sorka

Dealer wants $300 for just the fronts and that's just labor.
A local specialty lexus nissan shop I like wants $180 and I trust them a lot more than the dealer.
Sears wants $240.
Pep boys says $13.99 per shock front or rear. That's $28 in labor for just the front. The price is the same if I buy them there myself or bring my own in.

The conversation from there proceeded with me saying "are you sure?" I told him it's like an hour per side on the fronts. He responded by saying it was more like 1.5 hours per side but the total cost was still $13.99 per shock for labor!

Ponyboy

Buyer beware! You get what you pay for. I'd much prefer going to a Lexus independent.

sorka

Do you actually have some pertinent information that I should be aware of besides "buyer beware?"

djl

Sorka,

Possible confusion with installation rates for regular shocks, not coil-over struts. At $13.99 per side at 1 1/2 hours puts the labor rate at $9.33 per hour, I don't think so. It took me 5 - 6 hours to do all four struts by myself with simple spring compressors.

Good Luck and watch them carefully if you do decide to use them.

sorka

I know I know. At any rate, their labor rate wasn't quoted by the hour but by the make model and year of vehicle and the assurance from the service guy Chris at the Pep Boys in Merced that they've done pleanty of mid 90's SC400s and LS400s. The labor amount was for the total job. The quote for all for corners was $55.96 total.

Obviously if I use them I'll be watching them like a hawk the entire time.

djl

Sorka,

Let us know how you make out, that's one heck of a deal.

ScottURnot

iTrader: (33)

Took me 2 ½ hours to do all four! Fronts were a little tricky but I managed to figure out how to do them without total teardown

O’Reilly’s auto parts rents the spring compressor free! just put down a deposit and when you return it you get 100% back. Sounds like a sat morning project! DIY for a piece of mind, its not that tough.

Ponyboy

No. If you follow that mantra, it should do you well. Common sense.

siaxazn

i say let them do it that price is a steal. as long as you can supervise them doing it they can't do anything wrong.

SC400-V8

iTrader: (1)

Cannot possibly understand how the hell they arent going bankrupt by charging 13.99 a corner. That is REDICULOUSLY LOW. There is not way You could ever do all 4 corners of the car with less than 2-3 hours unless you had an army working with you.

siaxazn

not true its been done by many in 2-3 hours including myself. It will only take longer if you run into problems or if you dont have air tools. But if you have air tools and you know what your doing you can do it in 2 hours no problem. the rears take 20 minutes, and the fronts 40-50 minute a side.

legendary

if they are doing it that low - get it in writing....that is all I say...

hansjl

I'm faced with doing replacement soon and if you decide to use Pep Boys, PLEASE post your experience with them. Do you know what brands they carry for sale? Being as large as they are, I'd think the liability aspect on their part would say that they just wouldn't throw some dumb *** beginner at the job. I've used Pep Boys for some work on my old Nissan and they did a commendable job on the suspention work.

I'll look forward to hearing your experience. As for the get it in writing, they do give written estimates that I think they need to keep within 10% of.

Good Luck!!

sorka

At this point I'm just trying to decide if I should do them at all. The only reason so far is simply mileage. They don't appear to actually need replacing from anything I can tell.

hansjl

I'm thinking of doing mine based on what feels like a bottoming in the backend when I go slowly over bumps and the such. I just turned 110K on my SC400 from driving 17K a year and I really don't enjoy the rougher ride my 17's gave me when I switched.

I guess the old adage of "f it's not broke, don't fix it" might apply.