easy child had better hope his dad gets him a car

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flutterbee

Guest
Cause he's not driving mine anymore.

After he took the cat to the vet this morning, he told me that the car needed an alignment. No biggee. That happens.

I drove it tonight. Instead of the steering wheel being in the normal position, I had to keep it over at 10:00 to keep it straight. Then when I went around corners - at 20mp or less - my tires were squealing.

I drove the car last about 2 days ago. It was fine. Something had to happen to make it that dramatic all of a sudden.

I'll be asking him what he did to my car when he stops by in the morning. I'm so annoyed, I'm tempted to call him now. But, I won't.
 

meowbunny

New Member
Sounds like a bit more than an alignment is needed. Let's hope he didnt bend the axle. Wonder how fast he was going when he hit the curb. Yup, I'd be killing him.
 

Andy

Active Member
My easy child has a jeep - I will not let her drive my van. On Friday evening, as I walked in the house, husband asked if he and easy child could use the van to check out a car in a nearby town (1/2 hr away). husband has a truck and the two of them have decided to share a car (better gas mileasge than the jeep and easier to use sometimes than the truck). I agreed than watched while easy child got in the passenger seat. easy child than gets out of the passenger seat and husband gets in the passenger seat. I walk out and told husband that I did not want easy child driving my van. easy child says, "See, I TOLD you!" and got out of the driver's seat.

She wants to get an old BMW that husband says has issues. For some reason she still thinks she is getting it. Spoiled little diva just can't look past "BMW" to see "worthless piece of doesn't work vehicle".
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Heather, I hate to tell you this, but it sounds like it may need way more than a simple wheel alignment.

My son (the mechanical genius) bought an older model Chevy S-10 that had this same problem. When the steering wheel was straight, the front tires weren't! He only paid a few hundred dollars for it. The guy he bought it from had run it in to a curb or something at a high rate of speed and knocked the whole front end out of kilter. Of course, my son knew what he was getting in to and he knew that he could fix it himself. He had to replace the whole front end of the truck - a very ambitious undertaking - then he had the wheels aligned. And it's still not perfect, but he drives it.

I hope it turns out to be something that a simple wheel alignment will fix, but I wouldn't bet on it. I'd be thinking of ways your son can earn some extra money to pay for the car repairs!
 

meowbunny

New Member
Okay, here comes my mean side. I agree with Donna that your car is probably going to cost a small fortune to fix. The damage you're describing pretty much means hitting something at a pretty good clip. To drive the car in its present condition is downright dangerous. For him to not tell you is pretty inexcusable.

So, if D comes home with a new car (drivable, decent shape, etc.), let him know he is trading cars with you. He can figure out how to get your car fixed.
 
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flutterbee

Guest
He swears he didn't hit anything - curb, pothole, nothing he can think of. And if I ask him directly he does tell me. That I'm certain of. It was the first thing I asked him when he got here this morning.

His dad looked at it and said that the toe is out - which is part of the alignment. We'll see what the mechanic says. It's a 6 1/2 year old Kia that is on it's 4 1/2th set of tires. It's always had wear issues and I kept up with alignments, balancing and rotation. So, it wouldn't surprise me if there has always been an issue and it just decided to go.

And I have to get it fixed cause I have doctor's appts and such while he's gone. I'll be taking it in tomorrow.

Crossing my fingers that it's an alignment issue only.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Well, you've got my curiosity up now - please let us know what you find out. I've got a 2001 Kia that I have to depend on to get to work every day, so I guess it's more than just idle curiosity.

It still doesn't sound like just an alignment problem. I'm no expert but that usually happens gradually and wouldn't suddenly get worse unless you hit a big pot hole or ran in to something. And I don't think that an alignment problem would suddenly cause both front wheels to become off center where you had to keep the steering wheel turned slightly to go straight. I hope it turns out to be something that's easily fixed though.

:goodluck:
 
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flutterbee

Guest
Donna, mine's a 2001 Kia, too. I guess that makes it 7 years old, but I bought it the end of December, 2001 so it's only been on the road for 6 1/2 years.

I'll let you know what the mechanic says. I figure if it's damage they'll be able to tell. I really do think easy child would have told me, though, once I asked him out right. He always has before. In fact, he usually fesses up to things that I otherwise wouldn't have known anything about.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
I hit a curb about 23 years ago and that is exactly what happened of it. I had bent the rim end of the axle. In all fairness, it was a wicked 15 mph curve that wasn't posted, and I was going about 25. To this day, even well posted, people miss that curve once a month or so.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Heather, if you figure that they're already coming out with the 2009 models, a 2001 would be considered to be eight years old!

I've only had mine since February. I did have a 2001 Oldsmobile until the day that a huge deer jumped out of a ditch right in front of me. This little Kia only had 54,000 miles on it. My landlord owns a used car lot and this is one he had been driving around himself because it's so good on gas. It certainly helps to have a friendly landlord who owns a car lot! It's starting to do some weird things lately though so I'll reserve judgement till I find out what it is!
 
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flutterbee

Guest
I can't keep up with when the new models are coming out. And different manufacturers send them out at different times. I think the Mitsubishi's come out in March...so in March, 2008 the 2009 models came out. :faint:

When I bought it, it had about 50 miles on it, so it has about 6 1/2 years and 96,000 miles of wear and tear on it. :D

Kia's are notorious for going through tires. I really won't be surprised if this is just a design issue, but I'll wait to see what the mechanic says.

When easy child hit that pothole that took out both tires on the passenger side, the mechanic said he must have been flying. Nope, doing about 25 mph. I was in the car with him. Really won't surprise me if it's just the car.
 
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