I need car help

killtrocity · 12-15-2014, 10:15 PM

Hey folks,

My "ball joints" are allegedly loose, "all 4 of them in the front", to the point that it might be dangerous to continue driving. I was quoted $1,100 to $1,300. It's a 2002 Sebring with about 70k miles. Does this sound like a legit price? I'm completely stupid about car repair

darby · 12-15-2014, 10:40 PM

google ball joint prices for your car and see for yourself

darby · 12-15-2014, 10:46 PM

a mechanic tried to charge me $500 a couple months ago to get one of my rear drum brakes replaced. i bought the part for $30 and my uncle gladly replaced it for me free of charge

sppunk · 12-15-2014, 10:46 PM

Ditch it and buy a Q5. Thank me later.

darby · 12-15-2014, 10:56 PM

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sh...oint-2002.html

ifuktyourmom · 12-16-2014, 12:01 AM

The parts are cheap, but you are talking a shit load of labor on replacing 4 ball joints. Surely you can find a youtube vid to show you what's all involved, but this is not the time to put on your shade tree mechanic hat if you don't know what you are doing.

The Omega Concern · 12-16-2014, 12:12 AM

parts plus labor, which should range between $75 to $125 an hour, or double that per joint. Your estimate seems high, but it depends on the car and how tough it is to get that area.

killtrocity · 12-16-2014, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sppunk

Ditch it and buy a Q5. Thank me later.

Someday...

Quote:

Originally Posted by darby

google ball joint prices for your car and see for yourself

so the $1k is for labor, then... the dude said the expensive ball joints would make the total $1,300, while the cheap ones would be $1,100

Quote:

Originally Posted by ifuktyourmom

The parts are cheap, but you are talking a shit load of labor on replacing 4 ball joints. Surely you can find a youtube vid to show you what's all involved, but this is not the time to put on your shade tree mechanic hat if you don't know what you are doing.

I definitely do not know what I am doing, but do you think we're talking 1 grand worth of labor? My S/O's dad is going to look at it for free, and replace them if necessary. Obviously I'll pay him whatever he wants, just curious how hard the auto shop tried to fuck me.

Thanks for the input, car people!

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Omega Concern

parts plus labor, which should range between $75 to $125 an hour, or double that per joint. Your estimate seems high, but it depends on the car and how tough it is to get that area.

hmmm alrighty then, thanks

darby · 12:42 AM

yeah labor is almost always an absurd amount of money. a mechanic once showed me an online labor calculator to compare how much he was charging me vs how much he could have charged me (he discounted $80 afterwards, don't be afraid to speak up if you feel like you're being ripped off). i can't remember the site but you can google of course. if i were you i would call up different shops and ask them how much they charge for labor and say you already have the parts, just so you can compare. that way they dont take you as oblivious and are less inclined to take advantage of you

darby · 12-16-2014, 12:28 AM

oh and pay attention to warranties too. don't forget about that

duovamp · 12-16-2014, 12:40 AM

A bro of mine just got an SQ5 in brown. Looks exquisite.

That price is off the deep end imo. I don't doubt your 12 year old car needs them. They go bad after five to eight years no matter what. But you just need a new set of control arms to slap on then get the car aligned. They probably want to pull the joints off and press new ones in. Less money into parts, much higher labor cost.

duovamp · 12-16-2014, 12:45 AM

Much easier to get a left and right control arm: http://m.autopartswarehouse.com/deta...e-8739fbec03ef

Slap those puppies in. Three bolts. Get it aligned. Done deal. Control arms take 45 minutes a piece if your bolts aren't too rusty.

killtrocity · 12-16-2014, 12:47 AM

AH I knew you'd show up!

edit:
I don't understand how the control arms are comparatively cheaper than the individual ball joints. Is alignment very tedious?

duovamp · 12-16-2014, 12:49 AM

Yeah. They contain ball joints. Brand new ball joints. The shop wants to reuse your old arms and pull the joints out, which is very labor intensive, so more money for them.

