Control arm replacement price $$$

[Pirate Pete]

So I went for a wheel alignment earlier today because I noticed my front driver's side wheel was tilted out a little on the top side ( toe & camber?). I remember when I bought this car little over a year ago my original mechanic ( who is now closed and retired) stated that in the near future I will need to replace my control arms .
So the place I went to for the alignment today infact said that I need to replace them. I'll attach a picture of the quote they gave me. Seems kind of high. What do you guys think ?

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

Seems high. They are very easy to replace labor wise considering what they are. The control arms are 99% not the issue most likely. You need a ball joint. Remove the Rivets and then you remove the ball joint. New ones of high quality can be bolted on. The original control arms are made of better cast aluminum than aftermarket and the bushings , albeit old, with your mileage should be just fine. Considering an outer tie rod is about 30 minutes and in the desert…. And prob costs itself 30-90 dollars. So yeah run. And not posting a separate labor rate is all the proof needed in the pudding

 

[Pirate Pete]

Seems high. They are very easy to replace labor wise considering what they are. The control arms are 99% not the issue most likely. You need a ball joint. Remove the Rivets and then you remove the ball joint. New ones of high quality can be bolted on. The original control arms are made of better cast aluminum than aftermarket and the bushings , albeit old, with your mileage should be just fine. Considering an outer tie rod is about 30 minutes and in the desert…. And prob costs itself 30-90 dollars. So yeah run. And not posting a separate labor rate is all the proof needed in the pudding

Thank you for your detailed info. Im going to get a quote at my regular mechanic tomorrow. I only went to this place because they were running a wheel alignment special . I'll let you know what happens .

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

Thank you for your detailed info. Im going to get a quote at my regular mechanic tomorrow. I only went to this place because they were running a wheel alignment special . I'll let you know what happens .

Thats their hook, and they tried to sink you.

CHICANERY!

 

[Pirate Pete]

Thats their hook, and they tried to sink you.

CHICANERY!

So I'm guessing that they gave me an additional $15 dollars off the already lower sale price of $109 just to reel me in &Gain their trust 👌

 

[Pirate Pete]

Thats their hook, and they tried to sink you.

CHICANERY!

Well I just called the other mechanic and it will be $200 more than the original shop. $100 of that extra cost includes a mandatory wheel alignment after the job is done. Shop number 1 said that I won't have to pay for the wheel alignment again because I just had it done there and it's under a 90 day warranty.
Guess I'm going to schedule an appointment and just get it done. I have family flying here in a few weeks and of course I get to play Mr Taxi. Would hate to be on the highway with a car full of family and lose control and get into an accident. Just remembered I only have liability insurance so yeah, I need to get this done. Thank you again. For helping me 🙏

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

Well I just called the other mechanic and it will be $200 more than the original shop. $100 of that extra cost includes a mandatory wheel alignment after the job is done. Shop number 1 said that I won't have to pay for the wheel alignment again because I just had it done there and it's under a 90 day warranty.
Guess I'm going to schedule an appointment and just get it done. I have family flying here in a few weeks and of course I get to play Mr Taxi. Would hate to be on the highway with a car full of family and lose control and get into an accident. Just remembered I only have liability insurance so yeah, I need to get this done. Thank you again. For helping me 🙏

false. either you didnt represent your original situation to me accurately or you are lying to me. How bad, visually, is the alignment on your front end? Show me some pictures of that side. Then show one from a few feet back so the whole car is visible in teh shot.,

Then what does it do while driving? Anything?

Then, how does your tire look? wear obvious?

 

[Pirate Pete]

false. either you didnt represent your original situation to me accurately or you are lying to me. How bad, visually, is the alignment on your front end? Show me some pictures of that side. Then show one from a few feet back so the whole car is visible in teh shot.,

Then what does it do while driving? Anything?

Then, how does your tire look? wear obvious?

The photo I showed you was of the printout from the 1st shop I went to . January of last year when I had purchased the car my original mechanic( who is now retired) told me that everything looks ok with the car except I will need a control arms replaced as 1 was going bad. He said it didn't need to be done right away but sometimes in the near future. So I already knew I was going to need to have them changed. The front drivers side tire had a noticable tilt where the top side was tilting out a bit and my tire was getting worn on the outside. When I step on the brake there is a bit of pulsating going on and when I'm on the highway it feels like the wheels aren't balanced. I can not let this go.

 

[Pirate Pete]

false. either you didnt represent your original situation to me accurately or you are lying to me. How bad, visually, is the alignment on your front end? Show me some pictures of that side. Then show one from a few feet back so the whole car is visible in teh shot.,

Then what does it do while driving? Anything?

Then, how does your tire look? wear obvious?

I'm not sure why you think I am lying. I have nothing to gain from lying. I just asked if the shop was over charging me. Thank you for taking your time to help me. I appreciate it 🙏

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

I'm not sure why you think I am lying. I have nothing to gain from lying. I just asked if the shop was over charging me. Thank you for taking your time to help me. I appreciate it 🙏

I wasnt accusing it in a serious manner but more or less saying that something is not passing the smell test and your quickly choking up and refusing to talk further tells me this is true.

