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Alignment cost after Mopar lift install

2bigalow

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Wife gifted me a Mopar 2" lift kit for Christmas (love her) and was finally able to install last Friday. I contacted our local mechanic about an alignment and was quoted $250. I ask why so high? He stated since the truck in now lifted and out of factory specs it will take longer for the alignment. I politely declined and contacted our local Ram dealership for a quote. He inquired as to why I needed an alignment on a 2020 ram with such low mileage and told him about he Mopar 2 inch kit, which replied "oh, that makes sense". Quoted me $225. Seems to me most alignments should be about $100, or am I missing something?
 

Kurtislowe68

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Way to high, I think I paid $70 when I got one done after my lift. They’re trying to bend you over the counter.
 
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Jako

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Wife gifted me a Mopar 2" lift kit for Christmas (love her) and was finally able to install last Friday. I contacted our local mechanic about an alignment and was quoted $250. I ask why so high? He stated since the truck in now lifted and out of factory specs it will take longer for the alignment. I politely declined and contacted our local Ram dealership for a quote. He inquired as to why I needed an alignment on a 2020 ram with such low mileage and told him about he Mopar 2 inch kit, which replied "oh, that makes sense". Quoted me $225. Seems to me most alignments should be about $100, or am I missing something?
Are both businesses busy? Perhaps they have enough work and if you take the bait they reel you in. I was quoted $545 for parts and labor to install an engine block heater. On line parts under $100 and installed during the build phase $95. The dealership has been overwhelmed lately - they don't want the work - unless it is worth their while.
 

UnloosedChewtoy

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I cannot recall what my alignment cost would have been with new tires, but it was $50-$80. Definitely not $200+.
That sounds like a dealership rip-off price, but a private mechanic?
I get it if you told him a 6" lift or something extreme, those I've heard can be a real pain sometimes, but 2" is nothing near that.
 

Trippi

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I have less than 5K miles and took mine back to the dealer. Told them the steering wheel was sitting off center and I wanted it fixed. They did an alignment no questions asked, no charge and steering wheel fixed. Can you go that route? Or does the lift remove that option?
 

SD Rebel

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Mine charged $70, $250 would be too high for a 4 wheel alignment, downright insane for a front only alignment.

Check your local yelp for the best reviewed alignment shops in town, get some more estimates.

I mean that's almost what my local shop charges to install a front level kit and that takes a couple of hours, the alignment should only take 5-10 minutes, that upcharge is too much.
 

2bigalow

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Thanks for the replies. Went to a local shop that specializes in alignments recommended by my neighbor, in and out in under 30 minutes $95.00. Told me to come back in 6 months for a check and adjustment if needed, no charge.
$225 from the dealer, I can (almost) understand or expected, but not from the private shop. We've used them in the past for other repairs and were never overcharged. Certainly will not be going there anymore after that attempted price gouge.
 

Ramtrx

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My dealer charges 120. Most alignment shops here charge 60-90.
 

MayhemMOORE

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I brought mine into the dealer with 1K miles on it and they asked me why I wanted an alignment. I said I had leveled it and just put on brand new tires. One of the service guys said "That makes sense. Truck looks awesome". $89 and about 30 min later I was out the door.
 

SD Rebel

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Thanks for the replies. Went to a local shop that specializes in alignments recommended by my neighbor, in and out in under 30 minutes $95.00. Told me to come back in 6 months for a check and adjustment if needed, no charge.
$225 from the dealer, I can (almost) understand or expected, but not from the private shop. We've used them in the past for other repairs and were never overcharged. Certainly will not be going there anymore after that attempted price gouge.

That seems out of character and price range for that mechanic, before you end business with him, confirm just in case he misunderstood? Maybe he was thinking level install and alignment? Because I can't imagine an independent mechanic ever quoting $250 for a front end alignment, especially one that seemed reasonable up to this point.
 

2bigalow

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That seems out of character and price range for that mechanic, before you end business with him, confirm just in case he misunderstood? Maybe he was thinking level install and alignment? Because I can't imagine an independent mechanic ever quoting $250 for a front end alignment, especially one that seemed reasonable up to this point.
I can see where you're coming from, but it was clear what needed to be done. Even after confirming proper install of the kit, the alignment tech got under the front wheel well with a flash light, took a quick look and quoted two hours labor. Maybe they weren't familiar with the kit? Who knows.
The mechanic who actually did the alignment was very familiar with the 2 inch kit and had the lift specs already loaded into his computer. Then again, this is his specialty.
 

SD Rebel

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I can see where you're coming from, but it was clear what needed to be done. Even after confirming proper install of the kit, the alignment tech got under the front wheel well with a flash light, took a quick look and quoted two hours labor. Maybe they weren't familiar with the kit? Who knows.
The mechanic who actually did the alignment was very familiar with the 2 inch kit and had the lift specs already loaded into his computer. Then again, this is his specialty.

Gotcha, that's crazy then. All my lift alignments never went above $70 regardless of what was installed, from simple spacers to full suspension lift. The time to do them is just a few minutes, it takes more time to park & check-in than the actual labor for the alignment. To be honest $70 is probably overpaying :)
 

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