turboavant

my search for topics regarding alingments didn't reveal any alternative shops. let me know your thoughts.

KIRA

any place will do alright right??
what the price at sears tho??

wheels work you could lowball them to 50

06c230hwd

sears should be fine. any mom and pop tire shop with the proper equipment too.

dnlow

I am not sure about an '03 but I have been told on the '05 c230 special alignment equipment is needed, which means dealer only. This was told to me by two alignment shops, so I think it is unbiased.

tanktube67

Computerize aligments are the same anywhere

RobertG

You can have the most advanced equipment out there but if the person using it is a booggereater then it's all worthless. I've heard a lot of stories from a pearson working in the Sears auto center and I thought that he was telling tall tales of grease monkeys at his place, untill he showed some pictures of a customer's car after having her tires replaced. The wheel fell off pulling out from the parking lot

CynCarvin32

You can align a car with chalk and string if you are a skilled person. So its more of a factor if the person working that day has any talent vs. where you go.

Good luck.

sanf

sears is probably fine.. just not the one i went to in MA. The manager and 3 other workers came out and made a scene. He was saying stuff like they dont have the technology to work on a benz and to do it right, you need at least 4 ppl with the same weight to be in the benz and then start the alignment.

they were 100% serious and i was laughing pretty hard. i just said.. it's ok, stick with what you guys know best. thanks

splinter

word

Bolt from any alignment outfit shoveling dung like that.

nlpamg’s experience with professionals- https://mbworld.org/forums/off-topic/222003-wow-there-still-places-do-way-non-computerized-alignments.html

mbhackie

I think it depends on the solely on the mechanic operating the machine. Most Sears repair centers will probably use a quality Hunter alignment machine, the same that a dealer might use. But.. the Sears mechanic will likely be a 20-25 year old kid early in his automotive career or a 30-40 year old man that is only smart enough to replaced tires and brakes on cars. Both of these guys will most likely put your car on the rack and do a toe n go and maybe.. if they take their time it will be accurate. At the dealer you’re more likely to have a seasoned Mercedes tech performing the alignment. He will be more familiar with the adjustments and less likely to only set the toe. He will also do a better job in checking the car first for suspension problems that will affect the alignment.

benz_addict

I got a 4-wheel alignment today from the dealership... total was $250 and 1.5h labor or somethign like that

FrankW

that's for BMW. they need to put weights in the car and trunk to properly do the alignment.

FrankW

that should've been free. unless they stopped paying for it. according to my advisor you could get 1 free alignment when the car's under warranty.

i had my alignment done at the dealership under warranty after they replaced a strut arm due to cracked bushing.

RedKen06C230

guys... what ever you do! dont take it anywhere but the dealer for and alignment... it does take special tools and procedures that regular vehicles dont... like a toe bar depressor.. and you have to go in w/ a mb computer and reprogram the esp to work properly... i manage a tire kingdom in fl and ive been doing automotive for a long time... if you take it anywhere else then the dealer i promise you something will go wrong some way or another....

06c230hwd

did you not read the thread!? just read the title, skimmed a few posts, and decided to chime in with your "knowledge" -ha! i bet you run the one off of sunrise or us1 (figures)-- anyways-- read the freakin thread! lol! you can take your car to someone with no equipment and still get a good alignment - you my friend just can not perform a proper alignment without your machines so therefore without the "special" machine mb has, youve probably never even attempted to align it! i hope you work with robert- you two deserve eachother. lmao

here ya go, example of talent vs. computer alignment (ill give ya one geuss who wins ) https://mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=222003

johnand

That is the 1st I have ever heard about needing special tools for aligning a Benz. I am quite knowlegable in suspension setup and alignment and have never heard of using a toe bar depressor. Also, I have never heard of having the reset the ESP system, that sounds really suspect to me based on what I know of how the ESP system works. I can't imagine ANYTHING alignment related that would effect ESP calibration.

johnand

While I thank you for posting that link (As I never saw it before), I think your post is a little harsh and condescending to RedKen06C230. While, I don't agree with him, I am intrigued with his comments. But I really need to see some documentation to back up his claims, before I will call them facts. As you can read my post above, I am really suspect of his claims.

Here is my post on alignment in Phil's thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/showpost....9&postcount=23

06c230hwd

Let me start by saying, this post is not written to be nasty towards johnand; I feel I must say this since I am typing on a computer and you can not see me smiling
Anyhow.. I can see where you would say I seemed condescending towards the member "RedKen06C230" - BUT - living in Florida and selling auto parts for the last 4 years of my life (to people like 'RedKen' who manages a Tire Kingdom in FL), I know that when I don't have the answer to a problem I don't just say something that sounds right. If I am unsure about something, I will post just that! Stating somewhere that I could be wrong and that I don't know too much on the subject. But this guy just comes on to the thread and makes an oblivious post; he obivously didn't read any prior posts, just read the title and popped his head in to give his 2 cents. Now of course there's nothing wrong with that, but he's giving out false information so it ticked me off in a way. And back to what I was saying before - dealing with Tire Kingdoms in my area over the years - knowing their so called 'knowledge base' first hand - and I'm utterly surprised that he doesn't own all the Tire Kingdom's because even though wrong about what he posted at least he 'sounded smart' and that's more than I can say for the other people who run these shops around here!

<3's all around