Alignment repairs for 530i

[vs530]

I have a 2001 530i (~40K miles, sport pkg). While driving on the freeway at
night, my L/F tire hit something and had a flat. The rim also got damaged.

After replacing the L/F with spare, the car seems to drive/handle really fine, but I took it to the dealer to get the alignment checked.

They found out that following numbers are not within specification.

Front Left:
Chamber: 1.8 (Spec range -0.7 to 0.3)
Caster: 5.5 (Spec range 6.0 to 7.0)
Front:
Cross Chamber: -1.4 (Spec range -0.7 to 0.7)

All other numbers are within specification range.

The dealer is recommending repair work that involves sending the car to
a body shop, cut the welding, re-weld with the new strut mount, and replace some
other affected parts such as spindle (?), bearing etc.

I would like to avoid any cutting/welding and wonder how the quality of work
performed by a body shop will compare with factory quality.

Is above a valid concern ?

What are the potential problems if the car is driven with some alignment
numbers out of specification?

Does it make sense to perform a major repair for getting the perfect alignment?

Is there any other way to fix the alignment?

If you know of any good places (in San Jose area) that specialize in this kind of work, please let me know.

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

[Big Daddy]

Sounds like they are saying you hit something hard enough to damage the strut tower. If this is the case to get proper alignment they may have to replace the mounts which require welding. If you car is not aligned it will suffer in handling and your tires will wear oddly. I would get a second opinion at a frame shop.