^^^
You're missing the point of why I have it done. My C7 Grand Sport was a good example. As I noted in the above post you can drive a truck thru the "acceptable" GM allowed camber range. For my C7 Grand Sport it was "acceptable" from -0.5 to -1.7. In fact, from the factory after ~500 miles rears were close to -1.7. Better for handling BUT I asked (and got) -1.1 for a compromise. BTW, like my C8 one toe was out and showed RED and had to be set properly. So how would you know a toe was out? I would not wait and look at tire wear - that is too late!

In the case of the C7 Grand Sport they did not have to do what I asked. But as my usual MO when I have work done, stood outside the service bay with the Hunter Alignment machine and told the tech there would be a nice tip for a good job! He followed the spread sheet I gave him! All specified values were within the GM spec. He got a "nice tip!"

It's your car do what you'd like!

 

$735 is a reasonable quote if the words coming out of the tech's mount was "ride height and corner weighted"--this does take about ½ day.
$100 is a reasonable quote if the words coming out of the techs mouth was "alignment"

Camber can be checked with a quick camber gauge (10 seconds). To know WHY camber is off does take a <rather> fancy machine*. {kingpin inclination, ride height, caster, ... } (*) or some suspension guides and a lot of careful measurements (as annotated in "Tune to Win" by the late Carroll Smith.)

 

Seeing some comments of why have an alignment make me realize why some dealer's are installing automatic "rough check devices" The large Chevy, BMW, Mercedes dealer in town has one. They do not force an alignment check or try to "extort high prices" for a formal check on their alignment machine. If fact when I bring the wife's BMW SUV in for service it's not used as those service bays (like Mercedes) are separate. They have ~25 service bays and one Hunter Alignment rack. BTW the small dealer I now use for my C8 service does not.

However when I had my 1st car, 1959, the State Inspection had a toe check device! It was all mechanical at the time. Your front wheels drove over two plates on ball bushed rods they could move sideways. There was a big pointer that showed IF you had toe-out. Any amount detectable by that simple system caused a rejection. You had to get an alignment and have checked again. Fact is, if it picked it up you probably needed new tie rod ends or ball joints! Below is a fun story about how dangerous toe-out can be!

SIDEBAR
Our CEO's brother worked for the Chicago Bears. They had an exhibition game with South Carolina and he was able to get tickets. There were five couples who took that 1 hour drive to Columbia. I rented a 10 passenger van and drove. When I picked it up in town felt a bit funny but was OK to drive. However when fully loaded it had obvious toe-out (probably warn tie rods etc.) It was scary to drive. Changing lanes on RT 20 it was overcorrecting etc. Felt like I was driving a boat. Point and hope it gets there.

Didn't say anything on the way but drove very slowly. On the way home several asked why I was going slow and staying in the right lane! Never said as did not want to scare the women but was dam happy to get rid of that van! Unlikely a new car would ever be that bad. But toe is a major factor on tire wear and handling!

 

so.......curiosity had me wondering.... and I called Empire of Huntington and asked what an alignment would cost on a 2020 Malibu....... and was told $195

interesting indeed.

 

are new C8's coming out of bowling green factory all having this "ride height and corner weighted" procedure done ?

I assume thats impossible due to the time it takes ?

and if so, then I assume I don't need that either since I never track the car ?

 

Unlikely (at best)

My guess is that GM has setup the factory to be "within some window" and then just runs cars down the line.

Some cars are more sensitive to ride-height and corner-weighting, some drivers are too.
Many cars can dial understeer versus oversteer with ride-height.
I have one such car set so that it is completely neutral* when the tires are at equal pressures.
(*) cornering with more than maintenance throttle.

But if you want a car setup so you can drive down a (crown free) road at 100 MPH with your hands off the wheel, you need more than a simple alignment.
Also: if you want all 4 tires to "go slick" within 100 miles of each other, you want a ride-height and corner-weighted suspension and a tire pyrometer to dial in the camber and toe.

 

Warranty for 7500 miles and is it within a year? Got my C8 15 months ago and it has 1300 miles now, inside of the tires are wearing faster than outside, I just used finger to check tire tread and I can feel the inner tire treads is much lower than outer tire treads. I wonder if my alignment is under warranty for my mileage and time.

Do I also need to find a dealer/shop that can do rear castor? It's so hard to find one here for C7 before!

 

My original dealer was wrong about needing an alignment. I believe they were scamming me.

However, months later (and before 7500 miles) my steering wheel was off-center. Dealer told me the fix was an alignment (even though wheels were technically aligned). Dealer acknowledged that an alignment was covered under warranty yet the service manager declined to do the work under warranty. I contacted GM customer support. They also acknowledged the warranty coverage and contacted the dealer. Two days later the dealer called and told me the alignment would be covered.

