95 SE MTX. Needs new left bearing. Shop (Midas) says $225 total. They also told me yesterday that car needs major rear suspension work - new left spring, new struts left and right, new strut mounts left and right. I'm not sure why they never mentioned this before, but whatever. For all the work, including the bearing, the quote was $1,400-1,500.
Also, the advisor (maybe the store mgr.) said his technician does work on the side and he could probably do the work for around $900-1,000. I'm leaning toward this option.
Do these costs sound reasonable? I know some things on Contiques are pricey to fix, but this was much more than I was prepared to hear. I'm just trying to find out if this is a fair price, before I authorize the work.
I always advise to get a second opinion from another qualified technician.
I just put all 4 struts (Monroe, life-time warranty) and two front wheel bearings on a 95 Mystique. I did the labor myself, and ended up with less than $300 invested. I did not replace the strut mounts or springs.
There is a recall on some of the 95 Contours for defective springs. Don't know if your particular model qualifies or not. You should be able to run your VIN # through OASIS, and see.
The rear struts aren't all that hard to replace, and if you're replacing the struts, putting new springs and mounts would not take any extra labor at all. The front struts are a PITA, but the rear ones only took me about 2 hours each. I'm not a mechanic, so anyone who knows what they're doing can probably do it for less.
I'm not trying to talk you into or out of anything...just adding some information that might help...
Midas guy said most of the cost was in the parts (he wasn't specific), not the labor.
I wanted to get the car fixed right away so I could sell it to an interested buyer, but I think I need to have someone else look at it and give me an estimate. I'll probably get an estimate from a dealer, on the off chance that their price is lower than Midas'.
If the $225 is for a front 'new left bearing', that price is a bit high but still reasonable for a front wheel bearing. I agree with the above responses about the rear suspension.
yes, that was a front left bearing.
I called Suburban Ford in Waterford (formerly Flannery). They're gonna call back and give me their estimate on all the stuff Midas is recommending.
As far as price goes on struts, you can get a set of 4 from tire rack for 259 plus shipping. If it needs springs you can get new roush springs for 120 plus shipping. Strut mounts will run you close to another 100 bucks so you could have a new lowered suspension for less than 500 in parts. as for getting them installed, check the regional boards, you can probably find someone who knows what they are doing who will give you a hand or do it for cheap.
I think that 1400 - 1500 is a bit steep, and that the estimate of the guy that works on the side is a little more realistic.
I suggest getting estimates from a few other service centers.
Suburban Ford came in at about $1,250 for parts and labor for all of these new parts:
front left and right sway bar links
front left and right bearings
rear left and right springs (Midas quote excluded right rear spring)
rear left and right struts
rear left and right strut mounts
vehicle alignment
About half the estimate is labor and half is parts.
I'd rather $200 extra for a Ford dealer to do the work, give me official documentation, etc. vs. some guy doing the work on the side.
As a friend has said to me in the past "spend that money and you will double the value of the car".
If wheel bearing noisey it must be replaced, but not necessary to replace in pairs. Two hours labor the norm plus part ($40. ?).
You don't say, but is rear left spring broken? If so it must be replaced, but again not necessary to replace in pairs unless right is sagging.
Rear struts, mounts ??? Again you don't indicate bouncey, leaks or squeaks.
Front bearing or link replacement should not automatically require alignment, but of course periodic alignment good practice.
Didn't see mileage of car. Also, did dealer inspect car or was this a telephone quote?
Originally posted by horseydug:
You don't say, but is rear left spring broken? If so it must be replaced, but again not necessary to replace in pairs unless right is sagging.
Struts or springs should always be replaced in pairs!
Originally posted by DemonSVT:
Struts or springs should always be replaced in pairs!
This maybe your opinion, but is not Ford's requirement (refer page 04-00-3 of service manual). Remember this is 4 wheel
independent suspension.
BlueDevil,
How many miles on your car and is it mostly highway pr city?
I noticed that you have an SE.
General question for others:
The SE sportspackage has a tighter suspension, is this tuned by the struts and springs?
What does the Sports package give you in handling? (what did I pay for) I own an 96SE and love the handling, but the wifes LX does not corner nearly as well in comparison.
When doing suspention work what key parts would alter this?
In other words if i had work done to my car, would average struts effect the handling?
I agree with DemonSVT. Strut and spring compliments wear at the same rate, more or less, and when one side fails, the other side is likely at the end of its service life. Replacing one without the other can create unpredictable handling and lead to increased wear of the new component. That you suggest otherwise by reason of the 4-wheel indepenent suspension is highly questionable.
I'm not sure what that page says, but bmw factory service training specified that struts and springs always be replaced in pairs, both for safety, handling, and legal (CYA) purposes. I'm sure Big Jim can comment here on Ford procedures.
Originally posted by louisw:
.. That you suggest otherwise by reason of the 4-wheel indepenent suspension is highly questionable.
I'm not sure what that page says, but bmw factory service training...
My comment on the suspension was solely to suggest that that maybe why parts can be replaced separately. The Ford manual page quoted says:
"On the Macpherson strut independent rear suspension, the following components maybe replaced individually ...
the shock absorber, rear spring, rear shock absorber bracket and spring retainer ...
