If a car needs alignment, would it handle worse or the same as if the car was aligned? If the car is aligned, I know that the steering wheel should be straight but does it affect how a car handles? Thanks in advance.

 

It would handle worse if the car is out of alignment. How it would handle would depend on how it was out of alignment and the type of car.

All production cars, from the factory are set up to be dynamically stable. That means that the alignment is such that the wheel will have some self centering capability. While the car is moving a reasonable speed, if you push the wheel a little to the left and release pressure it will return to straight itself. Also cars are setup to understeer a bit. This is very safe. Also cars are setup to wear their tires evenly.

If a car is out of alignment you may lose all 3 of these important capabilities. A bad alignment can result in dartiness, very quickly worn tires, and a much high possibility of losing control of the car in an emergency.

 

Short of race tires, alignment is one of the greatest thing to effect how are car handles.