1994 toyota corolla replace strut/strut assembly (the whole shebang)

I brought my car in to get the rear brakes repaired and ran into another problem. My front struts need to be replaced (and not just a mechanic saying they need to, they are in terrible shape - the right front looks like it is ready to fall off!). Everything needs to be replaced...the mounts, coil and entire strut assembly. My mechanic quoted $1000 for everything (including the tune up/inspection, oil change, and wheel alignment). Is this a good deal or not? I know the "struts" themselves are relatively cheap, but is this a fair price to replace everything, including labor? Thanks!

Reply to
schuey
Loading thread data ...

Holy Crap! Struts=$60-65 each at AutoZone Brakes=$18 for front pads, maybe $20 each for front rotors. Rear, $15-20 for shoes, $35-60 for drums. Wheel alignment=$60

Is there a boat parked at your mechanic's garage/house? Screw boat, this guy must have a yacht! Also, he is probably going by 'book time', which is usually a worse-case scenario; broken bolts, rusty parts, etc. If your car is in good shape, the actual repair can be 1/4 of 'book time'. I always ask, but I know most of the shops in the area, and they know I know, so they charge me by the hour.

I'll let you know, but I have one shop replacing my timing belt/water pump for $65; the belt was $24 and the pump (reman'd) was $38; I have another shop replacing my struts, $58X4 and $120 for labor. The shop doing the timing belt wanted $264 for labor for the struts, and the shop doing the struts wanted $300 for the timing belt!! Go figure!

Going by 'standard' job costs, a timing belt can be $200-300, struts $400-550, brakes $400-550. I usually use 'generic' parts and usually do fairly well.

Is he using Genuine Toyota parts? Or does he have a yacht? ;)

Reply to
Hachiroku

I would understand if I were just getting the struts themselves replaced, but the mountings and spring (when I mean the whole assembly, i mean the whole assembly). I know its a little more labor intensive than replacing JUST the struts or the shocks on another car. The price came down a little when I told him to use generic parts...my 94 corolla has nearly 170,000 miles on it so now I can rest assured that I will not have to do anything with the front end suspension while I have this car, these parts come with a 70,000 mile warranty if I remember correctly. Its just tough to bite the bullet, but its a job I can't do by myself, I don't have the correct tools!

I've brought my car to this mechanic before to replace a broken axle and get some other smaller repairs done, and I trust his work but the whole cost, which may have been a high estimate, seemed a little high. I had to replace the rear brake shoes and got a cheap pair of drums, that wasn't very expensive. I think he got the generic drums for 55 each, plus about 60 for a set of four shoes. All this installed is about 350 (incl. labor, new break lines, flush brake system) and I'm OK with that. That seemed reasonable.

At least I don't have engine problems! Let the body fall apart, as long as it runs cleanly and doesn't burn oil I'll still be driving this baby.

Thanks for your reply!

Hachiroku =E3=83=8F=E3=83=81=E3=83=AD=E3=82=AF wrote:

Reply to
schuey

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.