I have a 92 volvo 940gl and i need to replace the right front ball joint, the garage is trying to charge me $100 to replace it when I have the new one it just needs to be replaced. does this sound fair to anyone?

 

I would believe that the job takes between a 1/2 hour to an hour to do. So if the rate is $100 an hr then this is where he's coming up with the number. What is his hourly rate?

 

$45.00 an hour. I have the new ball joint already.

 

I checked our labor guide here at work. 1 hour labor although dealer warranty time is considerably less. Keep in mind, our labor rate is $80 an hour. I believe you have located a shop that low ***** their labor rate and then obviously, doubles the time involved. Honestly, I do not see how anyone could stay open in this day and time on $45 an hour unless they work out of their truck and in your driveway. $100 labor is fair...I would rather see $75-80...but $100 is not out of the question these days when a tank of gas costs nearly $50.

 

would a bad ball joint cause a clunking sound when you shake the front tire side to side by hand or is that a bad tie rod?

 

Most likely a bad inner or outer tie rod. With the car on jack stands or a lift, have someone wiggle the tire back and forth and watch where the motion on the rack assembly stops. In other words, half will move but where it connects will not. That's the one that's bad. Outers wear faster but after this many years, they can all be shot.