Am I stupid or is this just life?

[tallhair]

I just came from the mechanic store and this is what i'm looking at

99 Durango 4X4 63K miles

Needs 1 upper ball joint $253
two inner tie rods $315
front metallic brakes and rotors $207
half shaft "slinging grease" $215
alignment $70

TOTAL out the door $1129

 

[RustyRatRod]

The ball joint and tie rod ends are stupid high. MotorAllData says 1.8 hours on the ball joint and 1.3 hours on the tie rod ends whether they're rack and pinion or conventional. We get 75 an hour at our shop, so that means our labor total there would be 232.50 so the parts would have to be 335.50. Sounds pretty steep for one ball joint and a pair of inner tie rod ends. The rest of it looks about right.

 

[Budnicks]

It sounds like Unfortunately "That's life"... if you can't do it your self, you have to pay the piper... With out actually checking into the costs, I'm sure the guy was probably quoting "flat rate" out of some repair rate guide book too... it's a couple hundred $$$ in parts, all the rest is all labor... you could always buy a model specific "Factory Service Manual, for a 99 Durango/Dakota" & "try" to fix it yourself, if you have the proper tools, capability & knowledge, then take it to have it re-alliened, save some decent money...

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ask for a detailed break down of the parts & labor, it seems like parts are probably marked way up {with out me checking}... labor costs will differ from area &/or states especially if it's a dealership or local yocal....

 

[tallhair]

The ball joint and tie rod ends are stupid high. MotorAllData says 1.8 hours on the ball joint and 1.3 hours on the tie rod ends whether they're rack and pinion or conventional. We get 75 an hour at our shop, so that means our labor total there would be 232.50 so the parts would have to be 335.50. Sounds pretty steep for one ball joint and a pair of inner tie rod ends. The rest of it looks about right.

check this initially the price was going to be $1213 plus tax but i get them to bring it down since i'm that kind of guy and i've just bought two sets of their upper price class firestone tires (sucker)

labor on the ball joint is $149 and part is $104
labor on the tie rods is $120 and parts are $118 ea / $195 total

Moog or better parts and it's a 4 X 4 ... still way to high?

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It sounds like Unfortunately "That's life"... if you can't do it your self, you have to pay the piper... With out actually checking into the costs, I'm sure the guy was probably quoting "flat rate" out of some repair rate guide book too... it's a couple hundred $$$ in parts, all the rest is all labor... you could always buy a model specific "Factory Service Manual, for a 99 Durango/Dakota" & "try" to fix it yourself, if you have the proper tools, capability & knowledge, then take it to have it re-alliened, save some decent money...

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ask for a detailed break down of the parts & labor, it seems like parts are probably marked way up {with out me checking}... labor costs will differ from area &/or states especially if it's a dealership or local yocal....

well unfortunately i can't do this job myself... it's local firestone and it's all figured in their system ...they played with a few of the numbers, called the parts guy etc. and got it down to what I listed above.

 

[Moparsmitty]

This is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth. I wouldn't get any mechanical work done at a shop that is first and foremost a new tire retailer unless I had no other choice. Not all, but many of them are notorious for pulling the wheels off a vehicle and going "ooooooh you need new brakes, calipers, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc, etc." I don't know where you live but there are probably good independent brake & alignment shops around your area. If you don't know where you can take it, go to a big local parts store(preferably NAPA) and ask the wholesale counterman (not the retail counterman) where the best front end shop is. If they have been around the business for awhile, they will know. Again JMHO. Hope this helps.

 

[tallhair]

This is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth. I wouldn't get any mechanical work done at a shop that is first and foremost a new tire retailer unless I had no other choice. Not all, but many of them are notorious for pulling the wheels off a vehicle and going "ooooooh you need new brakes, calipers, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc, etc." I don't know where you live but there are probably good independent brake & alignment shops around your area. If you don't know where you can take it, go to a big local parts store(preferably NAPA) and ask the wholesale counterman (not the retail counterman) where the best front end shop is. If they have been around the business for awhile, they will know. Again JMHO. Hope this helps.

thanks smitty and how can you tell the difference

"wholesale counterman (not the retail counterman)"

 

[RustyRatRod]

It's retail. They buy parts wholesale and put a mark up on them. We only go 1.5 times, but some go as much as 2 or even 3 times cost. Also, I would not trust firestone to take my garbage out.

 

[tallhair]

It's retail. They buy parts wholesale and put a mark up on them. We only go 1.5 times, but some go as much as 2 or even 3 times cost. Also, I would not trust firestone to take my garbage out.

i was talking about smitty's comment about counter guys at NAPA. How can you tell the retail counterman from the wholesale counter man.

