HELP! Cost for 63 Front End Work?

[TexRiv_63]

Riv Experts: I need to know if a price I am being given for a front-end rebuild on my 92,000 mile 63 is reasonable. The shop says the following needs replacement: Upper and lower ball joints, lower arm and strut bushings, upper arm shaft and bushing kits, and the centerlink. They are sourcing the parts from Rare Parts, total cost including labor, shipping, and wheel alignment is $1900 and change. I cannot do this work myself so I am a little over a barrel. Is this price in the ballpark or am I getting ripped off? Thanks for any help you can offer!

[Guest Gee_Rydes]

Don,

I would recommend sourcing the parts yourself since this requires no particular skill and should save some money with a little shopping.

$1900 seems high to me, but that is a matter of perspective I think

[Bill Stoneberg]

Don

With a little work and by going to Rare parts you can see what everything will cost on the internet. Then you can figure out what the shop is charging for Labor.

Also, there are other palces besides Rare Parts. O'Rielly's has most of the parts you need and so does PST. Tim has been looking at front end work on his, did up his post and see what he found.

[JZRIV]

Without doing a huge amount of research, I'd estimate between $500-$600 for parts including shipping. One note on parts cost: 5-15% can be saved by price shopping but searching for lower prices generally is only beneficial if the owner is the one doing the searching. Expect the repair shop to price shop for you and its a wash because any savings is consumed by their hourly rate.

If you buy your own parts the quote won't always be lower depending on the shop. You should ask ahead of time if you consider supplying the parts. If a part does not fit or is defective, then it becomes your responsiblity to correct it. If that happens and the shop bought the parts they have to correct it at their cost.

Add another $60-100 for alignment and you have a $1200 balance for labor. I have done this work on 3 67 Rivs and a 71. From my persepctive, I would not do the job for less than $900. I am assuming your car does not have much rust on the chassis. If things are rusty, the price goes up. I don't fix cars for a living and have no overhead as a business does. Taking that into account it brings it into perspective that $1900 isn't all that bad.

You have to remember unless your shop specializes in restoration, this is not a job they do everyday so have to pad the price for unexpected issues.

Now....yes price is a factor but what is most IMPORTANT is how much faith you have in the shop doing the work. Do you know the exact person who will do the work? Will anyone else be working on your car? Does this person have experience with 45 y/o cars similar to yours?

This is a job that can be botched if the mechanic is incompetant. If the job is not done right the first time, it can cost a lot more to get it corrected in addition to the frustration and time it will cost you. You must use caution to avoid a bad outcome as far as quality of work.

If you are confident in the shops ability and know they will perform the work to a high level of competancy, $1900 is at least in the ballpark. If you don't have 100% confidence in the shops ability then the quote is $1900 too high.

[Mr Riviera]

I would go here for parts http://www.kanter.com/p58-fkd.html#Buick Then I would shop for the labor including upper and lower ball joints .

[TexRiv_63]

Thanks for the quick responses. I checked Rare Parts online and the total parts cost was over $1200 leaving labor at about $700. CARS price for the same parts was only $900 and I will check Kanters also. Rare Parts advertises that they actually manufacture their parts, is that true? As far as trusting the shop, its a small local place recommended to me by Sachse Rod shop. They do custom exhaust work, front ends and brakes. I had them do a 2 1/4" exhaust system and was very satisfied, but I have never had them do anything else. I will do some more shopping around and will let you know what I find out.

[Bill Stoneberg]

Don

Check O'Rielly's as they probably have everything you need.

Make them drag out the dusty books and look. If you can get a manager to look for you, not one of the counter help that dont know a piston from a wiper blade.

[Reatta Man]

If you can, check with another shop that specialiazes in front end work. They may have the parts in stock or can get them through 'regular' sources such as NAPA.

The price on the parts seems way too high; even though the Riv is a special car, many of its' basic parts, such as suspension, came out of the GM parts bin. That means they were plentiful when new because many of them fit several GM cars, so they should be readily available now.

If you price many shops, and compare estimates of what they think your car needs, the price they charge per hour and the warranty they offer on their work, you may cut that price in half.

Good luck.

Joe

[JZRIV]

Thanks for the quick responses. I checked Rare Parts online and the total parts cost was over $1200 leaving labor at about $700. CARS price for the same parts was only $900 and I will check Kanters also.

Something isn't right. Kanters front kit is $240. Can't imagine you'd need anything other than what their kit offers unless we don't know all the details. The centerlink is $270 (core required) so thats $510 less shipping? If rare parts is offering new centerlinks vs rebuilt then the price will be much higher but still not totalling $1200.

Are you pricing other items not mentioned in your first post? $1200 for parts seems outrageous. Maybe you are accidentally pricing items you really don't need?

If you need more help, you could post an itemized list of the parts you think you need and we could go from there.

Something I just thought of. For the upper control arm you are probably pricing a "kit" that offers the "shaft" and bushings together where Kanters kit only has the bushings and no shaft. I have never needed to replace the shaft but suppose it would save some labor on disassembly because the old one could be destroyed and cut out making it easier to press the old bushings out. I personally don't think the extra cost of the "kit" vs just the bushings would offset the labor savings. If the shop knows what they are doing its not that big of deal the reuse the old shaft especially if its rust free. The kit might save 1/2 hour labor per side 1 hour total. If they don't know what they are doing it could save 2 hours of labor and them potentially damaging the control arm.

[nooshinjohn]

I would contact PST and ger a full polygrahpite kit for your car. the kit is very reasonably priced. I had mine done two years ago and love the improved cornering and ride. I also replaced the springs at the same time.

[RivNut]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: nooshinjohn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I also replaced the springs at the same time. </div></div>

From whom did you get your springs? There's been some talk on other threads about replacing springs and the concern is that most of the replacement springs make the cars sit too high?

Tell us more about your experience and your satisfaction.

Ed