A local shop in our small town recently told my husband his front wheel bearings needed to be replaced at a cost of 1300$. “Well, lets just trade in the car and get another one.” The nearest dealer to us is 2.5 hours away by rural interstate. If we drive slow, and i follow behind him, can we drive this thing? The shop several weeks ago “mentioned” the bearings but didn’t insist that he fix them. They also got paid 500$ to fix a rattle that never was fixed. Not a lot of confidence but need to trade this junker in. Any help?
Phone around (cheaper than driving) to other (closest) repair shops for more opinions/estimates. You do not need to go to a dealership for this repair.
A proper diagnosis is needed to verify if the wheel bearings do in fact need replacing.
IF the bearings are at the disintegration point, it won’t be safe to drive so…
Although this may not be possible, ask if the shop you phone has someone who can pay a house call. (Offer to pay for his time or gas)
Having the vehicle towed will be expensive and driving it may be hazardous.
If you really want to get rid of the vehicle try and sell it (or trade it in and take a big loss), BUT, be totally honest up front with any prospective buyer that there IS possible wheel bearing damage and also that it MAY not be safe to drive.
When you were driving it could you hear a ‘roaring’ type noise when you accelerated? If so, then yes you could very well have worn wheel bearing(s).
Although the shop only ‘mentioned’ the bearings, you really shouldn’t have let it go to this worry point.
Oh, by the way, I wouldn’t be in any hurry to go back to that last shop.
Just my curious nature, but what did (does) the rattle sound like? Engine running/vehicle at idle/ vehicle moving?
The rattle is like the exhaust pipe or some metal part on the underside of the car is loose. (not all the time, just at certain rpm/vibrations). I will talk with my husband about going to a local shop (not the dealer here) and have them give it a look over to see. My husband is a very intense and often paranoid/pessimistic person…so our worry may be manufactured somewhat. I think having another person look at it sounds like a good idea.
thanks
The rattle IF indeed IS coming from under the vehicle MAY be a loose or rusted catalytic converter heat shield.
Usually these are either spot welded on or are clamped on. Whatever, having this heat protection is vital to keep excessive heat away from the cabin floor.
Either you misunderstood the diagnosis or this guy is not one to deal with. I don’t know how many miles but at that price I think they mean front tranaxle bearings
I’ll second Roadrunner. It sounds like a heat shield problem and this is often an easy fix.
Hit a muffler shop up for an opinion on this.
Heard "his front wheel bearings needed to be replaced at a cost of 1300$. " The rattle is secondary. Standing by front transaxle bearings for which 1300 is a reasonable price.
I misread this and associated this rattle with the bearing diagnosis.
Maybe the OP will post back and provide some info about the exact symptoms of the bearings and how this diagnosis came to be.
I don’t think you misread it OK, there are two separate issues.
Possible bearing noise is the main issue and the rattle secondary.