Hi all, was unfortunate at the weekend to hit a sod of a pothole on the left front and rear wheels whilst driving on a country lane. Car seems generally fine, its not pulling badly (slight pull to the left rrom new but nothing major), tracks fairly straight and no damage I can see to the alloys or tyres; made the 100 mile journey home no problem at all. Have however noticed that the wheel now seems slightly off centre than it was previously, again was not 100 perfect before but now sits perhaps 3 to 5 degrees off-centre to the right.....nothing terrible but that whole "not quite like it was thing" and enough to irritate.

Contemplating having it 4 wheel aligned just as a matter of course but unsure of the best thing to do: -

My local dealer will do 4 wheel alignment for 125 quid, but it will have to go to one of their VW dealerships as they dont have the equipment to do it on site. Ive also had a bad experience getting a dealer to do an full alignment before not sure I want to do it again.

I go to a local tyre centre for a full geometry check who will charge 30 quid per adjustment (seems steep).

I go to a local independent - Elite Tyres in Reading. They have a Hunter rig and are in the wheel and tyre business but again I have struggled to find testimonials for them and last thing I want is for my 6 month old car to drive worse than it does right now or introduce other issues as it doesnt seem to be knackering/sawtoothing tyres as far as I can tell.

Appreciate any advice and can anyone living in the Oxford/ Reading area (I live bang between the two places) make any recommendations of decent trustworthy places locally or have used Elite tyre.

Cheers

Sorry damn internet connection - double posted

Kwik Fit now have the latest hunter rigs (round here anyway and I assume nationwide) and check for free. Ok so you might choose not to let them do the work, but for a long time if you wanted a check you had to pay £65 or more 'with the first adjustment free'.

Cheers but was wary of quik fir doing anything on my company car never mind my own metal. Best one was one of their mobile guys came out and destroyed the front wheels on my car, two refurbs thanks......wife then took hers to a centre and they proceeded to do the same.

Appreciate the info but they'll not be touching my Blackline no.

Somewhat enclined to go with the dealer option. 125 quids 125 quid but at least i have some comeback with the dealer if its not done 100%...also they'll sort me a courtesy car. Have to say my dealer have yet to let me down so perhaps I should have faith...not sure really.

Alex @ AKS is nr. Bedford. I'm in oxford but the drive over is worth it - he's very good, runs a vRS octavia himself..

Alex @ AKS is nr. Bedford. I'm in oxford but the drive over is worth it - he's very good, runs a vRS octavia himself..

Cheers Rob Im sure hes excellent but i dont much fancy driving to Bedford to get it done. My cars completely standard so id like to think its something my dealers could handle.

There is also Wheels in Motion in Chesham, they did a good job on my vRS and people give them rave reviews on the forums.

Fair enuff - like a say, you don't have to let them near it with a toolkit. Just get it checked then you know if your £125 at the dealer is worthwhile.

And if you do take it to the dealer, make sure you drive it there so you know it's actually gone to the place they claim.

Fair dos. Probably not a bad idea in truth. Dont actually think its bad and probably more my imagination. Checked the tyre pressures yesterday evening and they were fine. Will probably get it booked in at the dealers some point soon, drives fine and can live with the slight wheel offset, was kind of like it before.

Thanks all.

I'd have no hesitation in recommending Bracknell Tyres & exhausts. They have a new 4wheel alignment bay. Around £70 if my memory serves me correctly. I had mine done there & the rears were out... Great for tyres too! Cheaper than anywhere else in my experience..