Originally Posted by Unoriginal Name

Hi,

I recently had my car in for an oil change at the dealer and they came back and told me I need to replace the lower control arm bushings. Reading through the internet it sounds like this is common for my 2003 Neon. They quoted a price of $450 including labor. It seemed kinda pricey to me so I took my car to Firestone where I usually go for an oil change on my other car and let them look at it. They quoted me at $430 but said I would need an alignment too for another $70. The description on the recommended service says: K7471 Lo Ctrol Arm Bushing/Kit Remove and replace control arm shaft and bushing, lower, both sides. The parts are $40 for each side. If I have them do this can I be sure that I won't have to replace bushings in the future?

Also, I talked to Midas and he said he would do it but he would replace the control arms along with the bushings and it would be $700-$750.

All this is quite pricey...are these reasonable prices or should I keep looking for someone else to do it?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by sbhawaiian

I ordered the parts from Amazon, just over $100 and yes you will have to do check alignment too. Job was not too difficult. I did have to raise the engine on the driver's side to get the horizontal 13/16 bolt off. When you take the vertical 24mm vertical bolt be very careful. The nut is inside the car's body & just tack welded on. Go slow, if the bolt just spins than you have to go thru the floorboard to hold the nut from spinning. No fun. You have to remove the lower strut mount so do inspect it for cracks while you have it out. In fact you might want the check the upper one too under the hood. It took my about 4 hours but I was in no rush. since I live on Maui with high humidity and ocean spray I gave the threads a coating of anti-seize.