Hi all, I just acqiured a 2009 S40 from my mother in law for a song and a dance.It is like mint condition as far as I can see and It has 71,000 miles on it. Just before she gave it to me, she had it at the dealer and they told her she needs new front struts and handed her an estimate for $1039 plus another $139 for an alignment. This sounded like an outrageous price and not even sure if it is needed. Car seems to ride fine.What have others paid for the front strut replacement and what shoud I do ? I have Firestone do a lot of work for me on my other cars and was thinking of taking it there for an estimate. Any help with this and any other reccomendations on what to do to the car would be greatly appreciated. Seems like a good little car and I'd like to keep it for many years to come as I loved my last S80 Volvo. Thanks to all for any help.

Larry

 

Price sounds about right for OEM. It should also include strut mounts and bearings. Of course Firestone will be less, they won't use OEM parts.

 

I'd consider looking at other non-Volvo shocks from high-quality manufacturers, like Bilstein or KYB. You'll save a bunch of money, and get a good shock. OTOH, if the car rides fine, I'd probably put the replacement off for a while. I did struts and shocks on my 130,000 mile V50 when I bought it, "just because" I like to drive a car that feels "new" (I also did control arms, ball joints, tie rods and axles). If you DIY, all that doesn't cost as much as Volvo was gonna soak you for just the struts.

 

or you can buy Boge via a web store and get the OEM shock. I'd start by asking your local independent shop if they are ok with you providing parts where they do the work. Many will say yes but offer they can't guarantee the work (say if the part fails and a replacement needs to be reinstalled you are going to pay for the labor). For $250 you can get a kit with replacement struts, bearing and mounting bushings plus another $50 for hardware (nuts/bolts/dust boots/bump stops etc which may need replacing) plus 4 hours labor @ 125 and your right about $800 plus $100 for an alignment. That says you can probably save 15-20% with a local shop but the dealer's quote is not all that outrageous since you'd be getting premium parts and a fixed right guarantee. If you plan on keeping the car a long time, then its worth going with the quality parts and correct work as you'd get 100K out of the factory parts. Not sure if KYB will do the same. Bilsteins are an interesting choice - they offer 3 models - Touring (budget after market to compete with Boge so no value add over OEM), HD (their standard sized "gas" shock which many consider a premium upgrade (standard some euro cars like Porche and Mercedes) and Sport, which are designed for use with lowering springs.

 

Dealer would also have a lifetime guarantee on parts and labor. Something to consider if you are keepong the car a while.

 

To be honest, my opinion is probably skewed a bit by the fact I live in the desert southwest. The roads are normally smooth and pot hole-free, and we don't even know how to spell "frost heave"... ;-) I replaced the struts and shocks on my last car at nearly 200,000 miles. The originals were still in it, and I couldn't tell the difference in the rears, but did notice a subtle "firming up" in the front with the new struts. That is to say that the originals were doing just fine. My previous Volvo (a 2001 V70 T5) had (I believe) the original shocks and struts, and I sold it with about 230,000 miles, still handling and driving just fine (after replacing the control arms though).

In the end, I've had nothing but good luck with high-quality aftermarket shocks and struts, though of course, they do lead an easier life here. I figure my current V50 gets more of a suspension workout in a couple weeks in Manhattan than it does the rest of the year in Arizona.