Well I cant really tell if I need an alignment or not. I been going without an alignment bc it goes straight when the steering wheel is at 12'oclock. My dealer told me I had uneven tire wear and said I need an Alignment costing me close to $300. Well I checked myself and didnt notice uneven tire wear. Am I getting played ?

 

The two largest indicators are obviously the car wanting to move left/right when you release the steering wheel, and taking the crown of the road into consideration. The biggest tell tale sign is the 'feathering' that occurs on the tire. Not simply more wear on the inside, but the rippling pattern in the tread (one side of the treat block higher than the other) <- something like that. Outside edge indicates too much toe-in, inside is indicative of excess toe-out.

I got my alignment when I got new tires about 7 months ago, and I keep an eye on the tread, a good alignment shop will set it correct and will stick for a long period of time. Even a few unfortunate run-ins with potholes have kept the alignment straight (though my wheel is now bent and vibrates at 70mph)

 

I just got back from an alignment this week. The car had high speed vibration and pulled right. I usually am good about checking things and preventive maintenance, but this month has been busy and I put it off. One of my front tires was feathered pretty good on the inside and the other front had a bad belt (which was causing all my problems) The "good" tire maybe could have been salvaged, but since it was borderline, I put on two new fronts, which I hadn't planned on. Since the tires were installed by my dealer right before I bought it, I didn't have any receipt for a warranty claim for the bad belt and neither did they. I think they conveniently lost it though. I think the service department never wanted to hear about this car again after they promised to fix some issues the car had when I bought it, before I took delivery. They weren't familiar with Jaguars and got in over their heads. They shipped the car to a Jaguar dealer to fix the problems (when there is a great independent shop a few miles away and they shipped the car almost 200 miles) and got a bit of sticker shock they didn't expect.

Long, meandering, story short is that I would get the car aligned if you notice any uneven wear (use a depth gauge for best accuracy)...but don't pay the dealer ripoff charges, take it to a good independent. I got an alignment, 2 new tires ($135 each), and 6 tires balanced (initial 4 tire balance + mount and balance 2 new ones) all for under $400. If it was only alignment, I'd only have paid $60. Granted I live in a small town and know my alignment guy, but $300 is still wayyy to expensive for only an alignment.

 

Westra makes some good points. Luxury car dealers look at luxury car drivers as if they are made of money. A friend of mine has a Mercedes SLK and he gets the oil changed at the dealership every time... for $400 a pop! I asked him why the hell he spends so much for an oil change and he told me that he has to have it changed at the dealership otherwise it voids his warranty! I then explained to him that there is a federal law which prohibits dealerships from requiring that you get your oil changed there. (It's called the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act.) The dealer had told him that he's required to get his oil changed at the dealership, and for two years he has been spending $400, two or three times per year, to get his oil changed! Now that I showed him the info for the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act I'm sure his dealer is going to get an earful next time he needs an oil change.