If you start to notice that your car is pulling to one side as you drive or that your tyres are wearing unevenly you may have a problem with your wheel alignment, but what causes this?

Curbing the car- catching curb stones when you drive not only scuffs your wheels but can easily knock the alignment out of place. The same can happen from hitting a pot hole in the road.

General wear and tear- this can occur sooner than you think, sometimes after 12-18 months as the springs and suspension components start to wear.

Speed bumps – if you drive over speed bumps too quickly this can cause shock to the suspension sending the wheels out of alignment.

Collision – if you have a bump in the car, especially a side impact it can easily knock the alignment out of place quite dramatically, if this happens the car may not be safe to drive as the wheels can start catching on the wheel arch.

If in doubt it’s always good to pop to a garage and get your alignment checked.

It’s that moment we all dread, you’re parallel parking edging towards the curb and hear that horrible scraping sound followed by many profanities! You get out of the car to see a big scuff down the side of your alloy wheel, so now what?

If left, a deep scuff can not only look unsightly but can (in poor weather) cause the wheel to corrode so it’s really not a good idea to leave a damaged alloy.

That said a professional repair can be costly but will give the best result, depending on the extent of the damage a professional repair could set you back about £90. There are a number of products on the market that allow you to do a DIY repair that if done carefully can be very effective on cosmetic surface scuffs.

So do your research and if in doubt check with an independent garage what would be the best course of action for your damaged wheel.