The short answer: The three clearest signs are your car drifting or pulling to one side on a flat, straight road, your steering wheel sitting noticeably off-centre when you're driving straight ahead, and tyre wear that's uneven — heavier on one edge of the tread than the other.
Alignment refers to the precise angles at which your wheels meet the road — camber, caster and toe, in technical terms. When these fall outside spec, even slightly, your car stops tracking straight on its own and instead needs constant small steering corrections, which most drivers adjust to without noticing until it's checked.
The most common cause locally is simple road impact: hitting a pothole, clipping a kerb while parking, or driving over a speed bump too quickly can knock the alignment out, even without any visible damage to the wheel or tyre. Melbourne's inner-west roads — side streets, tight parking, and aging infrastructure around older suburbs — mean this happens more often than drivers expect.
Why it's worth fixing quickly: Beyond the pulling sensation, incorrect alignment wears your tyres unevenly and prematurely — turning a $30 alignment into a $600+ set of early tyre replacements if it's left unaddressed for months.
If you've recently hit a pothole or kerb and notice any of these signs afterward, get the alignment checked sooner rather than later — it's a quick, inexpensive check that protects a much more expensive part of your car.
Car Pulling to One Side?
We'll check your alignment and tyre wear pattern and give you a straight answer.