Suspension

If you are wondering if you can adjust your suspension yourself and save a bit of money the answer is yes, but you will need some specific tools to be able to read how your wheels need to be adjusted.  I personally have never attempted to adjust the alignment of the wheels on my car so I can’t attest to how difficult it would be but from the short videos on Youtube, it doesn’t seem that difficult to do.

I usually just take my car to a tire shop for alignment when I notice that my wheels are pulling one way or another.  The tire shop can check the alignment of my wheels using a digital readout that will tell them which wheels need to have their alignment adjusted.  I prefer to just take my car to have the alignment done by professionals so I don’t have to worry about messing it up on my car.

If you wanted to take a look at a couple of Youtube videos that show you how to adjust your alignment on your car I’ve included two below, one showing how to adjust the toe angle of your wheels, the second showing how to adjust the caster and camber angle of your wheels.

If you are interested in checking out the current prices of a popular wheel alignment tool on Amazon click here.

Toe Adjustment

Caster Camber Adjustment

Related Questions

Do I need a 2 or 4 wheel alignment?  Most of the tire shops around me only do a 4 wheel alignment.  Usually, if you need to have 2 of your wheels aligned then the other 2 will need an alignment as well.

With modern tire shops and car service centers they will place your car on a wheel alignment machine that can digitally display which wheels need to be aligned and by what degree they are off.  That way the service tech can make the necessary changes to each specific wheel based on the digital measurements from the wheel alignment machine.

Is it bad to drive with bad alignment?  Driving with bad wheel alignment can cause your tires to wear down more excessively than if you had a proper alignment.  Driving with a bad alignment can also cause your steering wheel to pull in one direction instead of straight ahead which can be unsafe especially at high speeds.  If you know that your alignment is bad it’s best to get your car to a tire shop to get

How long should a wheel alignment last?  After having a wheel alignment performed on your car should maintain proper wheel alignment for about 6 months to a year before you notice that your wheels need to be aligned again.  This timeline would be under normal circumstances.  If you hit a massive pothole or curb it’s likely to throw off your wheel alignment in either of those events.

Can hitting a curb mess up alignment?  Yes, hitting a curb can definitely mess up your wheel alignment.  If you lightly scrape your wheel on a curb while you are parking then you likely didn’t throw off your wheel alignment.  However, if you recently hit a curb somewhat hard while driving then you likely messed up your wheel alignment.

Can a bad alignment cause shaking?  Yes, if your alignment is off then it can cause issues with your tires and steering that can eventually manifest themselves as shaking in your steering wheel or shaking of your car.  If your car is shaking more at high speeds you likely have an issue with the balance of your tires and wheels.  Shaking at low speeds is more an indication of an issue with the wheel alignment.

How do I know if my car alignment is off?  Your steering wheel will want to pull either left or right instead of driving straight down the road.  Or you noticed excessive tire wear on the inside or outside of your tires.

Are car wheel alignments free?  No, most tire shops and mechanics will charge a fee to get your wheels aligned.  You may be able to find a tire shop that offers free alignment if you buy a full set of tires for the life of those tires.  However, most tire shops will charge to align your wheels.

Wheel Alignment Cost – In Conclusion

Hopefully, by now you know how much the typical wheel alignment cost so that you don’t get ripped off the next time you take your car in to have the wheels aligned.  Wheel alignment costs can vary widely depending on what tire service center you take your car to and what area of the country you live in.  You should have a wheel alignment performed on your vehicle about every 6 months to a year or if you make any changes to the suspension of your vehicle.