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Reasonable price for replacing all 4 ball joints

reardiff
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reardiff Enthusiast

reardiff

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What’s a reasonable price for replacing all four ball joints for a 2017 sierra 1500.  Local reputable shop quoted $2,400 for replacing all four control arms & ball with OEM parts.  Seems pretty steep to me, but they are OEM vs cheaper aftermarket and includes a 3 year 36k warranty. Does that sound high or reasonable?  

CamGTP Senior Enthusiast

CamGTP

Posted
Posted

Did they give you printed quote?

 

What are they charging just for the parts and what is their labor rate?

 

Labor rate and part mark up is going to a huge factor here. Some shops are $150 an hour and others might be $200. You can do some digging here pretty easy to see how much things are going for. You could call a local dealer to price control arms as a walk in customer, then see what they are charging you for the same part.

 

Around here at many independents if the part is $100, you get charged $200 with the markup.

 

Also OEM isn't a must do. Other parts like MOOG or Delphi make good parts too.

  • Like 2
Gregory Krisa Enthusiast

Gregory Krisa

Posted
Posted

I paid $975 for labor. I provided parts. It was another $145 for alignment as I had to go somewhere else for that. Some shops will just quote hourly per part. I did find two that did not. They knew what hourly to drop from the quote as there was going to be in their anyway. 

reardiff Enthusiast

reardiff

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Yes I got a printed quote. Labor is $1,275 (665 lower and 560 upper, both sides) and $1,060 parts ($150 each upper and $380 each lower). For OEM part prices seem within reason, from what im seeing, I’m just not sure how many  hours to divide the labor cost by.   They were pretty loose when they showed me so not doubting it needs done and glad I caught it now vs later but just trying to assess it that’s a reasonable price. It also includes an alignment. 

Edited by reardiff
CamGTP Senior Enthusiast

CamGTP

Posted
Posted

Assuming you have stamped steel control arms for both, I came up with around $750ish for OEM parts if I bought them online. MOOG parts were between $400 and $500 depending on which arms you went with.

 

So their prices for parts sounds about right with mark ups. Hard to say on labor rates. The upper arms probably only call for 1.0-1.5hr each, I don't have the Mitchel catalog here at home to check that. The lowers are a little more involved because the strut bolts to them and there is added labor time for that. My street math put them in that $180 an hour or so figure.

 

I'd call around to a few places just to see what others may charge. With non OEM parts and cheaper labor rates you could be in this thing for probably $500 less.

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted (edited)

The OEM arms carry a 2 year/Unlimited mileage warranty, not 3/36k.  Just FYI.  

 

That said, the ACDelco Gold upper arms they sell do have a limited lifetime warranty.  But they only offer the upper arms, not lowers in Gold.  

Edited by newdude
mikeyk101 Senior Enthusiast

mikeyk101

Posted
Posted (edited)

This topic is coming at the right time. I just had my oil changed at my regular dealership and in their inspection, they said the lower driver's side ball joint is starting to have some play and needs to be changed. I didn't get a quote in writing but was verbally told that it would be around $1200 to do but includes the alignment. Wow! I know it's going to cost me some money but based on what I'm seeing in this thread, that's sounds like way too much.

 

Would you agree? Also would it be cheaper overall to just have a new lower control arm with ball joint already installed be cheaper between the part and labor costs?

 

I had thought about doing the work myself but we still have several inches of snow on the ground with more on the way, arctic cold temperatures, and my garage just has no space to get the truck into it. So I would have to do it in the driveway. I just can't see myself doing it with all that going on. 

Edited by mikeyk101
KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, mikeyk101 said:

This topic is coming at the right time. I just had my oil changed at my regular dealership and in their inspection, they said the lower driver's side ball joint is starting to have some play and needs to be changed. I didn't get a quote in writing but was verbally told that it would be around $1200 to do but includes the alignment. Wow! I know it's going to cost me some money but based on what I'm seeing in this thread, that's sounds like way too much.

 

Would you agree? Also would it be cheaper overall to just have a new lower control arm with ball joint already installed be cheaper between the part and labor costs?

 

I had thought about doing the work myself but we still have several inches of snow on the ground with more on the way, arctic cold temperatures, and my garage just has no space to get the truck into it. So I would have to do it in the driveway. I just can't see myself doing it with all that going on. 

My first instinct would be to get a second opinion. I use the dealer because of their checklist. But I have found that they’re a little quick on the draw sometimes. You may have enough time to wait to do it yourself. There are times I use the dealer only for repairs. Front end work is straight forward regular auto shops would be experience in the work and cheaper. 

  • Like 1
mikeyk101 Senior Enthusiast

mikeyk101

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, KARNUT said:

My first instinct would be to get a second opinion. I use the dealer because of their checklist. But I have found that they’re a little quick on the draw sometimes. You may have enough time to wait to do it yourself. There are times I use the dealer only for repairs. Front end work is straight forward regular auto shops would be experience in the work and cheaper. 

 

I have an Indy shop about 2 blocks from my house that is very popular in the town so I will take your advice and reach out to them. And I agree on the checklist. Many times it is helpful. I always use the dealer for the oil changes as I found out a long time ago that it ends up not costing much more than doing it myself and is so much easier. And then there's a record so I can keep track. 

KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, mikeyk101 said:

 

I have an Indy shop about 2 blocks from my house that is very popular in the town so I will take your advice and reach out to them. And I agree on the checklist. Many times it is helpful. I always use the dealer for the oil changes as I found out a long time ago that it ends up not costing much more than doing it myself and is so much easier. And then there's a record so I can keep track. 

I don’t feel like crawling around under my vehicles anymore. So the check list is handy. They even take pictures of worn bushings. And the oil changes are reasonably priced. I go every other oil change only because you have to make an appointment. And they take awhile. I go to a valvoline quick lube the other. I vetted them before. I do my own cabin filters and air filters. 

  • Like 1
mikeyk101 Senior Enthusiast

mikeyk101

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, KARNUT said:

I don’t feel like crawling around under my vehicles anymore. So the check list is handy. They even take pictures of worn bushings. And the oil changes are reasonably priced. I go every other oil change only because you have to make an appointment. And they take awhile. I go to a valvoline quick lube the other. I vetted them before. I do my own cabin filters and air filters. 

 

Yes, I too take care of the cabin and air filters myself. Much cheaper and only takes a couple minutes. Same with wiper blades. This last time, they said the passenger wiper blade was torn and wanted to change it out. Nope, I'll check on that myself. I bought 2 new wiper blades on the way home. When I got around to checking the passenger blade, I couldn't see any tears which I thought was a bit strange. At least I am ready to change them when needed.

  • Like 1
  • 2 weeks later...
mikeyk101 Senior Enthusiast

mikeyk101

Posted
Posted

Quick update. I ended up taking the truck to a local Indy shop I trust 2 block from my place last week. They confirmed that the lower driver's side was bad and should be replaced. They also confirmed upper was ok as well as the upper and lower in passenger side were good. For the ball joint replacement and a front end alignment, it cost me $670 which was much more reasonable. 

 

I honestly don't notice any difference in handling but I figure that if 3 different places gave same diagnosis, it was going to need to be done sooner or later. At least I don't have to worry about it now.

  • Like 1

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