Is it true you can't do allignment on the BMW's ?

[Kenny2g]

I am about to change my Lower front Ball joint and i took it to the shop. The guy told me $100 to put in the Ball joint (I bought the Ball joint) and then $40 to Allign the car. I called up the Baverian Auto people here and they told me that it's impossible to Allign a BMW. They said the car is built that way. Has anybody every heard this or is a BMW not Allignable?

 

[Wadula]

sure you allign them. when you lower the car you have to align automatically and how many bimmers are lowered??? even me, i had my front alignment done ones....what a statement from those guys is that?

 

[Ben]

i dont know about e36s but with the e30s your not supposed to change the ball joints alone, too dangerous, you have to change the whole control arm. and about the alignment thing, ive had mine aligned twice, i think they were BSing you.

 

[jrt67ss350]

I did some research on getting an alignment shortly after I bought my E30. From what I could learn from the internet and from calling the dealer and other alignment shops in the area, aligning an E30 BMW only involves adjusting the toe angle. Caster and camber are non-adjustable, and there are no routine adjustments for the rear suspension. Plus, to align the car properly to manufacturer specs, you have to have a full tank of gas, and there are certain amounts of weight that need to be placed on each of the seats to load the car's suspension.

$40 seems pretty good for an alignment - the cheapest I could find for my E30 was $50. The dealer wanted $70.

By the way, I see you are from Bowling Green, OH. I was born in Findlay, and all of my family is from Tiffin. My dad went to BGSU.

 

[Kenny2g]

jrt67ss350 thanks for the info. I still don't think that my car needs allignment. I think it's just the ball joint that needs to be fixed. I'll have him fix the ball joint and then see how it drives and then see if i need allignment.
And Ya i know where Findlay is. It's about 20mins drive from here. I go there at least twice a month. I go to BGSU now. About to Graduate next December so i can get tha Fuc* outa here. It's such a SMALL TOWN for me. I love the Big City life. Also, I am moving to Murtle Beach by next december.
Thanks for the Info though.

 

[bmw2099]

I paid 130 for an alignment and 4 wheel balance from bmw. I guess its hard to do, and you need some special bar, plus the car has to be leveled first..i dunno, but it wasnt cheap

 

[jrt67ss350]

Yeah, an E36 could be completely different. My info was for an E30.

 

[MVPBird33]

I purchased a lifetime alignment for my E36 for 160, its been done once already...every other shop in jacksonville wanted 75 dollars for a one time alignment...it is not cheap