When we purchase a home, we know that there is a lot of follow on maintenance required to keep your home looking great inside and out…while also being a functional, happy place for your family to live. But we often seem to forget that buying a car also requires maintenance to keep your trusty transportation running smoothly and on the move to wherever you need to be every day.
Many people believe that a wheel alignment is necessary only when they have encountered a large pothole, hit a curb, or purchased new tires. However, maintaining a proper alignment is just as important as changing the oil in your car.
Here is why you should check your wheel alignment on an annual basis:
- Extended Life of Your Tires – When your car is improperly aligned, your tires become prematurely worn. The tread becomes uneven, which causes a “whup-whup-whup” sound as you drive. A misaligned car can wear through tires in a few thousand miles, which will cost you a significant amount money in the long run.
- Increased Fuel Efficiency – When your automobile is moving in a straight line, the friction between the tires and the road is minimized. This burns less fuel, since the engine doesn’t have to work as hard to keep the car moving forward. When you have an improper alignment, the increased resistance adds a cost to every mile.
- Reduced Wear and Tear on the Suspension – The car’s suspension stabilizes the vehicle and provides a smooth ride for passengers. When a car is misaligned, front end components such as ball joints, wheel bearings, and tie rod ends experience increased wear and tear.
- Improved Handling – After you perform a wheel alignment on your vehicle, you will notice that your automobile doesn’t pull to one side of the road. Overall, the car will handle well and be easier to drive. For example, if you are up north and complete a Pittsburgh wheel alignment, you might just find yourself wandering into less potholes this spring.
- Safer Driving – The alignment process includes a thorough safety inspection. This will enable the technician to replace worn parts before a catastrophic failure occurs. If you have kids or pets, or even just travel alone, the last thing you should want is to be in an unsafe car on the road, putting your own life and the life of others at risk.
If you want your car to last longer and cost you less, add a wheel alignment to your list of annual maintenance tasks. Your safety will be ensured, and it will be more economical than a new set of tires!
Driving an unaligned car will indeed cut down on your tires life and that is going to cost you. I recently put new tires on my car and I forgot how expensive they are. I would definitely recommend getting your car aligned at least yearly to make sure you are getting the most out of your vehicle.
Every time I have my wheels realigned, I notice a big difference in its handling. How often would you recommend that I check the alignment on my car? I normally do it once a year, normally before a long trip, or as often as I notice my car is pulling to one side.
Thanks for this helpful post on the reasons why you should have your wheels aligned annually. I didn’t realize that having my wheels aligned would increase my fuel efficiency, but it does make sense that it would be less stressful on the car if it were easily going in the straight direction. I also like what you said about the driving being safer. Safety is just a really important part to any vehicle. Thanks for the help!
Wow, I had no idea that getting an annual wheel alignment could help you with your fuel efficiency. Do you happen to know how much money you could save in a year with tires that are more aligned? It would be interesting to see some comparisons or studies done to show differences in the performance of vehicles that have been well-maintained as opposed to ones that haven’t.
If you ever feel your steering wheel vibrating even after you get a tire balance or catch your steering wheel turned to the left or right while driving straight on the road, it can be possible that you may just need an alignment.
I need to look up how they do this on youtube. It looks pretty interesting and I’m way over-due on getting mine done.
I had no idea that misaligned tires can quickly wear down your tires. When I went to my uncle’s house, I noticed that a lot of his tires had uneven wear which made me think that he bought them used. Now that I know that his wheels may be misaligned, I’ll tell him to find a repair service soon.
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I found it helpful that you brought up how your tires will deteriorate more quickly if they are not properly aligned. I have started to notice that my car has started to hydroplane more frequently ever since I returned home from a business trip last weekend, and I need to make sure that my tires are aligned so that I can take my children to school safely. Maybe I should find an expert that can help.