They do not need to be replaced in pairs.(emphasis added)
Not sure how bmw relates to this discussion but consider this: your point, if correct, would mean that under warranty if any component on one side fails then dealer
must replace other side as well. Yeh, right!
Let's not confuse members by masking one's opinion as fact, particularly when it is contrary to mfr statements. We can disagree with the latter but let's be clear it's only our opinion.
Quote from Suburban Ford was a phone quote. They are examining the vehicle right now and are going to give me their own diagnosis.
Not sure if left rear spring is actually broken or just worn out. Dealer service advisor recommended replacing the right spring at the same time, for reasons explained by louisw. If I'm already gonna spend $1000+ on this work, I may as well spend another 60 bucks to get the right rear spring replaced at the same time.
Re: ride quality, I've never noticed any problems. Perhaps I just got used to the car driving the way it does. I haven't noticed any squeaks or leaks.
Car has 74,500 miles. It's a 95 SE. Wouldn't surprise me that some of these components have finally begun to wear out, as they typically do on Contiques - right?
To reach some common ground between horseydug and demonsvt/louisw, let me say this: Yes, Ford policy specifies that some suspension components need NOT be replaced in pairs, but it's never a BAD idea to do this and in some cases (such as when the vehicle is old and the parts are probably nearing end of useful life) it's definitely a GOOD idea.
I appreciate all of your comments.
Nice diplomatic post.
Only you can make the judgement call re discretionary expenditures on 8 year old car, you now have the facts and opinions to guide you.
Please post again when their hands-on diagnosis is complete.
Originally posted by horseydug:
...your point, if correct, would mean that under warranty if any component on one side fails then dealer must replace other side as well. Yeh, right!
FACT....
During the WARRANTY PERIOD, 3yr/36,000 miles, ANY vehicle will NOT gain enough mileage to warrant changing suspension parts in PAIRS.
Stop the quibbling and stop reading the manual as if it was a
BIBLE.
Use your common sense here and better judgement.
You can replace them independantly, but if you've got high mileage you are better off replacing everything in pairs.
Your car will thank you, and your family will thank you.
Suburban Ford called back. They concurred with the Midas diagnosis. Appx quote $1200. They're giving me 10% off the parts which will knock off another 50-60 bucks. Not sure why or how Midas quoted me $1800 for the same job.
The only thing that I'm really electing to do that might not be 100% necessary is the right rear spring. I figure it's worthwhile - already spending 1,100 bucks, what's another 60? This way I have everything taken care of at once.
You're happy, we're happy.
Surprising how dealer sometimes can be the better deal.
RoadRunner:
Your post noted.
I just authorized $1200 worth of work on a car that's worth 4 grand, tops. I'm extremely UNhappy!
That the dealer was the cheaper alternative was not surprising, it was shocking.
With respect,parts and labor do not go down just because the resale value does!
Understood. But it sucks to spend 30% of what a car's worth on a single day's worth of repairs! I'd rather put my $1200 into a vehicle that's worth 15 grand than one that's worth 4 grand. At some point, you gotta cut your losses and stop putting money into a vehicle. My dad bought a 20 year-old John Deere tractor from his uncle for $150. Within a few months he had replaced the engine AND the transmission. He should have bought a new tractor instead.
Or do the work ourselves....Labor is the expense, not the parts. I paid $2000 for a Mystique...I've spent a few hundred in parts, and a lot of time, and have a car that I think will run many miles...resale value didn't go up, but I now have good transportation (I hope), at low cost.......Doesn't matter to me what the value of the car is, as I never sell anything....
Bluedevil, I sincerely hope you took my advice from an earlier post and researched parts yourself. For the amount you are spending, you are correct, you should probably replace everything. You mentioned doing front wheel bearings but nothing about the front struts springs you only mentioned the rear. To recap my earlier post, you can get springs from roush
www.roushperformance.com for 120 shipped to your door and that is ALL 4 springs. You can get KYB performance struts all around the car for $260 bucks It sounds to me like you are really paying way to much for this work. I'm not savvy on wheel bearings but you should be able to buy springs and shocks and take them somewhere to be installed and installation shouldn't be anymore than 250 and even that is high!! I agree with you on not wanting to spend big bucks on a car that is worth 4k so don't spend it if you don't have too!!! Also , check the regional forums, I'm sure you can find someone to do the work for you cheaper!
Originally posted by Bluedevils:
...it sucks to spend 30% of what a car's worth on a single day's worth of repairs! I'd rather put my $1200 into a vehicle that's worth 15 grand than one that's worth 4 grand. At some point, you gotta cut your losses and stop putting money into a vehicle.
I guess that is true sometimes, but you can also look at it another way: Sometimes it's better to spend a few thousand to keep a car running for another few years, than to spend $20,000 (or more) on a new car.
$1212 later, I finally have new front bearings, front sway bar links, rear struts and mounts, and rear springs. I'm sure I could have bought parts myself and found somebody to install them for me, but I think those types of shops are pretty uncommon around here and I don't really know any individuals who can do this work. Plus I wanted it fixed quick. I guess that's my justification for paying more than I needed to. At least I had the work done at a Ford dealer instead of paying Midas $1800 for less work (their quote excluded the right front bearing and right rear spring).
High repair costs are why some 8-12 year old cars that have clean bodies are in junk yards.
But, newer cars lose a lot more in depreciation than $1200.
