powersurge
Well-known member
coleafrado said:Thanks again for the advice, all. I've been extraordinarily busy with job applications and haven't had time to respond.
It's possible the broken axle is my fault. I remember asking the tow truck driver to put the car into park (rather than neutral) after he lifted it onto his truck. With the control arm being broken, and the car having been deposited nose-first onto a not-quite-level spot at the dealer, it's entirely possible that the weight of the car on the axle (and motor lock) during the tow and drop-off snapped the axle. Lesson learned for me - get to a shop, or at least a parking space, as soon as you hear funny noises from the suspension.
Here's the current service schedule:
- Lower control arm replacement ($325 labor) and parts ($250, could have been $100 aftermarket) (finished - they had to do this in the parking space as suspension was inoperable)
- Driver side axle removal and replacement ($400 labor) and parts ($80, could have been $850 if I went OEM) (waiting on UPS)
- Steering alignment ($150) (waiting on axle)
- Total with tax: ~$1300.
There's a pretty good chance my battery drops a fourth bar in the next month or two, so I'm holding out for the slight possibility I may get a discounted replacement battery. This has been one of the most forthright dealerships I've been to - nothing at all shady about them, IMO. I've had no complains before and I don't see myself complaining about this repair.
My options for "optimizing cost" amount to a potential $150 savings on parts and maybe $200-300 savings on labor, minus $150-200 cost for a tow. AAA only covers tows to repair shops, not between them. It would be nice to have mechanics for $50/hr around here, but that's just not the reality. The best I could have possibly done is maybe $850 total. $500 just isn't possible unless I do the work myself or buy rusty parts from eBay.
Consider that I was variously quoted circa $3500 for struts & axle & control arm replacements and an alignment. (The struts are fine right now, but I'll replace them in a month or so when I have free time.)
Good luck with your adventure. Please keep up informed and feel free to ask questions....
I am sure that some of us will have honest opinions with your repair questions..