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Car Help: $3,000 for new struts on 1998 Camry?

post #1 of 36
2/20/10 at 1:18pm
Thread Starter 
I took my car into Midas for some work several months ago, and they also did an inspection which said my front and back struts are leaking and it would cost $3,000 to replace. I ignored it at the time, and have noticed no ill effects driving around on it daily for the last 5 months. 1) Is this a reasonable price? It sounds astronomical to me, but I really don't know much about cars 2) What will happen if I do nothing?
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post #2 of 36
2/20/10 at 1:24pm
Sounds high but I don't know anything about the pricing of struts. Seems like they might cost more than the value of the car.
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post #3 of 36
2/20/10 at 1:45pm
http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/mm...uts~parts.html. Perhaps there is some labour cost hidden in that figure?

By the way, I've driven with poorly working shock absorbers. And it was a smooooth ride. Of course the Camry may very well be Americanised and already drive as smooth....
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post #4 of 36
2/20/10 at 1:56pm
NO that is ridiculous. My Miata has full on racing shocks from Japan and it cost less than that!

New struts should run $200-400 unless you want exotic stuff. Labor should be no more than 4 hours, I have seen guys install struts in a parking lot with hand tools in an hour... 4 hours is standard labor at any shop for this kind of work.

IOW, anything over a grand is a total ripoff for this car/setup.



Please go elsewhere!!! I would suggest finding a good local mechanic and supply your own struts - there are tons of online sources for you like
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post #5 of 36
2/20/10 at 1:59pm
Get your car inspected at an independent shop. Don't tell them anything just see what they think. By doing that you will see how aggressive the shop is at selling work that you might not necessarily need. If they also feel you need new struts get their estimate and see how it fares against the midas estimate. +1 for Icehawks above post. I needed new tired for my jeep. My local jeep dealership wanted an arm and a leg for tires, balancing, and installation so instead, I bought the tires online, had them delivered to the dealership and only paid for the labor and balancing saving a few hundred bucks.
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post #6 of 36
2/20/10 at 1:59pm
Arg, double post - here are my additional thoughts though on safety:

As for safety, my opinion is that handling is an important part so I'm all about working shocks. The problem with leaking shocks is they can lose all their fluid or lockup, either causing unpleasant and potentially dangerous handling consequences.
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post #7 of 36
2/20/10 at 2:07pm
Midas is notorious for rip offs.

A few years ago I had a Toyota and I bought new tires for it at Discount Tire.

They gave me a coupon for a free alignment at the local MIdas.

I took it there and they told me they couldn't align it. I asked why. They said it needed front wheel bearings. I asked them how much that would be. They said "only" $1,250 but the alignment would still be free.

I took it to a local independent mechanic I trusted. He said the bearings were a little loose but wouldn't need replacement anytime soon. He then did an alignment for $35!

To make matters worse, I asked him how much he would have charged for replacing the wheel bearings. He said about $300-400!

Midas is absolutely notorious for ripping people off. See here.
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post #8 of 36
2/20/10 at 2:12pm
wow. fuck that place. new struts/shocks will run you about $400-500 i think. if you really think about, a 10+ year old camry would sell for less than 10K depending on miles, features, etc., so someone telling you to pay 30+% for something so trivial (ie. not transmission, engine, etc.) would be an immediate red flag
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post #9 of 36
2/20/10 at 2:14pm
Yeah, thats a rip off

strut work is easy so long as you have a strut compressor handy

The toyota dealership should be able to beat that estimate by a ton...and that's saying something (ooh maybe you could play into their whole "rebuilding the corporate image" thing after the pedal failures and get a discount)
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post #10 of 36
2/20/10 at 2:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Icehawk View Post
NO that is ridiculous. My Miata has full on racing shocks from Japan and it cost less than that!

New struts should run $200-400 unless you want exotic stuff. Labor should be no more than 4 hours, I have seen guys install struts in a parking lot with hand tools in an hour... 4 hours is standard labor at any shop for this kind of work.

IOW, anything over a grand is a total ripoff for this car/setup.



Please go elsewhere!!! I would suggest finding a good local mechanic and supply your own struts - there are tons of online sources for you like

I agree with this.

Though I have to wonder if its worth replacing struts on a 98 Camry, might be better off replacing the car.

Once its roadworthy again how long until it needs more maintenance.
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post #11 of 36
2/20/10 at 2:37pm
Struts for your car cost under 300 new and no more than 240 for labor. You can even go to a local auto parts store like autozone and order your struts, then take them to any indy shop for installation. It should cost you about 60 bucks per side or less for installation. 3000 bucks is probably what your car is worth on the used car market.
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post #12 of 36
2/20/10 at 2:58pm
I just checked autozone.com. You can get new pre-assembled front struts for 215 a corner and the rears are 180 a corner.

In general, rears are more difficult to swap, fasteners are sometimes hidden inside the trunk. Fronts are easy, remove the wheel, remove somewhere less than 10 fasteners usually, and swap, since they are pre-assembled, no springs to compress, no loading the dampers into the strut housings, rebuilding the mounts, etc. EASY

I'm not a pro, but I could do it in a day if I had plenty of cold beer.

Someone focused and on the clock would probably take 2 or 3 hours. No idea what the labor rate is at your dealership, but even if they charge you 5 hours at 200/hr, you still come out ahead over using Midas.
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post #13 of 36
2/20/10 at 3:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba View Post
I agree with this.

Though I have to wonder if its worth replacing struts on a 98 Camry, might be better off replacing the car.

Once its roadworthy again how long until it needs more maintenance.

Seriously? It's a Toyota. The scare going on right now is about as lame as the Audi one from the '80s and has nothing to do with the actual reliability of the make. For under $1k he'll have a car that feels like new vs spending $20-30k for a new replacement? I don't get that logic.

I own two Japanese cars over 10yrs old currently and they run perfectly and don't cost me anything in repairs. I do have to spend money on expendables like brakes, tires, shocks and so on. The key here being they are Japanese and not German or American cars.
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post #14 of 36
2/20/10 at 3:12pm
Edit: Duh, 1998 Camry. But you do need to state the model trim & engine size. What I usually do is buy the parts myself at a discount then take them to my mechanic (in the case of shocks & struts, that's something I can do myself) and let him know what I need done then hand him the parts. If they know that you know what needs to be done and think you have an idea of the cost, they're less likely to fleece you. Midas is [a franchise and therefore] a ripoff by far. FYI, Partstrain has them for $50-$75 each side (rear). So figure $150 for parts. Labor should be right around $150 and you can go to any indy as chances are evryone and their mother has worked on a Camry.
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post #15 of 36
2/20/10 at 6:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Icehawk View Post
Seriously? It's a Toyota. The scare going on right now is about as lame as the Audi one from the '80s and has nothing to do with the actual reliability of the make. For under $1k he'll have a car that feels like new vs spending $20-30k for a new replacement? I don't get that logic.

I own two Japanese cars over 10yrs old currently and they run perfectly and don't cost me anything in repairs. I do have to spend money on expendables like brakes, tires, shocks and so on. The key here being they are Japanese and not German or American cars.

You dont need to rip me for suggesting that he may well be wasting his time putting money into an older car. My statement had nothing to do with the 'toyota scare' happening right now, I have no idea why you jumped to that conclusion there was no indication of it in my poast.
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