Any mechanics in Mayberry?

BrutalBoy

BrutalBoy

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Is $440 to replace the lower outer bushings a good price?

The two front ones
 
is that what the other mechanic told you??
 
Mechanics alway overprice. Try to get the parts from a dealer, because mechanics will rip you on that price as well.
 
try and find a forum for your car. or google your 'year/make/model lower outer bushings' and that'll give you a good idea of what you should be paying, and how hard the job is to do yourself... maybe even inspire you to do it yourself for much lower cost. cause you'll probably find a DIY.

we did my brothers BMW rear trailing arm bushings, both of them, for $50. using better aftermarket parts that were found through a forum. took us about 2hrs. it would have been over $400 at the cheapest shop.
 
philth said:
try and find a forum for your car. or google your 'year/make/model lower outer bushings' and that'll give you a good idea of what you should be paying, and how hard the job is to do yourself... maybe even inspire you to do it yourself for much lower cost. cause you'll probably find a DIY.

we did my brothers BMW rear trailing arm bushings, both of them, for $50. using better aftermarket parts that were found through a forum.
Click to expand...

This is also a very good idea. Those guys are enthusiasts and know their cars. The toyota forum has been extremely helpful to me.
 
like everyone said, buy the parts urself and have them install it. tell them you want to watch them for all 5 hours.
 
to me it is -as that is not a complicated repair. however it may be a fare price from a professional shop -they are business with a set book rate for repairs

I'm not sure where your head is at, but I learned to work and repair all my own stuff because of getting tired of getting taken advantage of and high repair costs as a teenager. Cars are really not that complicated -so if you have the interest or time -there are so many things to learn that can save you big bucks over your lifetime. oil changes, filters. sensors, brake pads, lubrication, cooling, shocks, bushings, electrical -for example -all simple to learn.

Call a competing shop and mention the price and location -you should be able to knock it down a bit.
 
How can anyone comment on this without knowing what kind of car?

Some cars need the bushings pressed out, some need the whole control arm replaced, some require alignment after repair. Control arm can mean a few things, from compression rod to the actual control arm. Some replacement requires replacement of the ball joint as well.

www.repairpal.com

Get legit independent advice. While there are some sharp guys on car forums, there are also some bonafied retards.

Lastly, just ask your mechanic. He said 4.5 hours labor, that's standard for many cars. He already operating with some transparency, ask him every question you can think of. Then, if you trust him and the price seems decent, do the work. Trust is worth something.

Research it on your own. Take anything you read on a forum (automobile enthusiast particularly) with a grain of salt. Lotta terrible advice to be had out there.
 
Nnedd said:
How can anyone comment on this without knowing what kind of car?

Some cars need the bushings pressed out, some need the whole control arm replaced, some require alignment after repair. Control arm can mean a few things, from compression rod to the actual control arm. Some replacement requires replacement of the ball joint as well.

www.repairpal.com

Get legit independent advice. While there are some sharp guys on car forums, there are also some bonafied retards.

Lastly, just ask your mechanic. He said 4.5 hours labor, that's standard for many cars. He already operating with some transparency, ask him every question you can think of. Then, if you trust him and the price seems decent, do the work. Trust is worth something.

Research it on your own. Take anything you read on a forum (automobile enthusiast particularly) with a grain of salt. Lotta terrible advice to be had out there.
Click to expand...

Is there another name for bushings? cant seem to find it in your link or the other one?
 
lakersfan45 said:
like everyone said, buy the parts urself and have them install it. tell them you want to watch them for all 5 hours.
Click to expand...

And this seems like the worst idea.

If the bushing tears early (which a whole lot of aftermarket bushings do) you will likely have no warranty. If the markup is reasonable, then just let him get the parts. That way he stands behind everything, parts and labor. Nothing is worse than finding out you have to pay to do a job twice because the parts you supplied failed.

As well, flat rate is not intended to cover actual time, merely to protect consumers. Shop overhead is paid for by technicians who can accomplish repairs under flat rate time.

A competent tech should be able to do light line 4.5 hour jobs in 2 or 2.5 hours. If you aren't going to a shop that has guys like that, you aren't having the best guys work on your cars.
 
They are sometimes called compliance bushings.
 
Repair pal doesn't have it listed. There are some things that they don't cover, because of the variance of the job.

4.5 hours sounds good, national shop rate is something like $90/hour now.

170 for parts I can't comment on, but that seems like he might be getting aftermarket control arms, as normal bushing cost is 40-80. So, on second thought, that seems good.

Plus he'll probably have to align it. That's usually 60-80 dollars.
 
Do you trust him? Have you worked with him before?
 
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