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So I took my car to Nissan for a state inspection today and they failed the car. Reason:
-Front lower control arm bushings cracked open ($955)
-Both outer ties rods have play in them ($520)
Could I get these things taken care of at a lower price? Thanks!
$955 for one control arm or two? Either way that is too expensive. They usually replace the whole arm which comes with the bushing and ball joint. A quality aftermarket arm is around $100 and it's about an hour job per side. The tie rod job is way overpriced too. They are $20 per side and about a 1/2 hour labor each side. Have both the arms and rods done at the same time, because replacing either requires an alignment which should around here runs $80-$90 for a 4 wheel alignment.
$955 for one control arm or two? Either way that is too expensive. They usually replace the whole arm which comes with the bushing and ball joint. A quality aftermarket arm is around $100 and it's about an hour job per side. The tie rod job is way overpriced too. They are $20 per side and about a 1/2 hour labor each side. Have both the arms and rods done at the same time, because replacing either requires an alignment which should around here runs $80-$90 for a 4 wheel alignment.
It's a pretty easy doable job, if the OP has mechanical ability. Rockauto.com has the control arms too at similar prices. Any normal DIYer will search for the best price on parts, and take care of this on a Saturday afternoon.
If the OP is unable to do the work him/herself, then its a different story. They pretty much are gonna pay $1K+ for this job.
For lower control arms? $200 for parts plus 2 hours labor and an alignment. I wouldn't pay much more than $500 total. I just did this job earlier this year. Now that I'm' familiar with the job I can probably do both sides in probably a little over an hour.
Other than the transfer case they want ~$3000. It's ~$600 in (quality) parts. Not including an alignment I can probably do it all in 8-10 hours and I'm not a mechanic. The most I have ever seen for labor is $120 an hour. $600 parts + $1200 labor + $100 alignment = $1900. $3000 is way too much
Thank you guys for the tips. So, I called a mechanic who worked on my car before (BTW, I am a female and know nothing in cars, so all of you saying I’d be able to do this, lol I won’t even if my life depended on it ) He told me for the front lower control arms, he can get me the parts for $130 each and charge $165 for labor. For the outer rods, he will charge me $170 for the parts and labor. Does that sound reasonable? Thank you
So $465 for two arms and two rods installed? Does this include an alignment? Either way it seems like a fair price.
The total came out to $590, then he gave me a $40 discount, so it's going to cost $550. He said he doesn't do the alignment but the shop next to his does and charges $80 for it. He said he will make sure to mark exactly where the rods are before taking them out and that hopefully, i won't need an alignment. He will drive the car afterwards to make sure its aligned properly and if not, then I will have to do the alignment for $80.
The total came out to $590, then he gave me a $40 discount, so it's going to cost $550. He said he doesn't do the alignment but the shop next to his does and charges $80 for it. He said he will make sure to mark exactly where the rods are before taking them out and that hopefully, i won't need an alignment. He will drive the car afterwards to make sure its aligned properly and if not, then I will have to do the alignment for $80.
I'd just get an alignment. It could be off a little and you wouldn't be able to notice. You might save money at first, but if it is off your front tires will wear faster. I paid $600 for four mediocre quality tires mounted and balanced so to me its not worth the risk.
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) He told me for the front lower control arms, he can get me the parts for $130 each and charge $165 for labor. For the outer rods, he will charge me $170 for the parts and labor. Does that sound reasonable? Thank you
