Cost of laser tracking

[stan7746]

I dropped my Fabia II in for its second service today then received a call from the Skoda service manager informing me my two front tyres need replacing as they were badly worn with only 2mm on the inner tread. He recommended I also have laser beam alignment to correct the problem which sounded a good investment as at only 14000 miles the misalignment has cost £140 to replace the two tyres through Skoda. 

I was then told the alignment took about 2 hours and would cost £140, now I know I live in the past sometimes but this seemed excessive to me as the last time I had this carried out in June at Tyre Pros it was £30, I was assured that they carried out the alignment as it should be where other companies may not and he highly recommended this be done to save excessive wear on the new tyres so reluctantly agreed. 

 

Can anyone out there especially if you have had this laser alignment carried out previously at a Skoda dealers give an idea on what it cost, even if it proves I do live in the past, many thanks.

Edited 28 November, 2013 by stan7746

[multiskoda]

 

Can anyone out there especially if you have had this laser alignment carried out previously at a Skoda dealers give an idea on what it cost, even if it proves I do live in the past, many thanks.

 

It's unlikely the Skoda dealer themselves will be doing it as the equipment required isn't usually the sort of thing they have in the workshop (it's big, takes up a lot of space, costs a lot of money, not their primary income stream, etc.). They'll most likely be sending it round the corner to the cheapest outfit that has a machine. They'll also be paying trade prices. In most cases for a straightforward alignment job I'd expect them to be paying the other company no more than £20-£30 for the job.

 

The most I've ever paid for alignment (4 wheel laser tracking on a hunter machine) was about £150, and that involved not just alignment, but also the fitting and purchase of adjusters (on an old Merc) and setting them up. Given that the adjusters were £60 of that price, I'd say there's a fair chance they're taking you for a ride. I get alignment done on most of my cars when I get them, and on average pay about £35 a pop unless something's wrong that needs curing.

 

That said, if they can *prove* they use their own machine, and they can prove there was some unforeseen problem with your car (like something seized, for instance) that meant it took them two hours, then the price of £140 simply reflects a fairly standard hourly rate for Skoda dealers.

[Ootohere]

Checking Alignment is all good and well. Setting up and know how to use the equipment, knowing what it shows.

Just like getting free Tracking checks at Quick Flick Dancer places.

 

Adjustment done correctly is what matters,

done by Trained People that can Adjust the incorrect Alignment until it is correctly Aligned.

 

george

[multiskoda]

Checking Alignment is all good and well. Setting up and know how to use the equipment, knowing what it shows.

Just like getting free Tracking checks at Quick Flick Dancer places.

 

Adjustment done correctly is what matters,

done by Trained People that can Adjust the incorrect Alignment until it is correctly Aligned.

 

george

 

Totally agree. Have always been puzzled about why something that contributes greatly to a car's safety and handling is so often overlooked.

[Auric Goldfinger]

Am I correct in thinking that only the fronts can be aligned on a Fabia, if so it should be half price

 

Most I've paid for 4 wheel alignment is £90. 

[Lee]

If you can avoid getting the Dealer to arrange the alignment, look out for a tyre centre that use a Hunter digital machine. You get a readout of the before and after results and the difference can be felt almost as soon as you drive away. The centre should have an operator who is specially trained by Hunter who will explain everything along the way.

 

£75 down here on the South Coast and takes around 30mins.

[stan7746]

Many thanks for your feedback.

Just to add today I checked the SD Card from my Car Dash Camera Cam Recorder and it revealed that after the service the vehicle was taken from my Skoda dealer to the VW branch of the same company and put onto a low ramp which had several fixtures including a screen which I assume was the alignment equipment, when the camera restarted the time lapse was 48 minutes the vehicle was then taken for a short test drive and parked up until I collected it, the two front tyres must also have been fitted during these 48 minutes so I would guess the alignment took maybe 30 - 35 minutes not the 2 hours quoted. 

So it would seem that the service manager either over estimated the time required and perhaps over charged or over estimated the time required but there is a standard charge,

I purchased the front and rear cameras for safety reasons but on this occasion it made interesting watching for me not sure whether the service manager will think the same (providing he is prepared to watch)

.

Edited 30 November, 2013 by stan7746

[multiskoda]

Fantastic idea :-) love the idea of spying on my car being serviced!

[Sparkly]

£50.00 paid on a hunter system.

As said above, fairly sure in order to be on the hunter website the garage must have the kit and people trained by Hunter to do the alignment.

[Prykey]

Depending on which part of Kent you are in http://www.amdtuning.com/product.details.cfm?ProductID=3864&VariantID=1290&ReferenceID=113340

[shoveitpusher]

back when i started driving the standard thing that needed changing was brake pipes, they are a bit corroded, won't pass the next mot. since the materials got better protected and the job got a lot harder it seems to have gomne away.

 

brake fluid never needed changing every other service, now since it got better, it needs changing.

 

tracking used to be a simple (not always easy) job using simple tools - and usually badly done , since laser alignment came along it seems another opportunity to charge a lot for relatively little.

 

i'd love to know if the price would change if you rolled up with a fully adjustable car!

[stan7746]

Thanks again for your posts I will keep you updated

[philhoward]

Tracking and Alignment aren't the same thing - which I'm sure a lot of you know already.  How much can be done on a Fabia, however..you can check for misalignment even though only minimal adjustment is available, I believe?

 

As for alignment (proper alignment), I've only heard glowing reports about these guys: http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/  Not the cheapest, but seem to be one of the best in the UK.