Is $5,500 a reasonable price to replace front upper & lower control arms? I drive an LS 460 with 95,000 miles on it. Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

No, it is a total rip off but that is what is going to happen every time you take your Lexus to the dealership. Once you are out of warranty, avoid the dealerships as much as you can. How many control arms need replacing? Go aftermarket and order them and then call around at independent shops to see how much they charge to replace them.

 

People seem to swear by the Rock Auto ones... I think all the parts are around $600-700 and a smaller shop will charge $300-600 to install. So under $1500 compared to the dealer... Do some searching here, lots of topics on this subject.

 

Parts alone are about 450-500. I bought all 8 off Rockauto and 50k miles later, they're still going strong. They're really not that hard to install nor does it take that much time. 5500 is highway robbery.

 

What year is your LS?

 

It's a 2008. Probably worth about $10,000 as a trade-in. That's why I question spending $5,500 on new control arms. Unfortunately, my husband isn't handy, and the only time we used an independent repair shop instead of a dealer, we think we got ripped off. The mechanic told us he had installed new control arms (charged us around $2,000), but the dealer told us the guy had installed only a new strut (struts?). Unfortunately, people like us who aren't handy with cars are at the mercy of dealers who charge too much or independents who may not be honest. Aaaaaarrgh! .

 

do you have the receipt from the shop? I would report that or let them know they forgot to finish the job.

 

If that was the case the place basically stole your money. Did you take the car back to the independent and tell them to do what I paid you to do? Have the Lexus dealership document that the control arms were never replaced and they are damaged and have the Lexus dealership show you how they came to that conclusion and then use that to make the independent do the work you paid them to do. Threaten to sue the independent if they won't budge, file BBB report, trash them all over online, etc. Don't let them get away with it.

Just because your husband is not that handy does not mean in your case he still should not try to learn how to do it and give it a shot. Is it really worth losing over $7000(2000 for original repair then another $5500 the Lexus dealership is going to rip you off for.) for him not to bother learning how to do it himself and getting some basic tools?

 

 

Yeah, the idea that "anybody" can DIY this with some "basic tools" is absurd LOL

I agree, can you get any sort of referrals from friends or family about shops? Yelp?

 

We live in the western suburbs of Chicago. A friend of ours who is good with things mechanical (cars, motorcycles, etc.) has recommended Lang's Auto Service in Downers Grove. Lang's Yelp ratings are to die for. So we're going to try them. Will let you know what they advise. Many thanks!

 

Yeah bro

That is a lot of money on a car that is not even worth that much anymore to waste on shops that are obviously ripping them off/not doing the work to not even try to watch some videos, read some manuals and try to see if you could possibly do it yourself with aftermarket parts saving a ton of money. Yes it will be a PIA and this should not be such a common issue on a car that should have been properly engineered. Changing suspension parts can be surprisingly easy to a frustrating PIA but most of it is not impossible for people willing to buy some tools and learn how to do it even if you are not that handy. It is not like it is a engine/transmission removal/teardown that I don't think I would want to try and it is not like it is just a few hundred dollars out of their pocket, it is likely a significant portion of their income/savings.

I am not the most handiest person, never took a shop class, never took any classes in automotive or electronics yet by following some simple instructions which are everywhere online I have learned to change oil, trans fluid, brake pads, discs, brake fluid, hood struts, change motor mounts, change suspension pieces, paint body panels, change accessory belts, change pulley's, etc. I have also learned to take my entire laptop apart to change out motherboards, cpu, etc, change/piggyback harddrives in desktops, clean/disassemble carburetors, install after market speakers in my car, replace hoses and lines in a weedwacker, re blue a rifle that had rusted, assemble a AR15 lower all of which I had zero experience or knowledge of doing and seemed like a daunting task at first, I had issues along the way, some infuriating but got it done. I had no natural ability to do any of those things, they were all done with simple tools and a simple set of instructions and just giving it a shot.

 

Not everybody has the time or inclination to do DIY work on their vehicle.

Time is money, and your time is worth a certain amount of money.

 

Then that is the big question, is the time to DIY, which is probably a couple hours to a weekend going to be worth over $5500 in repairs if they get it done at the Lexus dealership or risking getting done at shop they don't know/trust, they already got burned once.

 

But you're also assuming that the person has the aptitude to DIY. Not just anybody can do these types of repairs, not everybody has the space, not everybody has the tools.

Even at my poorest, I never would have done a repair like this myself.