OK, on this one I kinda got into a debate with a couple of repair shops. They wanted a small fortune (approaching what the car was worth) to do a complete suspension job and brakes (complete). Find a local shop that will let you bring them the parts and have them charge you the labor only. The shops are charging retail plus 20-50% for parts. I cut my price in more than half. (63% to be exact) The shop you use for labor only does not provide a warranty on the parts because you bought them. No problem to me as I consider these "static" suspension parts. For engine parts, this is a different discussion and I would want certain things warranted by the shop because the install can get messy.
Regarding the suspension, the front lower control arms always go out (the bushings) on these Quests and cause a creaky, sloppy front end. I didn't want to mess with just doing the bushings and Rock Auto is so cheap, just order two new ones and be done with it - complete arms. I used two made my Moog and the pair cost $125.00. Install was $225.00. The dealer wanted almost $1K and a local shop wanted almost $900.00. No thanks. Problem solved. $350.00 out of pocket.
Regarding the front struts and rear shocks (if you are keeping the car and want to refresh the suspension), just replace them all at once with a full assembly including the rear springs. Once again, Rock Auto has a kit for the whole thing from Monroe ($312.00 for front AND rear) and they sometimes have rebates
. This kit covers both front struts AND the rear shocks. Rear springs? $66.00 a pair - add them in. A complete suspension job including all parts for $378 plus labor and alignment. If you can do it yourself, that's some cheap maintenance. My Quest has 130K+ miles - doing this brought my front end back up to where it should be and brought my rear end up almost two inches (coil springs were obviously bad). Don't forget a front end alignment after you do it. The front struts ALONE from two different quotes from repair chains were $300+ EACH. Someone is making some serious mark-up $ on parts.After I did this stuff,the car rode like new again...and I didn't break the bank to have it done. You can piecemeal it (a debatable topic I agree), but given that the parts are so cheap now, it can make sense to just refresh the whole suspension at once. You can save even MORE $ if you have them do the brakes while they are already in there (if you need them) - another post coming later.
