I was wondering if you guys can help me out here? I took my 8 to my local mazda dealer today because, in order to keep my car stright while im driveing I have to have my steering wheel turn alittle more then 1/8 to the right. Is this because my alinement is bad? The dealer told me it's not coverd under warranty and It will cost me 80 bucks. I have a 04 with 27k miles on it, what should I do? Payup, or is my car still under warranty for this? thanks for you help everyone.

 

Alignment is usually not covered under warranty, especially not at that mileage.
Yes, your best bet is to get an alignment, then they can fix the off-center steering wheel for you.

 

Thank you very much for you help Tamas.

 

At the same time you have the alignment done, check the tire wear all the way across the tread on all 4 tires. With an out-of-alignment situation, you will likely have increased tire wear.

Depending on how long it has been out of alignment, there could be significant wear on one or more tires, and it may be limited to just the inside portion of the tread of the tire (tread area furthest from the outside of the car).

Tire wear due to an out of alignment situation would also not be covered by any warranty, however it could be a safety situation that you may want to be aware of.

 

I would recommend Firestone's lifetime alignment plan. For $150 you can have your car aligned as much as you want as long as you own the car. I did this on my AE86 since I drift the car and I change my suspension settings all the time and I have it now on my 8. I've ben there a couple of times free of charge due to the plan. I think this is a good investment to people that track their car as well as owners who drive their 8 daily...