I figured I'd post this in newbie since a bit of searching didn't yield many helpful results.

I recently noticed my car (IX MR SE with about 13,000 miles) pulling to the left and brought it to the dealer for the once over. They said a back tire was out of whack and that they'd fix it up in no time. I get the car back, and for two hours it's great...then back to that same old feeling in the steering wheel.

Here's the deal. Turning left was easy, turning right felt a bit stiffer.

I brought it back again. They gave me a nice long story about how their readings might have been off on ALL Lancers (even the new 08's) and that they had to contact Mitsubishi to get their alignment specs sorted out.

I get the car back yesterday, and while turning right is a bit easier, I still notice my steering wheel is tilting to the left.

My question: is this really "the best it's gonna be" (as the dealership put it) or should I seek out more professional assistance? I'm getting the feeling the guys at the Mits dealership might not be the most qualified...and while the car runs straight and true, with the steering wheel off center I'm still concerned.

For the record I still have stock wheels (my last car had balancing issues but nothing's changed on this one).

Please feel free to throw ANY advice my way. Money's not an object when it comes to my baby...if I need to pay 300 to have a pro do it the way it needs to be done, so be it.

 

oh man do i feel your pain.. heres my quick story..

monday morning this week i hit a softball sized chunk of concrete in the road with my left front wheel. loud bang, clunk, and flapping tire as it went flat immediately.. i pull over and change it while my blood pressure is through the roof. ive only had this car a month and the tires are brand new. i have the donut on but the car is excessively pulling to the left. im thinking mostly due to the donut, but could be out of alignment.. i left work early and went to mavis tire in scarsdale, ny to get a new tire and alignment checked.. tire goes on, its on the rack and they tell me my alignment is out. i say fix it.. i pay, get in my car and leave. within 100' of leaving i notice my wheel is out about 3/4" to the left. meaning when i make it straight i immediately pull to the left. so i turn around, tell them to make it straight and ill accept nothing less. they said id have to wait since they just put another car on the rack, and i kinda bugged on them so they took the other car off and put mine back on.. the hump that was working the machine was shrugging his shoulders, and mouthing some **** as he was obviously aggravated that i complained about his **** up. they call me back there and show the me screen and tell me my alignment is in spec.. and i reply by saying "thats great so make my steering wheel straight and we have no problem".. the guy tweaks it and we go for a ride. its now about 1/2" out, and still unacceptable to me. so he blames the new front left tire, and i call bs and tell him to put on the left rear tire up front and swap them. plus the tires only have 2k miles on them and are hardly worn.. he does that and comes back and says "wow that fixed it, this car is sensitive to that sort of thing". and i replied by saying well ill be calling you back to let you know if its good or not, since it was closing time.. sure as **** it was the same.. so now im f'n pissed because im a fanatic about **** like this. and they also gave me the best its gonna be **** and i told them flat out.. " listen, im ****ing crazy, and im even crazier about my vehicles.. there is no way you cant get this straight unless something is bent or broken you fix it or give me my money back".

so they told me i needed to leave it with them for a day so they would have time to make it right. so my wife had to follow me there on her day off and come to work with me in her car so they could fix my car.. this was yesterday. i called them at noon and they said it was done and the ****** sales guy told me that they had it good and if its as good as its gonna get and they cant help me any further. i told him we will see when i get there about that.

anyhow, i got there and spoke to the manager who was a nice enough guy. i had made sure to tell him to make sure there was no set back, to check my camber and caster angle, and to make damn sure the wheel was straight and my toe was right.. i also told him to check the rear wheel alignment so my car doesnt crab walk.. so, when i got there he told me the rear was perfect, as was my camber, caster was perfect, and there was no issue with setback, etc.. i got in my car and left and the reality is that it appears to be 99% good.. i think it could use to be 1/8" of an inch further to the right, but with the roads being on an angle for drainage its tough to tell.. i will live with it being 99% for now.. ideally i need to bring it to a place that will allow me to sit in the car and hold the wheel straight myself to my eye (which is what matters) while they measure and adjust it.. but i suppose my own bodyweight could be throwing it off that 1/8" since im about 210lbs and the steering in these cars is so sensitive.. either way, i feel your pain bro. but coming to work this morning i felt much better. read this link about alignments so your educated when you speak to these clowns working on your ride..http://www.familycar.com/Alignment.htm