So I went to volvo repair shop to get SRS light looked at, turns out I have a short in the drivers side airbag, while there I got them to look at front end cause its loose. I need inner/ outer tie rod, lower control arm and struts. They priced it for parts alone 1200. So I go home and call advance auto, picked up all parts for 400, that includes wires and dist cap. Took the good 1/2 of a day only cause I've never done front end work. But it's back together, got an alignment and it runs like a new car. I never got them to fix airbag, figure I'll get around to that myself. Couldnt believe the amount of money these guys were gonna charge me tho. Saved a bundle AND I'm with gico,lol.

 

You saved a bundle because all of the parts you got were aftermarket, which means they won't last nearly as long as oem, ESPECIALLY the control arms, aftermarket control arms for these cars never last. Last pair of cheap control arms I had lasted me no more than 8 months until I had side to side play in my wheel. aftermarket out-tie rod ends are OK, not sure about aftermarket inner tie rod ends, but just remember, any time you replace your tie rod ends or control arms, you need another alignment. Not trying to burst your bubble, you may have saved a ton now, but in the long run, you may have cost yourself more. Suspension is one thing I do NOT go aftermarket for anymore.

But props to you for doing it yourself, that's always where you will save the most amount of money.

 

For aftermarket parts I found a place called scantech. They only deal with volvo and Saab parts! You can find them on the Internet. Dorman is the father company they bring the parts in. Check with your local aftermarket dealer to see if they can get Dorman parts. Look up the part numbers yourself and save time! Just a little help from a new guy! I do still agree factory parts can not be duplicated but scantech is as close, they have 1 part number and give you another option for a cheaper one if you so choose! As the old saying goes you get what you pay for! My 2 cents.

 

FCGroton sells aftermarket control arms so are you saying they are crap as well!! How about all the aftermarket folks that sell master cylinders, rotors, Brake pads, Power streering racks, after market wires and plugs are they all crap too!! I could go on and on. Seems kind of like a blanket statement that has no grounding. OEM just stands for "OVERLY EXPENSIVE MAKERS"!

I am glad you saved a ton of cash by doing the work your self! If you have to do it again it will be much easier the next time so it's worth it.

 

ehh, I'd have to completely disagree on that. I have never had good experience with scan tech.

Ummm.....yeah, that's pretty much exactly what I'm saying.


There's a difference between aftermarket and cheap. Yes, I'm running aftermarket rotors and pads, but they exceed OEM specifications (larger and vented). I'm running aftermarket plug wires (they are larger and made by IPD). I'm running an after market top engine mount (poly). Would I run a $30 strut mount? Absolutely not. Would I run Duralast rotors and pads? Absolutely not. Would I run aftermarket cheap spark plugs because they are $1 ea? Absolutely not, unless I was begging for misfires.

I am in now way bashing FCP here, I love FCP, I get all of my stuff from them, if I need something OEM that is not on their page, I talk to the guy I go to every time and he helps me out, they know some of the parts they sell are budget parts, but that's why they also offer OEM or OEM+.

But what do I know, it's not like I haven't ever used any of these parts.

 

+1 to everything gilber said!

Are aftermkt parts crap? The answer is it depends on what you're talking about.

For suspension parts you really have to be careful; have not seen anything aftermkt that comes close to OEM quality, especially when it comes to LCAs!

BTW: scantech suspension parts are infamous for their poor quality; plenty of experience around here with that...

O2 sensors are another one; if you don't go OEM you're throwing your $$ away..

There's actually cases too where aftermkt is better; here's one.

One more thing: you don't have to go to the dealer (and get bent over) to get OEM parts. FCP, among others, carry OEM as well as aftermkt parts.

 

I've never really had issues with aftermarket parts, but I don't buy the cheapest of the cheap either.
Having said that though, I did buy new balljoints and inner/outer tie rod ends from Taiwan (direct from manufacture so very cheap) and I'll be damned if they weren't really high quality parts. The forgings were beautiful, cleaned up well with a grinder, obvious high quality machining (parts not turned at a high feed rate) etc.
The parts were even cad plated.
As for the original post, I assume it was a dealer? Dealers are horribly expensive, but they do tend to train up a lot of apprentices, which costs time and money, and is something I support. It's a double edged sword though.

 

I was just talking about OE replacement parts! All the upgrade parts from IPD and others is of course great, but like I said you get what you pay for! Haven't dealt muck with scantech I guess to have any issues. I'll keep an eye out. Thnks for the heads up.

 

+1

One thing to keep in mind; repair shops will mark-up the parts so they can make a profit on them, not just the labor rates. For those that won't work on their car, there's a price for that service. Firestone wanted 90 bucks for one inner tie rod and another 90 to install it - FCP sold me two for 86.

 

For $400 you got Wires, Plugs, Dist Cap, inner/ outer tie rod, lower control arm and struts? Wow that is a great deal. Good thing you can do the work yourself, because you will probably be doing much of it over again.

I do use some aftermarket parts from fcpgroton, but not the control arms where I use only OEM or better. My son used the fcp aftermarket control arms and advised me not to, so I got OEM on those.

I did use an aftermarket water pump though. I only use OEM Turbo plugs and OEM wires though. Rotors OEM or Brembo and pads I went with Akebono last time, but used OEM every other time.

So not saying that ALL aftermarket stuff is bad, but you can definely go too cheap on this stuff. What kind of struts did you get?

 

well the struts were pretty cheap I'll say that, but the control arm was 98.00, and they had to order it, but your right I get what I pay for, time will tell if they hold up.

 

Spring Seats are something that go bad on these cars very frequently. Many of us have switched to using OEM Volvo XC90 spring seats. Cost a little more, but they hold up. Enjoy your ride!

 

Oh GREAT! I have 2 brand new aftermarket control arms (among other parts) from FCP which were just delivered to my door today ready for me to install over the weekend... Should I be concerned???

 

They work, but they won't last as long as OEM that's all. My son has had his on his car for more than a year now, but knows he will need to change them again sooner than if he had bought OEM's.

 

Okay, well I guess I'm not going to worry about it then. The car has around 290,000 miles on the OEM's and is driven at most 10 miles a day. If the aftermarket last 25% as long, I won't need to mess with them again until it's an antique lol