I had a diagostic test taken by Toyota and they told me I needed new front Stuts in September and an alignment at that time as well. My question is do I need to use the Toyota struts as they are 175.00 each. I am a woman and am clueless. Thank you for your help!
A.Hara
What year and miles?
1999 Toyota Camry with 91,000 miles
You do NOT have to use Toyota struts. First off Toyota doesn’t make struts. They are made for them by a shock/strut manufacturer. Should be able to find good aftermarket shocks at a far better price then the dealer.
Koni and KYB are a couple of the OEM strut/shock manufacturer Toyota uses. If you stick with either of those you’ll be fine.
Also knowing the year/model and mileage would help us to help you.
Have you noticed any handling problems? Lots of lean in corners, repeated bobbing after going over a bump? While you might need struts (and if you get them you’ll need an alignment), if you have noticed no problems then it might not be necessary. Also, you don’t need Toyota parts, any good mechanic can do this, you don’t want to do it at the dealer.
Also, I would definitly get a second opinion, it’s easy for a shop to claim they’re needed (that happened to my wife).
You can use any aftermarket struts that fit your car. Best thing to do is use an independent suspension repair/tire shop to do this kind of work. You will save quite a bit compared to the dealer. At 91K miles, replacing the front struts is not all that unusual.
You might ask about parts warranty. I tend to purchase lifetime guaranteed parts from vendors like Monroe for this kind of work. The Toyota parts, expensive as they are, may not have a similar warranty. If the part actually fails in the future, you pay only labor for the re-do, because the part is exchanged for free.
You can also save by finding and using a good independent mechanic. Use friends/family recommendations or Mechanics files on Car Talk home page to identify some good ones. There is literally no reason to use the dealer and pay his higher prices.
No Handling problems thius far. I am fine getting new stuts and will give the names of mfg. that make Toyota’s as another reader suggested. I just do not want to be ripped off, as woman usually are. Thank you for your advice
Thank you all soooo much, I feel better knowing I can get this done with my Aamco guy. I so appreciate your help:)
I feel better knowing I can get this done with my Aamco guy
While your Aamco guy may be great, the majority are not. They, and most all chain operations, are known for poor work and doing work not needed.
what or who do you suggest???
Check out the mechanics file on this site for recommendations in your area.