When I get suspension work done.

Checked when I get new tires.

If the car starts to pull or wear tires unevenly.

 

this^^^^+1

 

^ +1

only when it's needed.....

 

Living in pothole heaven (NYC) as I do, I do it about every two years. When I didn't live here, I followed the previous advice the others gave.

 

Absent driveability problems, the usual reason to keep the wheels aligned is to prevent tire wear. But with the cost of a 4-wheel thrust alignment around a hundred bucks in the northeast, that's a lot of tire wear by itself. I guess with an AWD, you would be concerned with messing up the front two, and then having to buy 4 new ones.

Generally, alignments must generate a good little profit, judging from how hard they're sold.

 

Generally, alignments must generate a good little profit, judging from how hard they're sold.

Bingo, a winner.
If it steers staright, tires wear evenly, leave it alone.

 

Like mentioned before, when you replace tires - always have an alignment checked! Some do it also, when you rotate tires.

 

I have it checked and aligned when I have the tires rotated - at 7500 miles when I change the oil. I believe this is what is recommended in the book. A local shop has a fairly inexpensive alignment check/update contract for 3 years.

 

Ditto here: Only when I need one based on tire inspection for uneven wear (I check twice a year myself) and based on feel; ie., if I feel a noticeable shift in steering with the car feeling like it's pulling to any given side. Of course, an alignment is needed if suspension work is done such as changing tie-rod ends or struts.

I used to do one once every couple of years or so until I had my precious and pristine condition Volvo 240 drop off the lift before my eyes during one of these routine checks. Seriously. This was a reputable shop but the fellow working on the car was having an "off day" so when he raised the car, he forgot to chain it down before raising the rear wheels. Next thing you know, the beast starts rolling and launches itself off the platform which was sitting about 5 feet in the air. "Luckily", the front end bumper (it had those massive metal & rubber bumpers) landed on a tool chest which kept damage to a minimum. Brutal experience to say the least.

 

at 31,000 miles i wouldn't think about it unless:
1. it sees terrible road conditions - or has had a very significant incident (wrecked, etc)
2. sees significant offroad, track time, or aggressive driving
3. sees heavy tow loads

Alignments are akin to insurance - how much do you want to pay and how likely are you to need it?

They're largely over sold and over done, you can go 100,000 miles without an alignment easily if you know anything about vehicles and pay attention. I used to do it all the time before i lived in an area with terrible roads because a friend that works in the alignment industry told me that alignments are over sold and rarely needed. If bolts and mechanicals are "loosing" alignment regularly then something is wrong, parts are fixed for a reason.

but - you have $500+ worth of tires at stake too, so that's why i say it's like insurance.

if you live in rough areas, bad roads or drive the car hard, you're more likely to need it.

gently driven on normal roads without many issues you can almost never need an alignment.

 

Just currious, why would new tires affect alignment?

I also read that even with when changing struts/shocks, only certain cars require aligment because some cars don't have have anything to adjust, especially in the rear.

 

An out-of-alignment car is a common result of everyday driving. But the term alignment doesn't really refer to your car's wheels but rather to the suspension. As part of normal driving, parts of your car's suspension may become worn, and springs can be stretched out. Even a small accident or bumping a curb can disrupt your suspension, knocking some of the highly calibrated components off-kilter, making your wheels sit at improper angles. An alignment restores these angles to their correct measurements, making sure that your wheels sit straight.

 

^^^ that's is only assuming that you are the only driver of that car. If you have a family (with teenagers, etc) and occasionally share your car with them, I suggest to do alignment more frequently...LOL
You never know, who does what, when they drive your car - trust me!

 

I take the car in for it's free tire rotation/rebalance at Americas (aka Discount) Tires... every 5-7K they always tell me if they see alignment wear. (Since they don't DO alignments, they have no reason to lie about it =-) (when I worked in tires at one of those big chain tire/brakes shops... the "lifetime alignment" was a scam for the most part (the company pushed them as it was basically a way to get 50-100% more profit out of something the average customer only did once), and I can tell you when we were busy that "free alignment check" sometimes was nothing more than a swipe of tire dressing)

Basically with my 3 cars, I've only had to take one in for an alignment in the last 7 years. Cost me $50 at a place that just did alignments.

 

find a place where you can get lifetime alignments. firestone and ntb have them im sure there are more. about $140 but one alignment is usually around $80, so you can get your car aligned any time you feel like it. i get one once a year.