Should I buy "Lifetime Tire Alignment" Service for the Q

[QuickSilver]

If I'm planning to get my '92 Q aligned, it seems like should I buy a "Lifetime alignment Service Plan" from Firestone for $150.00 over the one time charge of $60.00. What have you guys done? What am I missing?

It seems like if I plan to keep my car aligned to get to maxium life out of my tires, that a "lifetime" plan with pay for itself after 3 services. How often should I get my alignment done if it already paid for? If I want to take the time, every 5000 to 7000 miles?

Has anybody been dissapointed with their purchase of lifetime alignment?

[Jeff Williams]

Make sure it is from FIRESTONE, not the local shop. Make sure they have a decent machine. Make sure there are no terms or conditions, that will get them out of doing it for free. I have had mine aligned 4 times, in the 50,000 miles I have on the car. Mostly because of off-road excursions, or becasue I went through a used tire phase that I do not recommend to anyone. Budgets forced me to, though. Looking back, I would have broken even, if I bougth new tires, to start with.

[Q451990]

I echo Jeff... make sure there aren't exclusions that end the contract if you replace suspension components (like replacing tension rods, tie rod ends, etc.) In any case, you'd be ahead of the game after 3 times, so that's not bad! If you don't anticipate any suspension repairs in the next few years you'd be ahead of the game even if they have exclusions... Just read the contract and know what you're buying.

I'd also like to know if this is nationwide - might have them do "Q2" after the complete suspension overhall I have planned.

Heath

[QuickSilver]

Thanks guys.

I have a existing contract with a local shop that I bought for my '90 Maxima that I was thinking on using on the Q. Now, I'll go to Firestone, read the contract, and most likely get the Q aligned there.

Jeff, I used to buy used tires for the Maxima until I bought some almost new 17" "black chrome" rims, that are now on the Q as of few days. What kind of problems did you have with used tires? And, would you have needed to align your Q as much if you didn't have used tires?

I do plan to upgrade most of my suspension over time. So I guess I will be using a lifetime plan to save money if they don't exclude suspension changes.

[Jeff Williams]

My problem was, I bought the car, after the previous owner had torn the transmission out, by running over a huge brake drum. I had it repaired, and an alignment. Then I bought 3 sets of used tires off of eBay, and changed to 17" rims. The first set, the Continentals, had a 235/45/17 mixed in with the 245/45/17's I did not see that, until I had them on the car. I had it aligned with 2 different size tires. I then went to the Bridgestone 225/50/17, and had the alignment done, since I changed tire size, and it was not tracking straight (it burned up one of the Bridgestones. Then I found 2 of the other tires had bubbles, where the previous owner had scrubbed a curb. I did not see this, upon initial inspection. I only paid $80 for the Continentals, and $120 for the Bridgestones, then $25 a tire for the second set of Bridgestones. I did get about 27,000 miles out of the 3 sets, though. Then, when I got the new NITTO's I did a full alignment, again.

I don't regret buying the used tires, but I was lucky I didn't get a bad tire, and have it blow at speed. There was a guy in Montgomery, that bought a used set of Wilderness AT's for his Explorer. One blew, and it killed him. Of course, the Explorers are extremely dangerous, overloaded with the correct tire pressure, and a good set of tires, anyway. This poor guy's family dosen't have a case against Ford, or Firestone, since he bought the tires used, after the recall had been announced.

Used tires are a risk I don't want to take with my Q, anymore.

I think an annual alignment would be a good idea, but the roads you travel make the decision for you. I rotate every 5,000 miles, and do an alignment at every tire change.

[911/Q45]

Remember that only the toe is adjustable on the factory suspension, so a replacement parts exclusion would be fatal. Consider adjustable tension rods and upper control arms, available from Stillen. Then you can have caster, camber and toe adjustment available and can lube the upper control arms so they last. Too bad we didn't get this from the factory.

[DAEDALUS]

Great point. Also make sure the lifetime alignment includes the rears, which have adjustable camber and toe if I recall right. Expect to speak to the tech up front about any aftermarket parts every time you go in, as any mods will not show up on the computerized database so many of these "all-model" shops rely on. I tried (unsuccessfully) to convince an alignment shop to measure the camber. Since they weren't adjustable, the guy just couldn't comprehend any need to measure them.

[pimpingurz]

some places have the 3yr plan for about $100. avg owner keeps their car for about 3yrs i think.

[SmithSR]

Aren't there any Firestone employee/tech/tire guys on the forum? Last time I checked, a Firestone alignment tech will slap alignment heads on your car, set toe, then ship it. Nothing in life is free, if you want a proper four wheel alignment, you must pay the usual $65-and up fee.

Firestone in this area does not drug test...I learned this from a former Firestone employee who confessed to me that the alignment tech would in fact pull out his pipe and take a toke in between jouncing suspension/fumbling around under the car during alignment jobs. What's the world coming to??

Firestone has a bad reputation, at least around here, as a commission-driven dishonest outfit looking to rip you off at every service interval. It would be quite common to be handed a list of worn suspension parts/bushings that *need* to be replaced before you can benefit from your *lifetime* alignment service. In some cases, yes, they would be right in suggesting replacement of some parts, but in most cases the lifetime alignment is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt at getting more dollars out of your wallet.

[Q45tech]

There are alignments and there are as perfect as you can get it alignments.......these take the full hour to get right and involve lots of special proceedures you can't get for a bargin price ........usually cost me $60 plus a $20 upfront tip.........every 6 months............necessary for me to sit in seat and hold the wheel rigid to correct for my weight shifting the left side lower by about 0.6" and changing camber by 0.3 degree.Necessary to get a perfect loaded thrust angle.....as the toe will change a little also.The question is do you align for a single passenger or not......full gas tank or empty?