Alignment is what we’re named for. It’s the service Derham’s Alignment & Auto Repair has built its reputation on since Mark Derham opened the shop in 2006 — 20 years of it now, thousands of alignments done at 6609 Market Street. More to the point, we’ve seen what happens when drivers ignore the warning signs, and the story is always the same: a cheap alignment check would have saved a set of tires.
Here are seven signs you need a wheel alignment, and what each one is actually telling you.
1. Your Car Pulls to One Side
This is the most obvious alignment symptom. You’re driving straight on a flat road, you ease off the steering wheel, and the vehicle drifts left or right on its own. Most drivers compensate without realizing it — you’re constantly making tiny corrections to keep the car straight, which means you’ve been out of alignment long enough to have adapted to it.
The version we see most often is someone who’s had the pull “for a while” and only comes in when something else prompts it. By that point the inner edges of the front tires are usually gone. The alignment is a modest bill. The tires are several times that, and they were avoidable.
Note: Pulling can also be caused by uneven tire pressure, a dragging brake caliper, or road crown. We check for all of these before adjusting alignment — because adjusting angles to compensate for a brake problem doesn’t actually fix anything. Our post on why cars pull to one side goes through each cause in turn.
2. Crooked Steering Wheel
If your steering wheel sits off-center when you’re driving straight — even slightly — the toe or thrust angle is off. This is one of the earliest and easiest signs to spot, but most people dismiss it as “just how the car drives” because it doesn’t feel dangerous. It isn’t dangerous immediately, but that off-center wheel means the front tires are tracking at an angle, and every mile is wearing them unevenly.
We see this constantly after another shop replaces tie rod ends or struts without doing an alignment afterward. The parts are new, the car feels better, but nobody set the toe — so the wheel sits crooked and the tires start feathering. Always get an alignment after suspension work. Always.
3. Uneven Tire Wear
This is the sign that costs the most money when ignored. Different alignment problems cause different wear patterns:
Inner-edge wear — Too much negative camber. The top of the tire tilts inward, overloading the inner edge. Often caused by worn ball joints or control arm bushings.
Outer-edge wear — Too much positive camber. The top of the tire tilts outward. Less common, but seen after collision damage or sagging springs.
Feathered wear — Toe misalignment. Run your hand across the tread — if it feels smooth one direction and rough the other, like a saw blade, the toe is off. This is the pattern that destroys tires fastest, because you can’t see it easily.
The pattern we see repeatedly: someone replaces tires more often than they should, assumes they’re buying bad tires, and never has the alignment checked. A curb strike or pothole months earlier put a wheel out of spec, and every set since has paid for it. Our guide to uneven tire wear covers how to read the pattern yourself.
4. You Just Hit a Pothole or Curb
A single hard impact can shift alignment angles instantly, especially toe and camber. It doesn’t have to be dramatic — a pothole at 35 mph that makes you wince is enough. Broken pavement edges, driveway aprons taken at an angle, and the kerb you clipped parking are all capable of it.
If you hit something hard enough to feel it through the steering wheel, get the alignment checked. A check is cheap insurance against tire damage you won’t notice for months.
5. After New Tire Installation
Installing new tires without checking alignment is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes drivers make. You’ve just paid for a full set, and if the alignment is off those new tires start wearing unevenly from mile one. By the time the abnormal wear becomes visible, thousands of miles of tire life have already gone.
At Derham’s, we strongly recommend an alignment check with every new tire purchase. We carry Michelin, BFGoodrich, Uniroyal, and Falken and can perform mounting, balancing, and alignment in a single visit.
6. After Any Suspension or Steering Repair
Replacing struts, shocks, ball joints, tie rods, control arms, or springs changes the geometry of the suspension. The angles the old parts held are different from the angles the new parts hold. An alignment must be checked and adjusted after any of these repairs. Period.
Shops that replace suspension parts without aligning afterward are leaving the customer to pay for it later — because the customer will be back before long for tires that wore out from the misalignment they drove away with.
7. Your ADAS Warning Lights Behave Oddly After an Alignment Event
If your vehicle has Advanced Driver Assistance Systems — lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking — the cameras and sensors that power these features are aimed relative to the direction the vehicle actually travels. When alignment angles change meaningfully, those sensors are no longer pointed where the wheels are.
