Best Alignment Shop West Metro

  • Joe Jarl
    SW Wright County
    Posts: 2082
    #2315311

    Looking for recommendations on a solid alignment shop in the west metro or west of the metro. Wife has a 2016 Volvo AWD that we put new tires on 2 years ago. Not the best decision but I didn’t request an alignment at that point because I wasn’t seeing signs of an issue. Within 9 months I noticed excessive wear on the rear tires. Took it to a local tire shop and had them replace the 2 and do a 4 wheel alignment. They supposedly checked and did not find issues with the suspension at that time. Fast forward to now and the rears are wearing the insides again. Research I’ve done is that there is a bit of a trick to correctly align these to minimize wear. And what I’ve read is it may not mean simply putting it on a rack and adjusting to spec. Pretty sure that’s what the last shop did. AWD’s are notorious for wearing tires out faster that a FWD but these are nearly bald on the inside and almost full tread on the outside. The weird thing is it seams to drive fine. Do I bite the bullet and bring it to the dealer and hope they know what they’re doing? Or do any of you mechanics have any good suggestions?

    grubson
    Harris, Somewhere in VNP
    Posts: 1750
    #2315312

    If they’re wearing that bad, you more than likely need parts, not just adjustments.
    Number one most important thing with AWD vehicles is to have 4 matching tires and religious tire rotations. I could recommend shops north of the metro, but not the west.

    John Rasmussen
    Blaine
    Posts: 6626
    #2315314

    Took it to a local tire shop and had them replace the 2 and do a 4 wheel alignment. They supposedly checked and did not find issues with the suspension at that time. Fast forward to now and the rears are wearing the insides again.

    If it were me I would take it back and ask why the rear tires are wearing. Any shop with a decent guy should be able to do an alignment. If you are looking for the best alignment shop in the metro it’s not west but Hoover down in Minneapolis would be my recommendation.

    Karl Hungus
    Carver County, Minnesota
    Posts: 198
    #2315328

    FWIW…I took my wifes BMW (2010 with 210K) to “The Alignment Guy” in Hopkins after the stealership was doing a recall and recommended an alignment. Of course they charge an arm and a leg so I shopped around. This guy was highly recommended so I gave him a try. I have not been too impressed with “tire” retailers doing alignments in the past but that’s my opinion. He’s a different cat to be sure but I think he knows his stuff. He has a less than impressive shop but I wasn’t looking for a best friend…just an alignment. He has a little dog I sat and petted the whole time and I was able to watch the whole process. He was questioning why I needed an alignment as it was very good to begin with. In the end, I won’t even tell you what he charged me…I still feel guilty as he spent a good hour on it but he wouldn’t take any more for it. I’d use him again but here’s the fineprint: He doesn’t have a phone number, you just contact him on his website and he will return the email with available times. He likes to talk music…alot while he works which is fine. Don’t expect coffee and pastries in a nice waiting room! Like i said, I had a good experience and I do think he does good work.

    Matt Moen
    South Minneapolis
    Posts: 4752
    #2315330

    I’d take it to the dealership or find a shop that specializes in Volvo.

    Kind of like Karl, we’ve owned a few BMW’s and they are finicky. We found a couple shops locally that only work on BMW so they knew how to handle them. I assume they are shops that specialize in Volvo.

    Better to spend the money and get it done right than continuing to buy new tires.

    Joe Jarl
    SW Wright County
    Posts: 2082
    #2315333

    Grubson, I wonder the same thing regarding worn parts. I’ve tried to keep up on rotations but admittedly probably not enough for an AWD. The wear I’m seeing and the timeframe leads me to believe it’s far more than inadequate rotations though. John that’s not a dumb idea to go back to these guys. They have always been good to work with. Just not sure I trust them to get this right. I’ll maybe have a talk with them and go from there.

    dirtywater
    Posts: 1737
    #2315372

    Tim Hesse at Richfield Wheel Alignment is the master. He is old school, his dad started the shop in 1958. Very fair and honest shop that does quality work on all kinds of vehicles.

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