Price of Firestone Lifetime Alignment Plan?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Aug 30, 2004
Messages
31,869
Location
CA
I want to purchase a lifetime alignment plan for my mom's Altima. Firestone constantly runs specials, so I want to find the "right" time to purchase the plan, so that I can pay the lowest price.

What's the lowest price that you folks have paid for the lifetime alignment plan? My local Firestone charges $150 but there is usually a 10-15% off coupon.

Thanks!
 
Don't bother. I have driven millions of miles on my 30+ vehicles with maybe 3 or 4 alignments . Unless ma lives on a dirt road, likes curbs , or drives like helio, she should never need an alignment in an altima. I'm sure I'll get flamed ,but it has worked for me. Besides all the plan is going to do is give Firestone a reason to tell her how worn out the suspension is and zip her for thousands.They will also sell her many , many unnecessary tuneups ,injector cleanings, brakes, and struts. I have seen it too many times.
Mom will say," they told me it might be dangerous to drive it this way so I had it done. " Yeah , with cheap sub-par parts and an 18 year old doing the work. So the next time it really will need it done again in 2 years.
The last time my kids hit a curb and the car needed an alignment I paid $40 from a real shop.
go that route.
 
I had one once, swear that every time I brought the car back for alignment they never even put it on the machine. Never solved the problem. Just a gimmick to get you coming back for more repairs they try to find when you bring it in. Find a good independent alignment shop
 
The local Firestone auto shop owner and I are on first name basis, so I doubt I'll have any issues at my local location. I have a few oil changes done there without any issues.

The tires on the Altima are at least $140/each and with my mom's driving, annual alignments are likely to be a good idea for maximum tire life.

It seems like ~ $130 is the going rate. Has anyone paid substantially less?
 
I never buy lifetime alignment. Why pay today for something you may never use. Pay for an alignment when you need an alignment. It will probably be the only one you will ever need(when you need it). I live in pot hole state. My vehicles may need an alignment at just about the time I put the vehicle to rest, 16-18 years old. Unless I have actually done some suspension work where an alignment is required.
 
Originally Posted By: chad8
Don't bother.
Besides all the plan is going to do is give Firestone a reason to tell her how worn out the suspension is and zip her for thousands.They will also sell her many , many unnecessary tuneups ,injector cleanings, brakes, and struts. I have seen it too many times.
Mom will say," they told me it might be dangerous to drive it this way so I had it done. " Yeah , with cheap sub-par parts and an 18 year old doing the work.


Ain't that the truth!!!...That's what goes on down here...I have seen alot of people get hosed that way.
 
Wow.

All I can say is wow from reading these responses.

I think the lifetime alignment from Firestone is a pretty good deal. I think I paid $120, but can't verify that w/o checking my records.

I get an alignment done on my truck every 6 months along with tire rotation/balance. I figure if I'm going to spend money to buy good tires (see Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo), then I want them to last as long as possible.

My dealership wants $90 for 1 alignment which I find to be a hard pill to swallow, hence why I went to Firestone. I find this advice of getting one when you need it to be an errant way of thinking for BITOG, considering the cost difference.
 
Yes, but did it actually need an alignment and balancing every 6 months? Probably not. My independent does a great job and I see him every couple of years with no fear of the upsell or inferior parts.
 
Originally Posted By: Spector
Yes, but did it actually need an alignment and balancing every 6 months? Probably not. My independent does a great job and I see him every couple of years with no fear of the upsell or inferior parts.


I had one incident that it needed no balancing or alignment. Other than that, it's been aligned 3 or 4 times since I purchased the service.

I've never been upsold for anything that I recall. No parts needed for an alignment or balancing either.
 
Originally Posted By: Spector
I had one once, swear that every time I brought the car back for alignment they never even put it on the machine. Never solved the problem. Just a gimmick to get you coming back for more repairs they try to find when you bring it in. Find a good independent alignment shop



This is true. There are plenty of techs who will just put it on the machine and walk off for half an hour. Not saying they all do this, but the lifetime ones are not really worth it. He's getting NO money when you come back to claim on their lifetime deal so he really doesn't care about working on the car.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
This is true. There are plenty of techs who will just put it on the machine and walk off for half an hour. Not saying they all do this, but the lifetime ones are not really worth it. He's getting NO money when you come back to claim on their lifetime deal so he really doesn't care about working on the car.

This is why I only take my cars to shops where I have full view of the tech working on my car.

I guess one can say I am a "pro" at "babysitting" techs. I always get what I want. I make sure that the job is done correctly, which is why I am not afraid to use services like these. I also never get upsold anything unnecessary, actually I have never been upsold anything additional. But I definitely understand where the others are coming from-- if my mom or my dad took the car in, there is definitely an open invitation for Firestone to upsell unneeded services for a lifetime alignment customer.
 
If that is the case, just pay their going price and buy what you think would help your mom.

I am still not convinced that the shop will treat your mom like they treat you. If she needs alignment, you should take the car in.

- Vikas

P.S. When I take the vehicle in, I put on the mechanics gloves and hang around it too ...
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: bigmike
I had one incident that it needed no balancing or alignment. Other than that, it's been aligned 3 or 4 times since I purchased the service.

I've never been upsold for anything that I recall. No parts needed for an alignment or balancing either.


+1

I paid $130 for my "lifetime alignment." The alignment needed adjusting three times over the years. The cost of an alignment on an AWD SUV is about $80+ in this area.

They rotate the tires every 6k miles. The tread on the Dueler Alenzas look quite good after 35k+ miles, thank you.

No upsell, no extra parts, no cracked windshield. I'm slightly picky about mechanical work on my cars and I trust the Firestone/Bridgestone store I patronize. Otherwise, I wouldn't go there.
 
I got one for the Civic, it was $120 several years ago.

This Civic had a replaced ball joint (or something like that) with more adjustment than the factory unit. Several months after having new tires (and the lifetime alignment) it felt like it was pulling on the highway. Took it in, had it aligned and she rode straight again.

One alignment when the new tires were put on and another several months later means that the lifetime package has paid for itself and I've gotten several thousand more miles out of the tires. If you think that is bad finances then you can probably find a job in the government!

Clark
 
bigmike, dkryan, others- A lot of people here are mentioning tire rotation and balancing along with the alignment- is any of this included in the Firestone deal? If not, how much extra do you pay to have the rotation / balancing done?

I bought one of these lifetime plans a few years ago- I think it was around $129 when I got it.
 
They'll charge you extra if they have to add a shim kit to the rears if it's needed.

Around here, they are very, very lax with letting loose tie rod ends and ball joints slide. A friend's car had a loose inner tie rod that had 3/8" of play that they let go.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: Spector
I had one once, swear that every time I brought the car back for alignment they never even put it on the machine. Never solved the problem. Just a gimmick to get you coming back for more repairs they try to find when you bring it in. Find a good independent alignment shop



This is true. There are plenty of techs who will just put it on the machine and walk off for half an hour. Not saying they all do this, but the lifetime ones are not really worth it. He's getting NO money when you come back to claim on their lifetime deal so he really doesn't care about working on the car.


This is NOT true.

I asked this question to my local Firestone manager and he told me the techs typically fight over an alignment because they do get paid for them, regardless if it is under their lifetime plan.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top