98 GTV V6 - cost of lower control arm

[darkstar]

hi all,

wanted some views

have a 98 GTV V6, steering is pulling to one side a bit

mechanic says it needs a new front lower control arm; wants to charge me $490 for it, plus $270 labour. Not sure I trust the bloke.

of course, GTV bits are relatively expensive, but I just wanted to know if people reckon that sounds reasonable

also unsure about $270 labour, it might be reasonable, but then I'd have thought replacing a lower control arm is a pretty straightforward job

what do you reckon?

thanks for your thoughts

[wankski]

labour is fair... ship in the parts tho...

http://www.ebspares.co.uk/alfagtv/suspension.cfm

be warned shipping wont be cheap, maybe 60 quid... def replace right and left...

u looking at around AUD$220-50 for the pair to your door.

[darkstar]

thanks a lot for that

so looks like he's charging me about 4 times what he should for the part - don't trust this mob at all

trouble is, I've let him order the part in, no doubt they'll be pissed off if I now tell them I don't want them to do the work

guess I'll send them a 'please explain' email - he'll probably have some excuse, but I think I'll have to cancel on them. It's a bit ridiculous what they're charging me.

why would you replace both lower control arms, may I ask?

[darkstar]

oh, and one other thing, he initially said he might have to charge me $690 for the part, as it's been so long since he first ordered it (about 1.5 months ago), that the price might've changed (or something). But then he got back and said 'no', he'd give it to me for $490.

this is the same mob that charged me $228 for 10 litres of Castrol oil - when I told them you could get the stuff from Super Cheap Auto for $60 for 5 litres, they knocked about 40 bucks off, after trying to give me some rubbish excuses about why it cost them so much.

I'm not touching this mob with a barge pole ever again methinks

[wankski]

don't forget this is UK pricing vs AUS... stuff is expensive here... basically ATECO got us by the balls for OEM alfa stuff...

but yea- that oil pricing is a rort... who is this mob?

If you are trying to do it as cheap as possible, then sure u can get away with just replacing the problem arm.... but if you are aiming to keep the car a while, u can be sure if one is stuffed so is the other...

bit of an ordeal, so u may well just decide to do them as the crop up as issues (they all do eventually!)

shipping from UK is expensive for big heavy parts, (upper arms are alu, lowers aint!) i figured about 50 quid for shipping for a 40 quid part... both arms @ 80, would likely be around 65-70 quid from experience... soo...

but my rationale is based on parts cost only, with DIY fitment which changes things i s'pose...

sky is the limit if you decide you want to begin refreshing the suspension - if you were doing dampers all round i would def eject all arms.

[darkstar]

thanks again man; most helpful

think I'll PM you and tell you who this mob are...probably not a good idea to post the name here...I will say they're in Hawthorn

looks like I'd save a large wad of cash by ordering the bit/s from that site, but I do feel bad about cancelling on them after they've bought the part in. They're a Euro car specialist, but not an Alfa specialist, so it's very unlikely they'd be able to use a part for a GTV if I cancel on them...

[ANG156]

Try the spare place in adelaide aswell. Last price i heard was 350 each or even milano spares in thomastown. You may be able to negotiate a bit there as well.

[colcol]

The front control arms are the same for 932 series GTV's and 156's and 147's, so he should be able to use it for another customer, ALWAYS get prices locally and from England, Ireland, Greece, Italy as they all vary greatly and remember freight costs can be oh my god to thats ok, and ask the service places if its ok for you to supply the parts and they supply the labour, have a look at our service providors on the Alfa club web site, and have a chat to them, as i am sure they have done hundreds now and can do it with their eyes closed, Colin.

[Jekyll and Hyde]

The front control arms are the same for 932 series GTV's and 156's and 147's,

Incorrect.  Spider/GTV lower arms are different to 156/147, as is the rest of the suspension.

[colcol]

I stand corrected, but still always get qoutes, and don't always take the first option, Colin.

[wankski]

Spider/GTV lower arms are different to 156/147, as is the rest of the suspension.

true story... i kinda wished my lowers (156) were that cheap... 156/147 type is about 80 quid for a genuine unit.... but then i looked at the gtv/spider.. OMFG - the rear suspension arms are hideously expensive to replace... esp the rose jointed trailing arm (even from UK), which is rapidly becoming the only one available for all, regardless of 4 pot or 6...

good news is powerflex bushings exist for all the rears and there are no ball joint obviously to consider unlike the fronts... Just don't go damaging your arms!!

btw, the gtv/spider is typo 916....  only 156 and 147, and GT are in the 932 family w/ shared suspension, all on the same platform. (gt being basically a 147 complete w/ canbus)...

[darkstar]

just a note to thank you guys for all the advice. What did we do before the internet?

I've reached the conclusion that I'll let this mob do the job, but I'm gunna email 'em and ask if I can supply the part. Will give them some details of cost to me and where I sourced it too, methinks.

I'm never going back to them again though, they've lost me.

[colcol]

What did we do before the internet?, ran around like headless chooks and paid full price for everything because we owned Alfa Romeo's, sometimes the mechanics can only source the parts locally, because the customer wants it NOW, not in 2 weeks when it arrives from England, consider in the future, you supply the parts and your mechanic installs them, Colin.

[wankski]

if that were the case colcol, i would understand - but in reality UK is better all round... i've waited longer on parts from OZ!!!

last big order - i got my q2 in four days from england to my door.

really 

not to mention those guys are ultra competent...The guys in the UK know what service is about - know the product inside out, give good advice and check the orders before they go out at a fraction of the cost.

win-win.

[Steve S]

I got 2 aftermarket lower arms for my Fiat Coupe (same arms) from NZ. http://www.alfaparts.co.nz/