Fair price/labor time for replacing control arms/tie rods?
 

Hey guys,

I took my car in to get diagnosed/a quote for the suspension problems I've been having. I knew 100% my ball joints were bad, and was expecting that - but they also told me I need new outer tie rods. It's an independent shop. They quoted me 3 hours labor to install the 2 lower ball joints, 1.3 hrs labor to install the tie rods, and an alignment for $99.00. They charge $74.00/hour so the total for all the labor/alignment was $455.69 after taxes. I told them I would get the parts myself.

If anyone could let me know if I'm getting ripped off, or if this is a good price I would appreciate it.

get 101 projects for your boxster and do it yourself. the boxster suspension is not that difficult to work on. i will be doing that same job myself next spring.

In regards to the labor costs, $75 per hour is a pretty good hourly rate. Here in LA, many independent Porsche shops charge twice that.

And 4.3 hours of labor doesn't seem out of line either - its probably about a half-day job for a mechanic.

I agree, seems reasonable