Strut changes cause the need for alignment jobs but struts in themselves can't mess your tires up unless the springs are broken or something.

I have had a number of people tell me this over the years, and yet I had a real bad alignment problem this past year that /was/ caused by the struts. When I finally did do the strut job and took them out they were dreadfully bad - there was literally no pressure left in one of them and the rod simply moved up and down as if it were just moving through a block of warm butter. The other was only barely any better.

Perhaps there is a point where the struts become so worn out that they actually do end up giving you the symptoms of a poor alignment. And then there is the stage in between where they are mildly worn out and should be replaced and most people do, never letting them get to the stage mine were at.

In my experience it was very hard to tell the struts were worn out because I had never owned one of these cars and didn't know what it was supposed to feel like, and the front springs in these cars are exceptional. The good springs masked my strut troubles from my untrained senses.

A 2003 C30 seems to me to be too young to have the kind of strut failure I experienced but anything is possible. I would be sure to examine/replace pretty much everything else first though - control arms, inner and outer tie rods, etc. And find an alignment shop that is willing to work with you. Ask if they think the struts are bad.


--
1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+