'98 Camry -- Front Suspension/Control Arm Questions

Hi folks,

I hit a HUGE pothole last week and now my front suspension is rattling around more than ever before, especially on the right side. When I took the car to the garage today my mechanic told me my front control arm bushings were literally coming out of the car. He said both control arms had to be replaced, not just the bushings.

The cost for this repair: $1000 CDN for parts and labour (price includes a new alignment).

He said the struts were in "fair" condition (but not broken) and the front stabilzer links may or may not need to be replaced (depends if the rattling goes away after the bushings are replaced). Cost for these will be extra.

1) Is there a cheap fix for my car, or do I have to drop $300 for each control arm? Why can't they just replace the bushing instead of the whole arm (which would save me over $500)?

2) If I have to suck it up and make the repair, should I have my front struts done as well? They're the same ones that came with the car when I bought it 8 years ago, and my car has 118,000 miles (or 190,000 kms) on it. I just replaced the rear suspension after both rear struts blew without warning.

3) What will happen to my brand new set of winter tires if I put them on next week and postpone the repair until January?

This is an area where acquiring the tools and expertise over time pays off because you can replace these items at home, and shop for genuine Toyota parts online. If cost is the main issue you could cosider control arms from another '98 at a salvage yard. Usually, these parts last a long, long time, so likely they would be fine as long as no collision damage in that area of the donor car. Best idea, is to just get other opinions from different shops, and go with the one that sounds best to you, and seems most trustworthy. Alignment shops and front end work is a common area for misrepresentation, though from everything I've heard, you would need to replace the entire control arm as bushings are not available separately. If you know what you're looking at, I always like to have the mechanic show me the area of the car so I can see the conditions for myself. These days, though, I've learned to do my own work.