By the Marlow Automotive service team · Reviewed by our alignment and suspension technicians · Updated July 2026. Steering, suspension, and alignments in Plano since 2002.
The short answer: a proper steering and suspension inspection physically checks every joint, bushing, shock, and strut that connects your car to the road — with the wheels loaded and unloaded — and measures alignment angles against factory spec. It's how a vague symptom like "it feels floaty" becomes a specific, priced repair instead of a parts-replacement fishing trip.
The signs your car is already telling you
- Pulling or drifting on a straight, flat road — alignment or a dragging brake. (Here's how we diagnose a pull.)
- Clunks over bumps — worn sway bar links, ball joints, or strut mounts. Cheap parts that protect expensive ones.
- Steering wheel off-center or vibrating — alignment, balance, or worn tie rods.
- Cupped or feathered tire wear — the suspension is literally writing its diagnosis on your tires; you can feel it as a growl that changes with speed.
- Floating, bouncing, or nose-dive under braking — shocks and struts past their service life (typically 50–80K miles; our guide to when shocks and struts need replacing goes deeper).
What our inspection actually covers
- Ball joints, tie rod ends, and control arm bushings checked under load and with pry-bar deflection — not just a visual glance.
- Shocks, struts, and mounts: leakage, rebound behavior, and mileage-based wear.
- Steering rack, power steering (hydraulic or electric), and boots.
- Wheel bearings and sway bar hardware.
- Alignment measurement on all four wheels against factory specification, printed before and after.
Everything is photographed on your digital inspection report. Plano's roads do real damage — the construction zones and expansion-joint concrete around US-75 and the Bush Turnpike are hard on front ends, and we see the results daily.
Why the order of repair matters
The classic failure mode is paying for an alignment on top of worn parts: with a loose tie rod or dead ball joint, alignment angles won't hold a week. Worn parts first, then alignment — always. That's also why our $89.95 front-end alignment special starts with the inspection: aligning a healthy front end is money well spent; aligning a worn one is money burned.
What to do next
If you checked off any symptom above — especially clunks or a wandering front end — book the inspection this week; suspension problems accelerate. Book online, call 972-633-1299, or read about our steering & suspension services. Qualifying repairs carry our 2-year/24,000-mile parts-and-labor warranty, in writing.