AHHHHHHHHHHH Just got back from alignment shop!
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From: Elizabethtown Pennsylvania
Re: AHHHHHHHHHHH Just got back from alignment shop!
Originally Posted by SSEimatt93
Holy crap I am not impressed with the reults. They phoned me after they put my Blizacs on, they told me the alignment cannot be done due to the following problems
LF lower ball joint needs replacing.........$153.00
RR Lower ball joint needs replacing.........$153.00
RR Knuckle B.J loose in hole...........$95.00
2 Upper strut mounts with 1100 ?Brgs?.......$220.00
Rack and pinion .3 turns (something i cant read) .....$250.00
2 Sway bar links ..........$36.00
Requires a Brake inspection, Rear brakes 90% good, Front brakes 10% good.
Peadle almost goes to floor.
TOTAL for that if i wanted it done, $1999.90
UM I DONT THINK SO!
I cant fork out another 2000 bucks for more freakin reapairs to this POS car. Im so sick of this. Not including purchase price since May,2003 i have spent on the car $3500.00!
I cant see this car around with me in the near future to put it in a nice way!
LF lower ball joint needs replacing.........$153.00
RR Lower ball joint needs replacing.........$153.00
RR Knuckle B.J loose in hole...........$95.00
2 Upper strut mounts with 1100 ?Brgs?.......$220.00
Rack and pinion .3 turns (something i cant read) .....$250.00
2 Sway bar links ..........$36.00
Requires a Brake inspection, Rear brakes 90% good, Front brakes 10% good.
Peadle almost goes to floor.
TOTAL for that if i wanted it done, $1999.90
UM I DONT THINK SO!
I cant fork out another 2000 bucks for more freakin reapairs to this POS car. Im so sick of this. Not including purchase price since May,2003 i have spent on the car $3500.00!
I cant see this car around with me in the near future to put it in a nice way!
I was just looking up front end parts for when I get my tax return and I know from autozone the ball joints are around 22 bucks. All those prices you have listed seem too high, I smell rip off
. Sounds like someone is trying to make a good chunk of change off of you. If I were you I would get a second opinion. Get the list of parts you will need and see where you can get the lowest prices. After that do the work that your able to do yourself, yourself, and what you cant have the shop do. You will save alot of $$ this way. Try autozone.com to look up some of the parts. You'll see there so much cheaper than the shop told you.
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just so you guys know, you need tight steering and suspension parts to do a proper alignment. it you have play in a ball joint, he can set your car while its sitting there, but as soon as you move it, it will change what he set.
also, a few things about taking it to a shop.
1: the owner of the shop is there to make a living and has to mark up the parts a percentage or he wouldnt be in business very long.
2: the rear ball joints are a B**CH to do. they are pressed in .
3: the bearing plates involve removing the struts and taking the spring off to replace the bearing plate.
both the ball joints and the struts need special tools to do the job and the shop has to buy the tools to do it properly. thats not to mention the alignment machine, we just got one last year and it was $35,000 for the system.
the rack has me concerned, did he give you a reason why, leaking, sticking when cold,[AKA morning sickness]
the sway bar links are common to go bad also.
also, a few things about taking it to a shop.
1: the owner of the shop is there to make a living and has to mark up the parts a percentage or he wouldnt be in business very long.
2: the rear ball joints are a B**CH to do. they are pressed in .
3: the bearing plates involve removing the struts and taking the spring off to replace the bearing plate.
both the ball joints and the struts need special tools to do the job and the shop has to buy the tools to do it properly. thats not to mention the alignment machine, we just got one last year and it was $35,000 for the system.
the rack has me concerned, did he give you a reason why, leaking, sticking when cold,[AKA morning sickness]
the sway bar links are common to go bad also.
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From: Elizabethtown Pennsylvania
I agree that shops have expenses to cover and all, but still, there prices are extremely high. Its alot cheaper for someone to get parts at an autozone and put the parts on if they know how then take it to the shop to be aligned. I know personally I would rather have a professional do the work on my car but I dont have a money tree growing in my yard so I save hundreds of bucks doing it myself.
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From: Cali
My Daughter can do swaybar links. Go ahead do them yourself.
Do the job in stages. I would do the ball joints first and then do the strut mounts.
Personally I would also adjust my own brakes and do my own front brakes.
Before you does any of this though make sure you get a second opinion.
Jeff is right about costs though. It is funny how many times people go to cheap shops and spend a tone of money to then be forced to finally go to a proper usually more expensive shop to get it done right.
Find a good clean shop with long standing community involvement and be ready to spend more and get the truth and good service. It always works out this way. I have a shop I go to and not only do they tell me how much and why but they also show me how to do it myself. Only a underpaid shop has to rip you off.
Just my 2 cents
Do the job in stages. I would do the ball joints first and then do the strut mounts.
Personally I would also adjust my own brakes and do my own front brakes.
Before you does any of this though make sure you get a second opinion.
Jeff is right about costs though. It is funny how many times people go to cheap shops and spend a tone of money to then be forced to finally go to a proper usually more expensive shop to get it done right.
Find a good clean shop with long standing community involvement and be ready to spend more and get the truth and good service. It always works out this way. I have a shop I go to and not only do they tell me how much and why but they also show me how to do it myself. Only a underpaid shop has to rip you off.
Just my 2 cents
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From: Ab,ca
yeah dont go to the dealership...
I had to go in cuz my window wasnt on the track, they charged me a fee for my vehicle to go into the shop, they charged me labour, they charged me diagnostics, and they said, sorry but we cant get that part, but we can glue it...
I had to go in cuz my window wasnt on the track, they charged me a fee for my vehicle to go into the shop, they charged me labour, they charged me diagnostics, and they said, sorry but we cant get that part, but we can glue it...
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From: Lethbridge, Alberta, _______Canada._______ West Coast Bonneville Fest ___05,06,07 Survivor___
yeah next week its going elsewere to get looked at, also im gunna do the front brakes my self.
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From: Bloomington-Normal, IL 1997 SE
make sure you get a second opinion. We went to a shop that told us we needed a new water pump, turns out that there was just a leak in the coolant resivor tube that goes to the radiator.
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From: Salina, KS
Originally Posted by h1081dan
I agree that shops have expenses to cover and all, but still, there prices are extremely high. Its alot cheaper for someone to get parts at an autozone and put the parts on if they know how then take it to the shop to be aligned. I know personally I would rather have a professional do the work on my car but I dont have a money tree growing in my yard so I save hundreds of bucks doing it myself.
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