replace left side strut assembly (faulty Strut SPRING) $873.00 (this is the side that’s already broken)
replace right side SPRING on strut $435.00
replace sway bar links $245.00
This is a 13 year old Honda Odyssey minivan. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Spamela
In my opinion yes it’s over priced. Keep lookin around. On my camry an estimate four all four struts and springs was around, &1100, so I did them myself for around $650.
Offhand, the price sounds a bit high but that could also depend upon who is doing the work, if the parts are dealer provided, and what part of the country you’re in.
The biggest problem I see with this is that someone is apparently recommending a spring only replacement on one side while reusing a 13 year old strut. The entire strut should be changed.
The advice about spring only on one side is ill advised in polite terms; pretty darned stupid in cruder terms.
My suggestion is to go elsewhere based on the process alone.
For comparison here is the entire strut with a spring attached. Yours could be replaced in less than an hour in the driveway with common tools but require an alignment when completed. A shop would likely charge from $250 to $300 for a part costing them $175.
So from my point of view the estimate you got is quite pricey.
Rock auto has moog strut assy’s for $120 each. Their econo versions are $85. I bet autzone has them for $179? Install should be 1 hr? Platinum alignment is $99?
Where are you? Geography alone plays a big part in the price of a repair, much like anything else you buy. Labor rates vary greatly, from $80-$100 per billed hour to $150 depending on where you are. Dealership parts often cost more (but not always) than what you’ll get at an independent shop.
Look at it this way, a plain 1400 square foot 3 bedroom house in a decent suburban neighborhood is a bargain at $300,000 in the Seattle area, but ridiculously high somewhere in Iowa.
Thank you for your replies. We were able to get some discount - it’s a dealership - but went ahead with the overpriced work on the side that’s already broken. The car would have had to be towed to another garage otherwise, and we haven’t found one we trust in our area yet.
We are located in North Jersey within an hour of NYC, so I’d expect prices to be high, just not as high as 800+ for one strut & spring. I looked it up on repair pal(?) and it said $250-$340 for my region, but the dealership insisted that the higher price is what it costs.
You should NEVER take a 13 year old vehicle to a dealership for repairs…How many miles on this vehicle? Any front-end shop could have done these repairs and saved you some money…This is just nuts and bolts parts changing…
Honda OEM parts at the dealer are higher priced. Also, you cannot use Repairpal as gospel just like CarMD and others. There’s a lot they can’t and don’t account for.
Odds are the dealer cost on one strut is higher than the retail price of any aftermarket part.
The big issue to me is why someone would install a new strut assembly on one side and reuse the 13 year old strut on the other side after installing a new spring on it at great expense.
That’s very misguided to put it in polite terms.
I wondered the same thing as OK4450.
I also agree with caddyman that a 13 year old Honda should be in the care of an independent shop rather that the dealership. IMHO you’ll get much more reasonable prices and much better evaluations of what needs to be done and what doesn’t.
Regarding the question of doing it yourself using “quick struts”, I’d get a manual and read it carefully before considering doing so. The bolts that secure the strut to the steering knuckle are socked on tightly, and while a shop with a lift and a strong compressor with a high powered impact wrench can get them off easily, you need to be sure you’re physically able before trying it in the driveway. I chose to pay rather than lie on cardboard struggling with that problem. And you will need a torque wrench to properly install the new holding bolts.
Quick struts is the way to go in view of the car’s age. I would go to Midas or similar shop for this kind of work. Suspension work at a dealer is normally twice as expensive as a non-dealer shop.
I’ve had one front strut replaced, and a few years later had one rear strut replaced (factory units) and had no subsequent problems.
It does seem a bit overpriced, but not to the extreme, being this is done at a dealership and with OEM parts. Also there may be complications they have to deal with, adding labor hours, due to the one strut/spring having completely broken. And I’m assuming this price includes an alignment. So overall, the price might be a tad high, but if they do good work, nothing to lose sleep over.
I concur with the advice above, going forward ask friends, relatives, coworkers etc to secure an inde shop for this type of work on a 13 year old car. Dealership shops are set up to focus on doing warranty work, and that is done mostly on newer cars.
If it were my car I’d have wanted the struts and springs on both sides replaced with new units, so they match in springy-ness and damping. To save money I’d probably have purchased non-OEM versions, per recommendations here. Otherwise I’d be worried handling problems could ensue in emergency situations.
@Caddyman
Never is a strong word. I have reported why I go to the Toyota dealer for my 2002 Sienna. In the McAllen area it is hard to find a good mechanic.
They exist, but are so swamped that they expect you to leave your car until they get to you. We do not have a second car nor does my wife drive.
Also, we don’t have a lot of repairs anyway. It has been a good car. And the dealer does not try to sell me rebuilt parts while claiming they are as good as new but cheaper – the usual line of nonsense used by those who try to convert our cars to junk with rebuilt parts.
In this case, I would look hard and long after market for a cheaper repair as most have indicated. The costs of OEM parts that are no better on a 13 year old car can be had. If a car model is new and the aftermarket has not caught up with new parts…I might not agree. But, strut work is in the realm of the older car and there is plenty of good stuff out there for this relatively simple repair that does not need dealer specific knowledge on a special car. Hondas have been around long enough.
Besides, at least as far as stuts and shocks, after market Can be better. Heck, my truck advertises they use aftermarket (Bilstein ) and not OEM manufactured brand shocks. They are like tires and batteries and good is available everywhere.
After reading some of the replies here we had only the necessary repair done (it wasn’t driveable), which was still overpriced, and saved the rest of the work for another shop. I was surprised to see Midas recommended though - as of 8 or 10 years ago it was buyer beware on such places and I’ve never gone to one.
Now that we have Honda parts on one side is there any harm in getting another brand on the other side? If we need to use Honda parts, can any mechanic get those or do we need to find a mechanic who specializes in Hondas? It seems that American cars are built from foreign parts anyway, so are the days of foreign car specialists over?
Personally, I would not mix and match different brands of struts on the same axle
What I mean is this . . . while it may be okay to have honda in the back and kyb in the front, I wouldn’t recommend honda on the left front and kyb on the right front
Yes, any mechanic can get and install honda parts for you. However, they will mark up the price of the parts. That is the nature of the business. Any shop will want to make a fair profit on the parts, also
Agreed with db4690; it’s a mistake to mix and match from side to side.
Concur with both db and ok above, Honda on one side means the exact same Honda part on the other. Either your next shop can get it, or , if you want you can buy the part yourself at a Honda dealership parts department. Generally it will be less expensive overall to let your inde shop secure the part. Glad you got your vehicle back on the road. Happy New Years.
I think it needs to be distinguished between replacing stuts and shocks whose equalized performance is indeed a worth while consideration. If instead, you are replacing “solid” components like links or components that are not active in the same way as struts and where an adjustment can equalize it with the other side…then Imo, you can use different then OEM brands. A competent independent can easily make that determination.