Wheel alignment offers a good opportunity to make money if offered and completed correctly. There are a number of factors to bear in mind if you want to offer a professional service that will help you build a good reputation.

Firstly, the area where you carry out the alignment must be adequate for the job at hand. This means it needs to be level if you intend to offer a camber, caster and KPI angle check together with any adjustment. The reason for this is that changing the ride-height of a vehicle also changes its geometry and readings can be affected by a surface that is not level. All areas should be checked across the width and length of the vehicle area with an accuracy of 6mm over a two-metre distance. Therefore, you need to ask what service you intend to provide.

Equipment comes in all shapes and sizes. If you are only checking and adjusting toe angles then a basic manual toe gauge will suffice. If you want to provide further services then more complex equipment could be called for. There are good non-computer-based full alignment systems available so if you already have a good understanding of geometry then these will suffice, yet for full guidance a computerised system may be best. These also provide your customer with a print out, giving them a visual clue as to the work needed.

Speed is also another factor. Some equipment will not need to touch the vehicle, although these are more expensive, the time saved in analysing may add up to a saving.