Im not upset but i have yet to help you so dont thank me for it. if you decide to accept help ill be here and we can breakdown where their numbers come from and where your issue is and we can then find the solution

 

[Pirate Pete]

I wasnt accusing it in a serious manner but more or less saying that something is not passing the smell test and your quickly choking up and refusing to talk further tells me this is true.

Im not upset but i have yet to help you so dont thank me for it. if you decide to accept help ill be here and we can breakdown where their numbers come from and where your issue is and we can then find the solution

I just wanted to know if I was being ripped off on this job. The shops out here in Vegas are horrible. They always try to upsell and rip you off. One time I took my wife's car for an oil change and they said we needed 4 new tires, 2 new headlight units and something else. Tires had 70% tread remaining. Another time I brought my car for an oil change to another shop and they called me saying I need a new battery and that my battery is leaking due to a crack . I yelled at her and said " your ass is cracked!" Then told her I only want the oil changed and to call me back when it's done.
I'm attaching a copy of the before and after computer results for my wheels in case you want to have a look.

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

I just wanted to know if I was being ripped off on this job. The shops out here in Vegas are horrible. They always try to upsell and rip you off. One time I took my wife's car for an oil change and they said we needed 4 new tires, 2 new headlight units and something else. Tires had 70% tread remaining. Another time I brought my car for an oil change to another shop and they called me saying I need a new battery and that my battery is leaking due to a crack . I yelled at her and said " your ass is cracked!" Then told her I only want the oil changed and to call me back when it's done.
I'm attaching a copy of the before and after computer results for my wheels in case you want to have a look.

im not convinced you have a failing control arm, one at that.

I need to see pictures of your control arm, jacking it up, and using a camera and a flashlight (Dont even need a jack stand, just dont go under it!!! rotate wheels one direction and take pics, and then the other, try to get the ball joint in photo too


i see evidence you have a way off toe in the rear that they just decided to leave you with?!

 

[Pirate Pete]

im not convinced you have a failing control arm, one at that.

I need to see pictures of your control arm, jacking it up, and using a camera and a flashlight (Dont even need a jack stand, just dont go under it!!! rotate wheels one direction and take pics, and then the other, try to get the ball joint in photo too


i see evidence you have a way off toe in the rear that they just decided to leave you with?!

They said that they need to install Alignment Shims on the rear wheels to get them aligned to specification. My physical mobility is limited due to my back sadly so I won't be doing any jacking or getting under the car.

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

They said that they need to install Alignment Shims on the rear wheels to get them aligned to specification. My physical mobility is limited due to my back sadly so I won't be doing any jacking or getting under the car.

then ask a shop to put it on a lift then show me with pictures, , may need to pay a bit to use their lift and occupy their time for a short bit but you should be able to find one. The shims in the rear should not be needed if you have a good wheel bearing and your air level shocks work or you have coil overs. and the lateral link isnt kinked

 

[HotZ28]

The front & rear have to be leveled to factory specifications before the alignment can be made to the factory specs. Any ride height changes will effect the alignment. Have you changed front struts, or rear shocks recently?

 

[Pirate Pete]

The front & rear have to be leveled to factory specifications before the alignment can be made to the factory specs. Any ride height changes will effect the alignment. Have you changed front struts, or rear shocks recently?

I have not.

 

[Pirate Pete]

I just wanted to thank everyone whom offered to help me . I had my control arms and outer tie rods replaced today. I took it on the highway and set the cruise control at 80. The vibrations ( which was noticable above 65) is now gone . 💪

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

I just wanted to thank everyone whom offered to help me . I had my control arms and outer tie rods replaced today. I took it on the highway and set the cruise control at 80. The vibrations ( which was noticable above 65) is now gone . 💪

Did you keep the original control arms? If you didnt, see if you can have them back/. I can help you determine if they are still worth keeping. The ball joint being worn, but not the bushings, means they are good still.

 

[Pirate Pete]

Did you keep the original control arms? If you didnt, see if you can have them back/. I can help you determine if they are still worth keeping. The ball joint being worn, but not the bushings, means they are good still.

No, I'm in a 2nd floor condo and unfortunately don't have any place to keep spare parts. The car is riding great though. I went across town today . I was thinking about asking them if they're able to adjust my magnasteer to loose like you did. It would help with my carpel tunnel syndrome .

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

No, I'm in a 2nd floor condo and unfortunately don't have any place to keep spare parts. The car is riding great though. I went across town today . I was thinking about asking them if they're able to adjust my magnasteer to loose like you did. It would help with my carpel tunnel syndrome .

If your car has magnasteer (do you have traction control? or stabilitrak?) then yes you could. But depending on their tool they may not realize they can. On my autel its under service > steering angle sensor or something odd

On tech 2 its under special functions for the Chassis system, and I believe its named Magnasteer Calibration or something.

Its incredibly easy, takes longer to navigate to it on a tech 2 than to actually change it.

on cars with Gran Touring, it was set to firm factory. On all other park avenues with Magnasteer, it was set to Base (which means all park avenues have a softer steering potential if they have magnasteer)