The service is covered to 7500 miles. If the dealer doesn't agree, contact GM and point to page 12 of the warranty booklet.

 

Hmm, this has come up many times. There is NO FREE Alignment that GM warrants. However, a steering wheel not center should be covered as that was probably that way from the factory. That is fixed by loosening a front tie rod X turns and tightening the opposite wheel the same amount. It is to be done when an alignment is performed by locking the steering wheel in place centered.

However, the is a way I get a free alignment after 400 to 500 miles and lets the dealer put on the warranty submission form, "Customer says car fells like it's pulling to the right." BTW in narrow rural roads where I drive they cambered from the center to the shoulders to drain water off the road. It will feel like it's pulling to the right!

The reason i have it not only checked BUT have the camber placed closer to the center is the very wide range GM allows. It is +/- 0.6 degrees as acceptable. The alignment machine will read Green within that range.

Recall my C7 Grand Sport where the rear camper was "acceptable from -0.5 -1.7." My rears were set at -1.6. Had the tech set at -0.8. That took saying there will be a nice tip if you'll put where I have shown on this sheet. He did NOT have to do that. Could have said as was found and also on my C8 also one rear toe was in red and corrected just it. The C8 camber and toe were close enough to centerline, adjustment not needed. Still gave a nice tip!

 

I would agree with you, but then we would both be wrong.

The warranty clearly contradicts your claim. No interpretation needed. It is there in black and white. My dealer told me I needed an alignment. They agreed it was covered under warranty. For some reason, the service manager declined to do the work (they admitted it was warrantied, but only at the service manager's discretion which makes no sense).

GM got involved. They 100% agreed with and stood behind the warranty statement. No argument, no semantics. They read page 12 and told me "you are right." GM specifically covered an _alignment_ for me because it IS a warranty item. They also threw me several perks as apology for the dealer not initially honoring the warranty.

It seems pretty simple. Warranty states alignment is covered. Car is out of alignment. Dealer performs service under warranty. Custom pays nothing. I guess you are right in the sense that the cost of the warranty is included in the price of the car. Thus, the warranty isn't exactly free. Semantics aside, I paid nothing for an alignment because GM covered it under the warranty. They also apologized for the dealer initially giving me trouble about it.

To be clear, we are discussing cars that are in _need_ of an alignment. Not owners who want something special. If things are in spec, no alignment is _needed_ and there is no cause to invoke coverage. If things are out of spec (as in the recent poster who has uneven tire wear) then the car _needs_ an alignment and the work would be performed under warranty. I think we are both in agreement on this (although I don't agree with the practice of scamming GM with false claims to get free services).

 

You have to run not walk. Drive to the exit door and use your launch control at 3500 rpm. For your info I’ve had alignments done on my C7 and C8 vettes at MM after I complained of pulling and both were done no charge. BTW they also cured the problems.

 

A number of posts in the past where folks asked for a "free" alignment and were told correctly no such thing. Recall some interpreted warranty as saying it was.

IF NOW FREEB how many times can you bring it in for an alignment. Once/year?? Many tire shops offer a one time payment for once a year or other schedule. Had bought from Firstane when i got new tires.

With rough roads and lots of pot holes can get out of alignment quickly.

 

We are going in circles, so I'll quit after this.

There is no "interpretation" of the warranty. The coverage is written in plain English. I'm not sure if you are in the minority, but I would guess most people aren't looking for an alignment when the car is within spec. Warranty coverage does not apply to any item that is working as expected. It only applies when something is NOT working properly.

You are hung up on the word "free." The correct term would be "covered," which the alignment is. The coverage only applies if the car is OUT of alignment. Not when the car is in spec and the owner just wants a different setup.

How can you claim it isn't covered when you have already had it covered under warranty(albeit by lying)?

I don't know. How many times can you bring it in for a failed transmission? Or any other item covered under the warranty? In my state I believe the answer is three times before the lemon law becomes a potential remedy.

 

It Does Not Show Rear Caster !!

 

I was not being augmentative, but a transmission is obvious when It's not working. Same with engine etc.

Except for some unusual circumstances like steering wheel not centered (which should have been caught very early) and "perhaps" a very usual wear pattern, in most cases there is no indication. Like my 2017 Grand Sport and C8 I had in at 400 to 500 miles after the suspension bushing wore in. Zero obvious yet one toe was out in each. That is where I was referencing to what GM covers.

Hit a few pot holes and alignment can get out of adjustment. IF I still lived up North in a pothole riddled area I would pay the local Firestone dealer their "come in anytime" and get an alignment check "insurance."