My thrifty college aged son was told by a Kia dealership that it will cost him over $400 to replace broken sway bar end links. Why so expensive for such a minor part?
Why not have him take the car to a well-reputed independent mechanic for an evaluation?
If the end links really do need to be replaced, an indy place will likely charge far less, due to their lower overhead and lower labor costs.
That price is not out of line given labor and the source(dealer).
If you don;t like price find an independent shop.
Sway bar end links are a critical piece to safety and not “minor”.
He goes to college out of state and does not know a reputable repair shop
Have him shop around for the best price then. While sway bar links are important, they are also hard to screw up in replacement. I would even consider a national chain, just don’t get sucked into other repairs if they are not necessary.
It’s about time he finds one, Mom…If there is a NAPA auto-parts store in town, suggest he visits with the counter people and ask THEM who they might recomend. They see it all…While there, he might price the sway-bar mounting link’s. For most cars, they are $20-$30 and are a fairly simple Do-It-Yourself project. Usually, this is 4 bolts and half an hour.
We COULD move on to ask how the link’s got broken to begin with, but we will let you ask that question first…