Took my 2004 Honda CRV 2W Drive to my local Charlotte NC dealer for the 90K maintenance. There they recommended for me to replace the front shocks strut assembly–not quite remembering the reason but they told me that it needs to get done. The dealer gave me an estimate of $460+ dollars. Before I get the work done, I am trying to find as much info on pricing and what next steps to take.Any experience dealing with this?Any guidance?
First, you need to find a mechanic that’ll do this for less $$, no need to use a dealer. Are you noticing any problems in how it drives?
Thanks so much for your advice. To answer your question, I’m not noticing any issues. Drives just fine.
$460.00 for fronts and if it included a 4 wheel alignment could be a “just passable” price based upon what type of shock insert they wanted to put in. $460.00 for the cheapest insert (for your type of suspension the replacement shock is called an “insert”, most often than not), and no alignment would not be a good deal. Since I am not involved with the day to day pricing anymore, perhaps I will be suprised (meaning how expensive these jobs are now).Dealer will be high of not highest price for this low technical level job.
You would have to be pretty rough on your suspension to need struts this early. I think this is a case of a service writer, not a certified mechanic, trying to sell you something. I don’t know if service writers work on commission or not but it is more of a sales job than a repair type job.
The cost is about right, I just seriously doubt the need. Check your tires for abnormal wear patterns. Bounce the front end up and down and see how long it takes for the vehicle to stop bouncing when you do. It should come back to its normal height and stop with no more than a little shaking. If it doesn’t pass the bounce test or your tires are showing abnormal wear, then it may need struts.
This is why I stay away from dealers (unless they’re doing work under warranty.)
That’s about the going rate at the dealers where I live. Independent shops can usually do it cheaper.
I agree with Keith that if there’s no abnormal tire wear, no handling or ride issues, and it returns to null when you do the “bounce test” (not by itself a definitive test), than you probably don’t need struts. But don’t be too hard on the dealer; there are lots of them who recommend replacements for all vehicles over 60,000 miles. This number comes from the shock/strut manufacturers. Go figure.
At 7 years of age and 90k miles it’s certainly quite possible the struts need to be replaced. The price quoted is pretty fair also.
Keep in mind that sometimes with McPherson struts determining their worthiness is kind of a judgement call.
Some that are flat out gone will be very noticeable of course with a pogo ride. Others are in the middle and sometimes it may require diassembly of the strut to really determine how bad it is. Of course, if you’re at that point you might as well replace them.
Sometimes the act of raising a vehicle with a service lift off of the shop floor may screw up an aged strut. It’s nobody’s fault; just an unfortunate mechanical fact of life.
Thanks all for the feedback. Truly appreciate it. I will keep y’all posted. Again, thanks!
Quote from keith: “I don’t know if service writers work on commission or not…” Unquote
I recently saw it on another site that some do.
Finally got this done; found a mechanic that did the work, plus parts for $320. Add $90 (including tax) for the realignment. Total $410. Before taking the car to this mechanic, I got various estimates, ranging from $530 to $700. From this experience, definitely recommend going to different places and get estimates. Again, thanks for all the suggestions.