How about more details? Which wheel did you hit and was the alignment seriously off right after the accident?

 

thats why I went to a honda dealership. I didnt want to take chances, and they got to back to Oem #s even with a 1" drop.

 

It is not rocket science to align these cars, really no different from other cars, except that the tollerances are much tighter and they are far more adjustable than most cars. Any shop that can align cars should be able to get it right.

Do they give you a print out with where the car was compared to where it ends up?? Do they admit the alignment is off when they are done? If so what is off (toe, camber, caster, etc.). I mean if they can't get it to align then something is obviously wrong with the car from the accident.

edit: after reading over your post again it almost sounds like you are just talking about the steering wheel itself. If this is the case it is just that when the toe is being set the steer ahead is not perfectly strait causing your steering wheel to have a slight offset to one side or the other.

I do find this kind of normal, I am really picky and it is to the point that I actually get into the car and put the wheel right where I want it (you have to be careful not to bump the wheel after hopping over the brake wedge). The difficulty for the technician to get in and out, coupled with just how sensitive the alginment is on this car may be the reason.

 

Im a BMW tech and have done alignments on cars that have been in bad accidents. I have dialed all the specs in and still have had the results of a off center steering wheel or pull due to bent suspension components or damaged subframes. Keep in mind that a alignment is done on a perfectly level surface and stationary. When the car is in motion and the suspension is under the influence of acceleration, braking and road crown its a different story.

 

However, I'd at least request your money back and take it to another shop who does alignments. I'd avoid the tire kingdom type places and try to find a place that just does alignments. I've got an awesome shop near me that I have complete confidence in, they actually let me sit in the car while it's being aligned to get it perfect, went for a ride with me, etc. This is because alignments is all they do . . . I took a care to them once and they told me right away, it can't be aligned perfect due to a bend suspension component.

Find a good alignement shop and they will either be able to get it right, or tell you what's broken. Try posting on your local forum on s2ki to see if anyone can recommend a place.

 

Sometimes you can look at the A-arms and see where the rust has been knocked off by the flexing of your components....

 

also if there is a radial pull in one of the tires, the allignment could be perfect, that's why at the shop that i worked at we used to drive every one after we weere done. to make sure that not only does the competer say its right, but that it also drives right.

 

Same here...Plus I get a custom alignment after tried and true testing with different setups. Liking my current setup...Went from C/R setup to an a little more aggressive than the Euro spec alignment. Currently running the Euro spec alignment. They should do the alignment first then afterwards center the steering wheel and get it right on the spot.

 

Not saying this is a bad thing, infact I used to do it with the car I raced, but you do realize that aligning the car this way changes the alignment significantly compared to if you had a balanced car (no people or two people). Again it is an alright way to do it if it typically is just you in the car.