Many manufacturers specify ADAS calibration after alignment work, suspension repair, or a significant impact on equipped vehicles. If your lane departure warning starts triggering on straight roads, or your forward collision alert seems oversensitive or unresponsive after an alignment event, that’s worth checking. We offer ADAS calibration in-house, so both can be done in a single visit.
The Real Cost of Ignoring Alignment
Think about what a toe error actually does. The tire isn’t rolling cleanly in the direction the car is travelling — it’s being dragged slightly sideways the whole time, scrubbing rubber off on every foot of road. It’s a small amount per foot, but a car covers a lot of feet in a year, and none of that wear buys you anything.
That’s why a set of tires can wear out well short of its mileage rating on a car that otherwise looks fine. Add the drag on fuel economy, the extra load on suspension components, and the handling you’re giving up, and an alignment check pays for itself comfortably.
How Often Should You Check Alignment?
We recommend every 12,000 miles or once a year — whichever comes first. Cars that spend most of their time on rough town roads rather than smooth highway miles tend to need it sooner than that. You should also get checked immediately after any pothole or curb impact, after new tire installation, and after any suspension repair.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my car needs a wheel alignment?
The most common signs are the vehicle pulling to one side, a steering wheel that sits off-center when driving straight, and uneven wear on the inner or outer edges of the tires. Others include the car feeling loose or wandering at highway speed, and a noticeable change in how it tracks after hitting a pothole or curb. Any of those is worth having checked before the tires pay for it.
How often should I have my alignment checked?
Every 12,000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. Get it checked sooner after a significant pothole or curb impact, when you fit new tires, or after any suspension or steering repair. Cars driven mostly on rough town roads tend to need it more often than the interval suggests.
Do I need an alignment after hitting a pothole?
If the impact was hard enough to feel through the steering wheel, yes. A single hard hit can shift toe and camber instantly, and the damage shows up as tire wear months later rather than as anything you notice at the time. A check afterwards is inexpensive insurance.
Should I get an alignment with new tires?
Yes. Fitting new tires without checking alignment risks wearing them unevenly from the first mile. If the alignment is off, abnormal wear starts immediately but may not be visible for thousands of miles. A check at the time of fitting protects the tires you have just paid for.
Does alignment affect ADAS safety features?
It can. Systems such as lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control are aimed relative to the direction the vehicle actually travels, so a meaningful change to thrust angle or steering angle can leave the sensors pointing where the wheels are not. Many manufacturers specify calibration after alignment work on equipped vehicles, and we can check what yours calls for.
Why does my steering wheel sit crooked when I drive straight?
A crooked wheel on a car that tracks straight means the front toe or the rear thrust angle is off. It commonly happens after tie rod or strut replacement where the alignment was not reset afterwards, or after a pothole impact. The car may drive acceptably, but the tires are tracking at an angle and wearing unevenly with every mile.
Schedule Your Alignment Check
At Derham’s, alignment is our specialty — it’s literally in our name. We use digital alignment equipment, provide a before-and-after printout of all four wheel angles, and back every alignment with our 12-month / 12,000-mile guarantee. Alignments start at $89 and most are completed in under an hour.
Call us at 910-399-4442 or schedule online. Learn more about our alignment services here. Visit us at 6609 Market Street, Wilmington NC 28405.
Related reading:
Wheel Alignment in Wilmington NC — Full details on camber, caster, toe, our process, and pricing.
Why Your Car Pulls to One Side — A closer look at every cause of pulling.
Top Causes of Uneven Tire Wear — How to read the wear pattern on your own tires.
How to Spot a Steering Problem Early — When loose steering stops being an annoyance.
6 Suspension Noises Explained — Worn parts that pull alignment out of spec.
Tire Mounting & Balancing — Always pair new tires with an alignment check.
Suspension Work — Worn suspension causes alignment drift. We inspect before adjusting.
ADAS Calibration — Often specified after alignment on vehicles with driver-assist features.
What Wilmington Drivers Say About Derham’s
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