Car tracking alignment

[Segilla]

My Octavia 1.8 diesel nsf tyre started to wear badly on outside edge so I took the car to Kwikfit and was told the tracking was out by 3-4mm.
I paid nearly �25 to have this corrected.
A lot of money for little work, but how significant is such an error?

[dayoff]

how much is your tyres i think 25 is a small price to pay compared to new tyres as you already have a damaged tyre

[Deore]

Its quite significant your tracking is basicaly wich way your wheels point, they should point stright I I but if the tracking is out they can point off to the left or right or in opposite directions / / \ \ \ / so when your car is driving forwards your tyres being scrubbed diagonally along the road surface witch wears them out loads more quickly (depending on how you drive of course). it can also cause your car to pull to the left or right slightly when your driving and your steering wheel will sit off center. tracking is usually thrown out if you hit pot holes or bumps in the road. �25 is about right 2 front tyres would cost you loads more

[tom hopkins]

if tracking is out it will also use more petrol(less mpg)

[JudgeJ]

Why do you think that �25 is expensive?

Most car repairers charge around �80 per hour for labour these days. Plumbers and electricians charge around the same. Of your �25 just under �4 goes straight to the taxman in the form of VAT.

I assume the tracking probably took 15 -30 minutes. OK, the mechanic probably only gets around �10-�15 per hour. But bear in mind the other costs the garage has:

- It has to buy or rent its premises.

-It has to buy and maintain its equipment (I assume your car was raised up in some way � even the most basic of trolley jack is quite expensive).

- It has to pay for all the utilities � water, electricity, gas, etc.

- It has to participate in the legalised extortion known as �Business Rates�. Even the smallest of shops has to fork out about �15k annually (�300 per week). For this they get no vote and no dustbins emptied � that is extra.

- They incur enormous costs keeping up with government and EC red tape.

- They have Employers National Insurance Contributions to make. (12.8% of their employees� earnings).

- They have to pay accountants to prepare their accounts for inspection by the taxman.

The list is endless. In fact, I don�t know how they did the work for such a small sum!