Hello everyone,

I have been told by a mechanic shop that it will be a little over $800 in order to replace both of the front upper control arms (parts and labor). Is this a fair price or is it way too high and if so, what would an alternate option be?

Thank you in advance!

 

Any reply with even the smallest bit of advice will be greatly helpful....thank you.

 

Each fr upper ca is 400+ usd and that's with CL discount from sewell. So i'd consider this offer a good deal. Just be sure they include new toyota parts.

 

First, I would get the quote you have broken into parts and labor costs. I would then go to Sewellparts and check on the prices for these parts shipped (with CL discount), likely lower than your parts quote cost. Next you could compare the labor rates with a local independent mechanic in the area to see if it is reasonable or not. Possibly you can buy the parts and the independent can just charge you his labor to install. Or just take the quote to local Toyota or lexus and ask if they will beat it for you. You have lots of options.

Personally I would either use my Lexus or Toyota dealer where I know the job will get done right and pay for the convenience premium. If I wanted to tackle the job myself (and I would in this case) I'd order the parts from Sewell and take the money I saved and buy beer for a year (maybe 2) to stock my garage fridge...

Good luck!

 

Wow, thank you very much for the quick responses!

 

Well, here's the pricing from partsouq. I've ordered 2 front air shocks and front LCA bushings from them. They are the genuine parts.

Toyota 4861059035 ARM ASSY, 46 269.01$ 1

Toyota 4863059035 ARM ASSY, 45 269.01$ 1

Delivery by International Priority (3-7 days) (Price: 46.66$)

4861059035 1 269.01$
4863059035 1 269.01$
Items total: 538.02$
Shipping total (FedEx): 46.66$
Price total: 584.68$

Add Customs 10%

The shipping is to my location in SoCal.
Max cost of parts is 630, lowest is 600 or so. Cheaper than sewellparts (411.70 x2) + Shipping.

The parts are for the regular non-sport UCA's.

My local mechanic would install for $100 labor or so.

So around $700-730 if I were needing this job done.

 

What's wrong with the arms you currently have on the car? Are the bushings worn? If so, what symptom is your car presenting?

 

I would be wary about the recommendation that they need to be replaced, did you go into the shop with a specific issue, or was it something like you got your oil changed and they recommended it?

The issue with the price is, if it was at a Lexus dealership, $800 would make sense. But I doubt an independent shop is using Lexus OEM parts, and you can buy aftermarket upper control arms for around $50-$70 a piece, I would bet money that's what most shops would use, in which case they're charging you about $700 for labor.

FWIW, looking at at my car's records, I'm on my original upper control arms and I have just under 150k miles and they show no sign they need to be replaced.