Made an offer on an S today that is damn near mint. The only mechanical thing wrong with it is that the steering wheel is not properly aligned. The owner pointed it out to me, or else I might have not even noticed it. In other words, it's only slightly misaligned from center.

My question is, what could have possibly been the cause of this? Could there be a bigger issue behind this? I'm ready to pull the trigger on this car, but want to make sure I'm not walking into something with major pre-existing mechanical issues. Thanks in advance.

 

I bought a mustang with a crooked steering wheel one time. The steering wheel was not aligned along with the rest of the suspension. It was a simple fix for a mechanic. I would think if the car drives true down the road without pulling then it shouldnt be a big fix.


However, that steering wheel became crooked from hitting a curb hard to need the alignment. I'd check the undercarriage carefully for any signs of abuse.

 

I was hoping the alignment had just come out due to rough roads or potholes, since the Carfax came through clear of any accidents or body work. May be wishful thinking though. The car is out of state and I most likely won't get the opportunity to check it again before I make the decision officially, but I trusted the owner for pointing it out before I even noticed it. Maybe that's naive of me though.

 

I was hoping the alignment had just come out due to rough roads or potholes, since the Carfax came through clear of any accidents or body work. May be wishful thinking though. The car is out of state and I most likely won't get the opportunity to check it again before I make the decision officially, but I trusted the owner for pointing it out before I even noticed it. Maybe that's naive of me though.
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I base my experience from working at a dealership for the past 5 years. A carfax/autocheck history will only report what a person claims with insurance. Many people will pay out of pocket to fix vehicles which will maintain a clean history report. The s2000 has VIN stickers on every panel of the vehicle, this is the easiest way to insure that it has, at the least, original panels and no major accident. You could always find a shop near him and call the shop and have him take it for inspection.

 

How far off is it?

If it's just a hair off then whenever it last got an alignment it could have been improperly aligned on the machine. Had it happen to me.

You could adjust the tie rods yourself as a quick fix, I'd probably just recommend going and have it re-aligned and let them know the wheel is off.

 

probably just needs to be re aligned. although i would still get the car checked by in independent mechanic before buying

 

Needs an alignment, but then again something could be bent.

 

Assuming something was bent, how expensive would it be to replace a tie rod or two? Or would it possibly be something larger? My knowledge of what goes wrong with steering components is limited.

 

Its most likely an alignment issue. If you need to replace tie rods your looking around $175 in parts for inner and outer tie rods. If the owner knows about the issue they should also know when it originated and what caused it. Maybe make the purchase contingent on an $80 alignment?

 

^ yup do this. If you can get it resolved with an alignment that should give you some peace of mind. It is a very common issue but you want to make sure that is all that is wrong with it.