2001 Volvo V60 - Replacing Inner Tie Rods

tigerlily · Post by **tigerlily** » 17 Nov 2008, 12:34

Year and Model: 2001 Volvo V60 2.4T
Mileage: 99954

The inner tie rods on my Volvo are wearing out as noted by the vibration in the front end I experience during acceleration so its time to replace them.

I just moved from a really large city (Los Angeles) to a really small semi-rural area (Lawrence, KS). This is of issue because the nearest two Volvo dealerships are one hour and 2 hours in either direction, respectively. So, getting my vehicle's repair needs addressed locally can be somewhat of a gamble in terms of finding certified individuals who can work on Volvos.

I found a shop who said they can replace the tie rods. All told, they're asking close to $200 for EACH part ($400 total), $140 for 1.5 hrs of labor and $60 for 4-wheel alignment. I'm an auto claims adjuster for an insurance company so I know a little bit more about cars then your average consumer and while I understand the shop is in business to make money, even that quote seems a little high.

Here are my questions:

I have found replacement parts on my own, just searching various parts dealers on the Internet. The best quote I've gotten so far was each inner tie rod quoted for $24 each or the set for $35. Do I need to purchase any other parts or will the set of inner tie rods suffice?

My thought was that I can secure the parts on my own, have the shop put them on the vehicle and perform the alignment. My concern is finding a quality auto parts dealer. Because of the car's year, I'm find with remanufactured or non-OEM as long as they fit the year, make and model of my vehicle. Does this sound reasonable and can anyone recommend anything in terms of talking with the shop about the situation?

Thanks!

Post by **billofdurham** » 17 Nov 2008, 12:56

Welcome to Matthew's Volvo Site.

I found a shop who said they can replace the tie rods. All told, they're asking close to $200 for EACH part ($400 total), $140 for 1.5 hrs of labor and $60 for 4-wheel alignment.

Are you sure they aren't Volvo dealers? That is the sort of price I would expect from them, not an independent.

Are they only quoting for the inner tie rods or are they looking at doing the outers at the same time? Really no matter which way they are going the price for parts is way above what an independent should be looking at. The labour at 1.5 hours is about right for tie rods and alignment so no real arguments there.

Does this sound reasonable and can anyone recommend anything in terms of talking with the shop about the situation?

Over the years I have relied on indies for most of the repairs I can't be bothered to do. They have always accepted that I can get my own parts and they will fit them. Occasionally I think they have added a very small surcharge to the labour cost to cover any loss of profit from selling the parts, but that is not something that has not concerned me as it has never been too high.

Simply go back and ask them if they will do it. If the answer is "No" then find someone who will oblige. There are plenty of shops looking for work and in your line you should be able to find the right one.

Bill.

tigerlily · Post by **tigerlily** » 17 Nov 2008, 13:18

billofdurham wrote:Welcome to Matthew's Volvo Site.

I found a shop who said they can replace the tie rods. All told, they're asking close to $200 for EACH part ($400 total), $140 for 1.5 hrs of labor and $60 for 4-wheel alignment.
Are you sure they aren't Volvo dealers? That is the sort of price I would expect from them, not an independent.

Are they only quoting for the inner tie rods or are they looking at doing the outers at the same time? Really no matter which way they are going the price for parts is way above what an independent should be looking at. The labour at 1.5 hours is about right for tie rods and alignment so no real arguments there.

No, this unfortunately is one of those national chainstores. Meineke, to be exact. I've fallen into using them because they're one of the shops in town that can get into my car's sealed system when getting the oil changed. I'm loathe to use these national chains but my options are smaller now that I'm not out in the big city. The shop indicates its only the inner tie rods, by the way but even if it was the outer as well, its still relatively inexpensive to acquire a set of both.

If anything, this just puts it on me to keep looking for an indep.

billofdurham wrote:
Does this sound reasonable and can anyone recommend anything in terms of talking with the shop about the situation?
Over the years I have relied on indies for most of the repairs I can't be bothered to do. They have always accepted that I can get my own parts and they will fit them. Occasionally I think they have added a very small surcharge to the labour cost to cover any loss of profit from selling the parts, but that is not something that has not concerned me as it has never been too high.

Simply go back and ask them if they will do it. If the answer is "No" then find someone who will oblige. There are plenty of shops looking for work and in your line you should be able to find the right one.

Bill.

Good advice. Thanks for your time!

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 17 Nov 2008, 15:13

By the way, there really is no true "sealed" systems in these cars... Really, anyone can do the work (including oil change which takes me 5-10 minutes, a car, depending), so take that into consideration when shopping around for cheaper indies...or learn to do the work yourself. Personally I would tackle the tie rod end myself (sans the alignment) as long as it wasn't too cold outside.

tigerlily · Post by **tigerlily** » 17 Nov 2008, 17:53

While I know what parts go where, what they're called and how they should in theory fit on the vehicle, is this something that someone very green about actual car maintenence can do?

It's not too cold here, yet. I'm more worried about needing to repair more parts in my quest to repair the original.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 17 Nov 2008, 21:27

You can learn most of what to do with your car yourself if you're pretty good mechanically. There is one problem with the '99 and newer Volvo's including yours- many systems in the car are dependent on dealer only provided software downloads. My suggestion is begin your quest by obtaining a VADIS DVD from a reputable seller on eBay.

tigerlily · Post by **tigerlily** » 18 Nov 2008, 12:28

MadeInJapan wrote:You can learn most of what to do with your car yourself if you're pretty good mechanically. There is one problem with the '99 and newer Volvo's including yours- many systems in the car are dependent on dealer only provided software downloads. My suggestion is begin your quest by obtaining a VADIS DVD from a reputable seller on eBay.

Thanks, I'll take it into consideration. I found an indep that works primarily on VW in my town but has a big Volvo customer base because the dealerships are so far away. He said the same re: the downloads but as long as it wasn't software dependent, he can and has fixed just about anything on Volvos.