I don't understand why its waaaay more than all the other cars honda sells.. they say its going to take 4 hours, and that theres waaaaaay more work to do..

Thats all fine and dandy, but when I asked them what they do they came out as clueless... "well you know.. theres just lots more work" an answer like that..

Am I being taken for a ride?

Should I bring it to a regular tire/alignment shop and pay a decent price? or Honda and pay 3x the price..

 

That's about what dealers charge. No justification for it, just b/c they can.

If you have stock wheels, just take it to any decent nat'l tire/wheel shop (Meineke, Midas etc.). Should be fine. Plus, if anything goes wrong, you've got a deep pocket to go after...

 

I think the dealer is taking advantage of the fact that the S2000 is more $$ than the other Honda's and it's a sports car. It would be interesting to find out how much Acura charges for alignment on the TL. You can probably bring your car to Wheel Works and pay ~ $90 for alignment. Also, I doubt it would require 4 hours. If that were true, they would be asking for much more than $129.

 

If they do it right they will be doing all 4 wheels.

 

From what Ive seen thus far, the car has adjustable camber and caster along with the normal toe adjustments. This does take longer if they do it right, matching both sides v. just staying within spec. But $129 is still steep. A high performance alignment shop locally charged $80 for my Miata and it took them hours to get it where I wanted. Whereas my truck with solid axle took them minutes to get perfect and I paid the same $80.

On the alignment subject, is there a sweet spot with stock wheels to get the car aligned to. I'm convinced it is off on mine, as I can go around broad right turns without turning the wheel, but anything left I've got nearly a 1/4 turn. Maybe the wheel is off center, but something's off a bit. If there are #'s I want the alignment set at, would love to know the #'s. Or is Honda standard spec adequate? If I just pay my guy $80 would like to hand him the spec I want.

Thanks,

mg

 

I have heard talk of a "Euro Spec" alignment, a bit more aggressive than US specs but worth a look / try.

Do a search or maybe someone will chime in.

 

You can get a 4 wheel alignment for less. If you come to Rochester, I can point you to some places. Otherwise, look for other shops - race prep shops if you have the choice so you can get exactly what you want rather than somewhere in spec.

BTW, I've had alignments done at Dick Ide Honda in Rochester for ~$90 (IIRC)...

 

as above, cause they are a dealer!

and not the best place for the alignment, imo.
they are not as flexible as a speed shop.
a speed shop will align as you wish, instead of by stock specs-
had mine aligned for aggressive driving (about $75 in an expensive shop)- the car handles even better than it did new!!

 

In Brooklyn the price is around $75-$95, anything above that is too steep.

 

I wouldn't pay more than $79.99 for a four wheel alignment.

They're simply trying to gouge you because you drive an "expensive" Honda.