Is this is a reasonable price?

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Went in for a state inspection and failed because one of my lower ball joints was bad. Was caught off guard because it seemed fine last week when I did my tie rods. Wanting a second opinion, I went to my indy and the ball joint indeed had play. He quoted me $375 parts and labor for a whole lower control arm assembly with ball joint attached since that's how they come on Nissan/Infiniti products. I gave him the green light and the car passed inspection when I went back to the first shop (Indy doesn't do inspections).

LCA is aftermarket from Autoparts Intl; 1 yr warranty parts & labor. I would've done the job myself but there were a lot of rusty crusty bolts to deal with.

Is $375 reasonable?
 
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Originally Posted By: mclasser
Went in for a state inspection and failed because one of my lower ball joints was bad. Was caught off guard because it seemed fine last week when I did my tie rods. Wanting a second opinion, I went to my indy and the ball joint indeed had play. He quoted me $375 parts and labor for a whole lower control arm assembly with ball joint attached since that's how they come on Nissan/Infiniti products. I gave him the green light and the car passed inspection when I went back to the first shop (Indy doesn't do inspections).

LCA is aftermarket from Autoparts Intl; 1 yr warranty parts & labor. I would've done the job myself but there were a lot of rusty crusty bolts to deal with.

Is $375 reasonable?


If that includes checking and setting the alignment, I wouldn't say it's too bad.

Sure, you could do it for less, but you have to pay in aggravation with rusty fasteners and then going to have the alignment checked, etc.

Figure almost any place is $100/hr in labor, so what did you have, about 1/2 parts, 1/2 labor and 10 percent of that was tax?
 
Where are you located? How often does the state have inspections? I thought some states only inspected for emissions....California etc.
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
If that includes checking and setting the alignment, I wouldn't say it's too bad. Sure, you could do it for less, but you have to pay in aggravation with rusty fasteners and then going to have the alignment checked, etc.


Parts Included?
I think it's fine - that's about what I would charge, especially since I HATE working suspension components.
 
MA has had safety inspections forever. Used to be every 6 months, April and Oct. I would use AI in Pembroke for 528e parts when I was in a hurry, no complaints. Their HQ is in Raynham. Quality parts for quality prices. I got the impression they were mostly catering to local garages, not so much DIYers
 
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First shop quoted $700. Needless to say, I booked it out of there with a quickness.

Indy's price didn't include an alignment. I had an alignment done last week anyway after I did the tie rods (toe was supremely jacked up). Camber & caster are non-adjustable on this car so if anything, the new LCA should bring everything into spec. Its rather odd the alignment shop didn't point out the the bad ball joint
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I called my mechanic and he said the LCA is from Beck/Arnley. Probably made in Taiwan but I trust it's better than most aftermarket junk out there.
 
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