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Hi, My 66 year old father and I have been looking to buy an economical car and found a Mazda Demio at the Manukau Park & Sell but when I found the front wheels shaking when I test driven it. I told the guy in-charge there on my return from the test drive. I also said that I will buy the car if the issue shaking wheels issues are solved. I also did say that I am not an expert in cars but it certainly feels like a wheel alignment issue or the disc requiring machining or something else that is causing the issue. The guy told me that it’s the wheel alignment issue and assured me that the wheel alignment will solve the issue. He told me that he will ask the owner to do the wheel alignment but that I will have to put a deposit of $500 on it, which I did, and only because he assured me that this issue will be resolved. He got me to sign a document which had the condition of wheel alignment written on it. Before I signed the document I asked him if this is a conditional sale/purchase agreement which he assured that it was.
He told me that he will ask the owners to get the wheel alignment done and that I will be able to collect the vehicle on Monday after paying the balance. Because I work very busy long hours and only leave the office after Manukau Park & Sell closes, I told him that I will come on Wednesday morning to pay the balance and collect the car. I waited whole day on Monday and Tuesday but never heard from the guy.
I still went to collect the car today (Wednesday) 09 April as I advised him at 7.40am. He showed me a paper with some results and told me that they've done the wheel alignment. I test drove the vehicle but found that the front wheels were still shaking when driven at around 30 to 40kms per hour and pulling to the left side. I didn't even take the vehicle on the motorway.
I came back and advised the guy about the outcome of my test driving. He then took the car for test drive and said that all the Mazda Demio cars will be the same and that the front wheels will be shaking because they are light cars. On asking about the car pulling to the left side which he also tested, he told us that all the cars in NZ pulls to the left side for the safety of the drivers, just in case they fall asleep on the wheels. I am very concerned as I've owned 4 cars so far and none of them pulled to the side unless they had wheel alignment issue. None of them had their front wheel shaking on driving, which the guy tells me is normal. My father owned 3 cars so far and none of them had these problems. Are these given information misleading? Please help as being a lady and buying a car with my old father I feel being played around so finding it very difficult to deal with this. We feel not being treated well and fear that they won’t refund our deposit. Because I was running out of time this morning, I told the guy that I will come back on Saturday and sort this out. I also did tell him that we don’t feel safe driving this car. So I will be going back there to face it but I want to have some facts from the experts so that I don’t get talked over me.
I will appreciate your assistance, please. Looking forward to hearing back from you asap.
Many Thanks.
R Chandra
Wheel shaking will not be a wheel alignment issue, but is likely to be a wheel balance issue.
Incorrectly aligned wheels can cause the car to pull to one side, but this needs to be tested on a perfectly flat surface, not on a road which is cambered to one side. On roads such as ours in New Zealand (where traffic drives on the left), cars will drift slightly to the left due to the camber of the road, so the information you are being given is partly correct.
I'm assuming this is a standard, unmodified car with factory original wheels. Many after-market wheels, which are bigger than standard or have lower profile tyres or incorrect offset can also cause wheel shimmy.
It's partly true that small, light cars will feel the bumps in the road, but if the steering wheel exhibits a constant shake at a particular speed, this is not normal.
In summary, the drifting to the left is likely to be normal but I suggest you have the seller attend to wheel balance to address the shaking.
Thank you so much. This information is so helpful. Appreciated your prompt response.
Thank you so much. This information is so helpful. Appreciated your prompt response.