[Jerry333]

Today, I tried to get a wheel alignment at the dealership. After dropping off my car, they called me and said they couldn't perform the alignment because of my aftermarket side skirt and front lip. My car is about half lowered with AST HAS.

Has anyone else experienced this issue at their dealership? Does this mean they can't do oil changes or other maintenance services either? Should I try another dealership? There are multiple options here in the Bay Area. I know I can have this done by an independent shop, but I'm wondering whether it is beyond the capacity of the dealership.

[DutchBoysRacing]

...this is insane. The side skirts and lip have nothing to do with an alignment. They might be scared of removing them if needed to adjust the arms...but honestly I don't think removing them would be necessary.

I would recommend getting an alignment at an alignment shop, not the dealer.

[DomMuc]

maybe it´s too deep ( in combination with the front lip) to drive on the alignment station.....

[BroDoze]

I don’t doubt the car is too low for some alignment racks. I’ve almost had this issue on a couple of past cars I lowered. That said, they should’ve been able to accommodate with some additional metal plates or something, whenever a lowered car comes in.

[MineralGreyMetallic]

When you pick up the car ask to talk to the tech and ask him exactly why the service wasn't able to be performed. He'll shoot straight with you. The standard 2 post lifts that most shops use for maintenance should have no problem with a reasonably lowered car - assuming they're using the appropriate BMW lift adapters.

Some dealers are weird about aftermarket stuff, but as BroDoze mentioned it's probably just the clearance on the particular alignment station they have. I've seen stations with some fairly aggressive ramps.

Any performance shop should have a lift that can accommodate lowered cars.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by Jerry333

Today, I tried to get a wheel alignment at the dealership. After dropping off my car, they called me and said they couldn't perform the alignment because of my aftermarket side skirt and front lip. My car is about half lowered with AST HAS.

Has anyone else experienced this issue at their dealership? Does this mean they can't do oil changes or other maintenance services either? Should I try another dealership? There are multiple options here in the Bay Area. I know I can have this done by an independent shop, but I'm wondering whether it is beyond the capacity of the dealership.

Try a performance shop.

[VegasG42]

Go to an actual alignment shop. Specifically one that mentions sports cars, performance vehicles, race cars, lifted vehicles etc.

The dealership probably doesn't want to risk damaging the side skirts or front lip getting the car onto the alignment rack

[JABCAT]

Ask them if they'd be able to do the alignment if your car had M Performance side skirts & front lip. I bet their answer would be yes, and that tells you not to use that dealer.

I made an appt at a dealer to check my alignment (the steering wheel is off-center). Alignment is covered up to 2k mi. I had 1700 mi on the car. They first argued it wasn't covered, so I pulled up the warranty info. Then they said in order to check it & cover it under warranty I'd need to leave the car for at least a week. BUT if I wanted to pay $250 for the alignment, they could do it right then.

Obviously, I don't use that dealer for service. Go to an alignment shop, many have lifetime alignments for less than BMW charges for one-time.