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MG MGF Technical - 4 wheel alignment


My F needs 4 wheel alignment badly. I called Micheldever Tyres as suggested on this BBS but they can not fit me in until October !

The dealer wants £100 for what MD tyres charge about £20 for. Can anyone suggest a solution.

I am talking about 4 wheel alignment not Krap Fit tracking.
Mandy

B&G in Baldock were £70-80 but they did the works and gave me a printout - lots of mentions of camber and castor and kingpin orientation. Certainly enough to convice an ignoramus like me.

Car now drives much better - though not a big surprise conisdering how the selling dealer in Holland had set it up. Usual B&G story: not cheap, but not expensive, and are reliably able to do what you want.
David Bainbridge


Well B&G Baldock is miles away and only a tenner cheaper than the dealer - no offence - but not a great suggestion.

Anyone else want to step up to the plate ?
mandy

Dealer charges £100 and B&G charge £70-£80. How do you calculate the difference as £10 Mandy?

Also in reading your post the priority seemed to be to do it before October!
Patrick

I'd be surprised anyone can do a 4 wheel laser alignment for £20, the last one on my car cost £55 at a large local vehicle repair shop. The time before was at Mike Satur and the cost was similar.

You could try a large body shop near to you, if you can find one with a good reputation.

A little less aggression might get more replies.
Paul

>A little less aggression might get more replies.

*g*, no offense, may be it relates to her first name :)
I've got a female colleague with similar high self-confidence ... LOL :)
Anyway, she knows what she wants :)

£20 sounds also impossible for me. We here pay also from £40 upwards.

Body shops have sometimes very old tracking data in their computers. Take care you get the ultimate +5 minutes front and +10minutes rear Toe IN setting and a zero minutes wheelbase.

Dieter
PS. I'll tell the colleague about her 'sister' ;)
Dieter Koennecke

Mandy

I think you are being mislead I have not seen any place do a 'proper' 4 wheel laser alignment for under £45 + VAT.

Maybe people like MD throw it in at a reduced rate if you buy a full set of tyres from them!

Ted
Ted Newman

Agree on the price thing.

In your area, can't remember what the place is called, but its just round the corner from swain & jones, again i think £70. If you go to the one way roundabouty kinda thing that swain & jones are on, just off that is an industrial estate, its in there. drive round and you will find it. Just rock up and they work on a first come first serve basis, no need to book. Have always done a good job for me.

To find where swain & jones are, go to there web site.

and don't forget : 5 minutes toe IN at the front please.
Matt


Clearly none of you are familiar with MD tyres - read the archive for the recomendations.

Dieter, This site is about MG cars not about the pro's and con's of being male or female. If you wish to discuss this then I suggest that you find a suitable BBS and start the thread.

Ted, possibly, Yes I had not considered that. Each time I have bought two new tyres the 4 wheel has been about 20 quid.Perhaps they are doing it as a loss leader.
mandy

wow, bit touchy bout femails aren't we?
Don't you understand the German sense of humour then Mandy?
Ddraig

£12 for an alignment check.
£36 for an alignment check with adjustments.

all printout etc provided.

just to give you guys an idea of what we are paying north of the border. (Edinburgh)



paul weatherill


Mandy is right 4 wheel alignment at the excellent Michel Dever tyres is not much more than 20 pounds. They have four x 4 wheel alignment bays with all of the software etc to do it. The only problem is that the waiting list is huge. So I sympathise with the frustration.

Matt which Swain and Jones do you mean ? first come first served sounds brilliant.
Chris


Micheldver Tyres - are brilliant. I always use them, thery are the cheapest on the planet, customer service is excellent. i book the 4 whell alignemnt in advance and get my yres done at the same time. The only problem with MD is that they start queueing on a Saturday from about 6am in the morningthe absolute truth) Once i went there on a Friday afternoon thinking it would be quiter - I was wrong. couldn't tell you exactly how much i pay for 4 wheel alignment at MD tyres 20 or 30 sounds about right though. Too cheap to notice.

To answer your original question. i don't know anywhere that is anywhere near as competitive in your area.
Samantha

Mandy
Ask Micheldever for a front-only alignment check, you don't need to book this. This will not only setup the front end correctly, but they will also tell you if it's necessary to adjust the rear (it wasn't necessary on mine). The computer printout will show settings for all four wheels.
I think the place in Farnham, by Swain&Jones is called Merrows.

I can also confirm you pricing for Micheldever tyres - it's probably why they're so heavily booked !

Steve

Steve

There is another tyre specialist near Heathrow- blast I can't remember the name right now (Feltham Tyres I think), but check through the Archives. They're competent and friendly, and charge 40 quid plus VAT for alignment checks and adjustment. They're also happy with BBS recommended geometry settings.

Rob Bell

I didn't mention that rob, cos i couldn't remember the name of it either, but you have got it covered.

and yes its merrow tyres by swain and jones.

MD tyres also want the car for the day.

all too much hassle if you ask me. rather pay twice as much, drive in, wait 30 min. drive away
Matt


Another success story for the MG BBS ! Feltham Tyres it is. I called them and they are fitting me in at 8am tomorrow. £40 quid for the lot, fantastic !

Now all I need is to read up on the archive and choose settings which give me confident road handling. It is going to be a real treat to have a straight steering wheel and a car which doesn't becomes possessed at anything above 95.

I'm not kidding you - I was on an empty M4 at 4.30 this morning doing a piddly 90mph battling with steering wheel becuase all it needed was a worn out track of road or a gust of wind and I was all over the place.
Mandy

<<£12 for an alignment check.
£36 for an alignment check with adjustments.

all printout etc provided.

just to give you guys an idea of what we are paying north of the border. (Edinburgh)>>

Bloody hell, I can't get one in Aberdeen for less than £90!

Ralph

Have used Micheldever approx £20 for 4 wheel alignment.(very good)
Feltham Tyres Cost me about £35 a couple of years ago.
Just make sure you Know how you want your car set
See archives.
Rich

Ouch ! Yes mum !
I'm soory for having been impolite. Thought you were familiar with a BBS.
:)

But this was right, is it ?

>£20 sounds also impossible for me. We here pay also from £40 upwards.

>Body shops have sometimes very old tracking data in their computers. Take care you get the ultimate +5 minutes front and +10minutes rear Toe IN setting and a zero minutes wheel base.

Dieter Koennecke

Dieter,

You're humble apology, which I expect shortly, should be posted as a new thread, headed "Mandy is My God !"

Within this new thread you should denounce the German football team and BMW.

Mandy

LOL ;)
Mandy

Mandy, I don't think Dieter will have a problem with denouncing BMW, but as for the football team, well...

He is a jolly chap tho, he's the chap in the white shirt nearest the camera in the Cafe de Journal shot here.
http://community.webshots.com/album/20312526IUzTnnYXOK
Gareth

>but as for the football team, well...

? what is football ;)
Is it more than 120 bhp ? .... ROFL :)

Cheers
Dieter --> happy to having freedom with both Mandy's now. :c)
Dieter Koennecke


No sign of that new thread yet !
Mandy

Mandy,
ATS in Haywards Heath did a lazer 4 wheel alignment back in January this year for £38. I had not bought any tyres from them. It took them about 1 hour of working around the car (they were determined to get the settings spot on to those I had supplied them with).

Had setting (just front) re-checked this morning at another tyre place in Burgess Hill, and they were still spot on.

I know some people have had bad experiences with ATS etc (eg. I myself will never go to a quick-fit with any car again), but I guess it all depends on who works there!

Paul
Paul Lane

This thread was discussed between 24/08/2001 and 31/08/2001

MG MGF Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGF Technical BBS is active now.