I was told i needed to replace my lower ball joints on my 1998 bmw 328i any idea how much it should cost?

Question

When i went to meineke they told me i needed to replace the lower ball joint on both sides of the front. They said its $289.99 for each joint but i know bmw site where i have bought parts in the past and it says they cost $31.95 each. are they trying to rip me off or what? or is the part im looking at possibly something else? there estimate was $900 when my friend told me it should only cost about $300-350 tops

Answer 1

yep its a good possibility the shop is trying to make you a sucker.  

The joints are about 28 to 50 bucks depending on the brand.  Its not to tuff to remove and replace them(they are a press fit).  I do the job for just under 300 for both sides.    

Answer 2

One place you can use to do price checking on car repairs is on Driverside.com - you can drill down to specific cars like a bmw 328 cause I think the price will change based on the car. They are still in beta but they have a ton of data on what car parts and repairs should cost. I used them for my last repair.

Answer 3

Well Its all about the labor.  ask how much they charge per labor hour.  its probably 75 dollars.  Anytime you get your ball joint replaced you will also need a front end alignment as well.  No.. thats about the right price for lower ball joints.. the lower ball joint for my car costs 25.99 with a lifetime warranty.  Theres other things they have to do most likely to replace the ball joint.. they might have to take the control arms off because you need a few special tools to replace the ball joint... unless its the kind thats welded onto the control arm.. and in that case you'll just have to replace that.   900 sounds a little too much to me.. even by their high prices it shouldnt be anymore than 700.  ask if you can get an itemized statement on that estimate.

Answer 4

Ask for a break down on the parts.  If they have to replace the control arms which is where the lower ball joints are found then they aren't that high on their estimate.   And it will need to be realigned as well.

I can get the parts needed to do the upper/lower ball joints and control arms for the $300/$350 price range but you'll need a buddy willing to work for beer and pizza to do the job if you can't do it yourself.

Good luck

RoyG

KC