 

[99ss]

Can you do the work yourself? I'll get you the parts at cost you pay shipping

 

[tallhair]

Can you do the work yourself? I'll get you the parts at cost you pay shipping

I really appreciate that offer 99SS! However unfortunately due to logistics and health issues i can't do it myself.

 

[snakeoil24]

Tire stores are all Ball Joint jockeys. Every time i hear this I tell people to stay far away from Tire stores.

 

[44070dart]

go get a couple of estimates from local garages in your area ...you should find a real mechanic rather than rely on one of these type of shops... there known for there wheel shaking ball joint replacement mentality ..ask a friend who they use ..for that kind of money shop around

 

[Hemi Rebel]

I can tell you all right now, durango's are notorious for ball joints. They were recalled for it. I cant believe it only needs one. The recall is good for ten years from when it was put out. I will have to check tomorrow, but i think it came out in 03 or 04. So there is a possability it may be covered. Dont hold me to it though.

 

[Propwash]

Needs 1 upper ball joint $253
two inner tie rods $315
front metallic brakes and rotors $207
half shaft "slinging grease" $215
alignment $70

labor on the ball joint is $149 and part is $104
labor on the tie rods is $120 and parts are $118 ea / $195 total

Buy the parts yourself from RockAuto or somewhere else and just have them change them out....

The more expensive Moog inner tie rods Below, they go as low as $7.44 a piece



The more expensive Moog upper ball joint below, they go as low as $8.10 a piece



You can buy the Moog half shaft boots for $10 bucks (instead of changing the entire half shaft!!), or buy the premium entire half shaft if it's shot: Cheapest is $48.00





How about your pads and Rotors....Well, premium line Rotor and pads below. Cheapest on the rotors $16 a piece, cheapest pads $11 dollars






Problem with a lot of Mechanics shops is they're basically crooks. They underpay their under-trained employee's to "F" up your car half the time while raking it in, all while lying to you about costs and issue's. At the same time, their yanking your chain at $65-95 bucks an hour labor while paying the guys on the floor $10-15. What it boils down to is if you want something done right, do it yourself....odds are, you'll do a better job anyways. Not to say there isn't decent folks/shops out there, cause there is...but a majority of the others are worth about as much as a shady used car salesman. Those parts are not that hard to change, don't require a ton of skill and don't require any extravagant specialty tools, besides the alignment. Obviously they're hosing you on costs.. If your health and know how just isn't up to it...like mentioned, order the parts yourself and swallow the labor

Good luck

Rockauto's website:

http://www.rockauto.com/

 

[RustyRatRod]

I just went back and looked at the tickets from last week this afternoon. We JUST did four ball joints on an 04 Dodge 2500 4x4 and also installed customer supplied shocks. Sent it out for an alignment. The total was not over 800. We've done so much since, I couldn't remember without going back and looking.

 

[Moparsmitty]

thanks smitty and how can you tell the difference

Sorry, I didn't get back right away. I had to go out on a call.
The larger parts stores that I've worked with usually have one or two countermen that mainly sell wholesale parts to the repair shops in their area. Sometimes they are at a separate counter, but not always. They are usually the older guys(graybeards) that have been in the business for awhile. You can usually tell who they are, but it doesn't hurt to ask for them. Anytime I'm away from home and I need to get something fixed, I've used this method to find a shop and it hasn't failed me yet.

 

[RustyRatRod]

i was talking about smitty's comment about counter guys at NAPA. How can you tell the retail counterman from the wholesale counter man.

Generally customers cannot buy wholesale at retail stores.

 

[Moparsmitty]

Generally customers cannot buy wholesale at retail stores.

True, but you can still talk to the wholesale counterman. He's the one that's going to be the most familiar with the repair shops in your area and it's in his best interest to recommend a good one.

 

[roadrunnerman]

What I usually do is buy the parts myself and then take the car and parts to a friend of mine (mopar guy). He only charges $20/hour. That's if I can't do it or don't have time to do it. If you know a good mechanic or ask around, that would save you a bunch in labor cost depending on what the mech charges.

 

[Budnicks]

I can tell you all right now, durango's are notorious for ball joints. They were recalled for it. I cant believe it only needs one. The recall is good for ten years from when it was put out. I will have to check tomorrow, but i think it came out in 03 or 04. So there is a possability it may be covered. Dont hold me to it though.

I have a 99 Dakota 4x4 SLT, I only have 56k miles on it too, no ball joint issues yet, but I never got a recall notice, at all, was it on the Durangos only, they have the exact same suspension... I'm curious too now... hmmmmm