Buy the control arms and if you don't want to do the work yourself, take the arms to a shop and say you need them installed and need the car aligned. $350 installation $79 for the alignment. No more than $500 total.

duovamp · 12-16-2014, 12:51 AM

Also find out if they want to replace your tie rod ends. If so, those are cheap and easy to replace on your own and can be done at the same time with zero hassle. But don't attempt it if you don't have a gear puller. Learned that the heard way replacing tie rod ends years ago.

killtrocity · 12-16-2014, 12:51 AM

Beautiful. Thanks a ton.

duovamp · 12-16-2014, 12:54 AM

No prob. Feel free to PM me later if you want.

butthurt · 12-16-2014, 01:23 AM

Auto shops will also charge you "list price" for the parts, which is far beyond what they pay. It's also far beyond what you'll pay buying the parts yourself. I worked at an auto parts place one summer. The shops would always call and ask for list price when they were writing up estimates. I think they actually paid about 30% of list price. The average customer off the street paid about 60% of list, if I remember correctly.

Now you know why a lot of shops have signs that say "no outside parts".

teh b0lly!!1 · 12-16-2014, 02:42 AM

holy shit douvamp

hnibos · 12-16-2014, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duovamp

No prob. Feel free to PM me later if you want.

It's a trap, don't fall for this!!!

duovamp · 12-16-2014, 11:31 AM

Too late. Got the dick pics.

myosis · 12-16-2014, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by butthurt

Now you know why a lot of shops have signs that say "no outside parts".

I once went to an auto parts dealer in my town to get a quote on used parts for a clutch... price seemed very interesting... they said "we only provide parts", so I asked them if they could recommend someone willing to do the work. got a good reference (of course you need to make sure you can trust the person giving you the reference).

in the end i saved lots of money because the mechanic told me I didn't even need to replace parts. -- my original quote said i had to replace everything (1700$) which i knew was fishy. original quote + towing to the other mechanic cost me more than the repair.

The exploding boy · 12-16-2014, 06:27 PM

about 3/4 of mechanics are after your money and will consistently scam you. I mean if you know nothing or not much about cars anyway (i don't...but my dad was formed as a mechanic). A common trick is fix what's wrong but sabotage something else. Not something that'll fuck up right away no...but in a few weeks or months. I now this guy he's always going back to the same mechanic every 4 months or so for a different problem. His car isn't that old and yeah not reputed super reliable but this is just ridiculous. At this point he must have had every fucking part changed at least once...and it still fucks up? There's no way his mechanic isn't doing something to his car... but no..he trusts him...he always gives him prices...yeah...of course they would.

12-15-2014, 10:15 PM	#1
killtrocity Saturday Night Goth Location: POLLOS Posts: 9,207	I need car help Hey folks, My "ball joints" are allegedly loose, "all 4 of them in the front", to the point that it might be dangerous to continue driving. I was quoted $1,100 to $1,300. It's a 2002 Sebring with about 70k miles. Does this sound like a legit price? I'm completely stupid about car repair

12-16-2014, 12:27 AM	#9
darby Demi-God Location: everywhere from here to there Posts: 499	yeah labor is almost always an absurd amount of money. a mechanic once showed me an online labor calculator to compare how much he was charging me vs how much he could have charged me (he discounted $80 afterwards, don't be afraid to speak up if you feel like you're being ripped off). i can't remember the site but you can google of course. if i were you i would call up different shops and ask them how much they charge for labor and say you already have the parts, just so you can compare. that way they dont take you as oblivious and are less inclined to take advantage of you Last edited by darby : 12-16-2014 at 12:42 AM.

12-15-2014, 10:40 PM	#2
darby Demi-God Location: everywhere from here to there Posts: 499	google ball joint prices for your car and see for yourself

12-15-2014, 10:46 PM	#3
darby Demi-God Location: everywhere from here to there Posts: 499	a mechanic tried to charge me $500 a couple months ago to get one of my rear drum brakes replaced. i bought the part for $30 and my uncle gladly replaced it for me free of charge

12-15-2014, 10:46 PM	#4
sppunk Netphoria's George Will Location: Fenway Park Posts: 37,109	Ditch it and buy a Q5. Thank me later.

12-15-2014, 10:56 PM	#5
darby Demi-God Location: everywhere from here to there Posts: 499	http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sh...oint-2002.html

12-16-2014, 12:01 AM	#6
ifuktyourmom Demi-God Location: LIMES Posts: 352	The parts are cheap, but you are talking a shit load of labor on replacing 4 ball joints. Surely you can find a youtube vid to show you what's all involved, but this is not the time to put on your shade tree mechanic hat if you don't know what you are doing.

