A method is provided for positioning a free-standing fixture relative to a vehicle, using a visual aligner system for imaging vehicle-mounted targets with reference image sensors and processing the resultant images. Embodiments include calculating locations of the vehicle-mounted targets, calculating a location of a reference point on the vehicle, and determining a longitudinal line along a longitudinal axis of the vehicle. A location of a center of the fixture and an axis of the fixture is then calculated based on an image of one of the targets obtained by a remote image sensor attached to the fixture. The fixture is positioned by adjusting the fixture relative to the vehicle to achieve a desired position or orientation of the fixture based on the performed comparison steps and angle calculations.