12-16-2014, 12:12 AM	#7
The Omega Concern Banned Location: stay, far, away Posts: 8,986	parts plus labor, which should range between $75 to $125 an hour, or double that per joint. Your estimate seems high, but it depends on the car and how tough it is to get that area.

12-16-2014, 12:28 AM	#10
darby Demi-God Location: everywhere from here to there Posts: 499	oh and pay attention to warranties too. don't forget about that

12-16-2014, 12:40 AM	#11
duovamp Brazilian Blouselord Location: heavy metal pool party Posts: 35,781	A bro of mine just got an SQ5 in brown. Looks exquisite. That price is off the deep end imo. I don't doubt your 12 year old car needs them. They go bad after five to eight years no matter what. But you just need a new set of control arms to slap on then get the car aligned. They probably want to pull the joints off and press new ones in. Less money into parts, much higher labor cost.

12-16-2014, 12:45 AM	#12
duovamp Brazilian Blouselord Location: heavy metal pool party Posts: 35,781	Much easier to get a left and right control arm: http://m.autopartswarehouse.com/deta...e-8739fbec03ef Slap those puppies in. Three bolts. Get it aligned. Done deal. Control arms take 45 minutes a piece if your bolts aren't too rusty.

12-16-2014, 12:47 AM	#13
killtrocity Saturday Night Goth Location: POLLOS Posts: 9,207	AH I knew you'd show up! edit: I don't understand how the control arms are comparatively cheaper than the individual ball joints. Is alignment very tedious?

12-16-2014, 12:49 AM	#14
duovamp Brazilian Blouselord Location: heavy metal pool party Posts: 35,781	Yeah. They contain ball joints. Brand new ball joints. The shop wants to reuse your old arms and pull the joints out, which is very labor intensive, so more money for them. Buy the control arms and if you don't want to do the work yourself, take the arms to a shop and say you need them installed and need the car aligned. $350 installation $79 for the alignment. No more than $500 total.

12-16-2014, 12:51 AM	#15
duovamp Brazilian Blouselord Location: heavy metal pool party Posts: 35,781	Also find out if they want to replace your tie rod ends. If so, those are cheap and easy to replace on your own and can be done at the same time with zero hassle. But don't attempt it if you don't have a gear puller. Learned that the heard way replacing tie rod ends years ago.

12-16-2014, 12:54 AM	#17
duovamp Brazilian Blouselord Location: heavy metal pool party Posts: 35,781	No prob. Feel free to PM me later if you want.

12-16-2014, 01:23 AM	#18
butthurt Apocalyptic Poster Location: on the internet Posts: 1,969	Auto shops will also charge you "list price" for the parts, which is far beyond what they pay. It's also far beyond what you'll pay buying the parts yourself. I worked at an auto parts place one summer. The shops would always call and ask for list price when they were writing up estimates. I think they actually paid about 30% of list price. The average customer off the street paid about 60% of list, if I remember correctly. Now you know why a lot of shops have signs that say "no outside parts".

12-16-2014, 02:42 AM	#19
teh b0lly!!1 Braindead Location: PROWLING THE BADLANDS Posts: 17,399	holy shit douvamp

12-16-2014, 11:31 AM	#21
duovamp Brazilian Blouselord Location: heavy metal pool party Posts: 35,781	Too late. Got the dick pics.

12-16-2014, 06:27 PM	#23
The exploding boy Minion of Satan Location: "I'm a quivering collection of the worst and least helpful emotions: fear, anxiety, terror, paranoia, indigestion, dishpan hands..." Posts: 7,765	about 3/4 of mechanics are after your money and will consistently scam you. I mean if you know nothing or not much about cars anyway (i don't...but my dad was formed as a mechanic). A common trick is fix what's wrong but sabotage something else. Not something that'll fuck up right away no...but in a few weeks or months. I now this guy he's always going back to the same mechanic every 4 months or so for a different problem. His car isn't that old and yeah not reputed super reliable but this is just ridiculous. At this point he must have had every fucking part changed at least once...and it still fucks up? There's no way his mechanic isn't doing something to his car... but no..he trusts him...he always gives him prices...yeah...of course they would.