Hey

Punto mk4 2008 failed mot today.

How much roughly am i expecting to pay for the following.

Reason(s) for failure
nearside Side repeater not working (1.4.A.2c)
nearside front Anti-roll bar has excessive play in a ball joint (2.4.G.2)
offside front Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.4.G.2)
nearside front Suspension arm ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.4.G.2)

Thanks

Hopefully the repeater has just blown a bulb, you'd be looking at a few quid for some new 501's.

new set of anti roll bars £50-60ish at a guess, as its been a few years since I last bought a pair. it's fairly easy to change them.

not entirely sure about the ball joint though as I've never changed one. I'd hazard a guess around the £100 mark. Plus a few hours labour from your local garage on top.

Thanks Chris, much appreciated.

Anti roll bar or anti roll bar links? The links are around £10 a pair and a dabble to replace.
Ball joints are also about this each and are bolted into the wishbone with three bolts.
The hardest part for that is getting the ball joint out of the upright but you can get ball joint separators.
All in all, about 2-3 hours work with an axle stand and a trolley jack.

Are the ball joints not riveted to the lower control arm?

I just replaced the entire control arm when I did mine. Quality ones can be had or a good price if you shop around. I got a pair of Delphi control arms for ~£100.

I'd probably spend a little more than £10 for the pair of drop links too. £25 will get you top quality Meyle parts which should last much longer for not much more money.

Got the quotw today

Parts: £100
Labour: £90

That sound a good price?

He did say the the drop links were a good quality at £25 each.

Think he would say that to be honest.
For a normal road car you ain't going to see much difference between cheaper option compared to the expensive one.
The ones on eBay for a tenner are metal, they ain't going to wear out and they do the job. And it's worth pointing outhit they are cross platform with a Corsa so you could have considered those prices as an option.
The ball joint is riveted on as standard but you can replace the worn joint which requires it bolting into place. More cost effective than replacing the whole arm if you can't afford it.

However, the whole lower arm is going for £30 on eBay too.

If you're not handy with Cars then go for it as everywhere will probably say that, but as always shop around abit. The info below will go in your favour as ammunition if you wish to barter the price down.

He's lying about £25 per drop link. As Jacob has stated you can get a pair of decent quality ones for around that. (shop4parts.com).

A brand new wishbone from Euro is around £40-50 i believe. So buying the parts yourself (Inclusive of VAT) would be no more than £75. He should be buying them VAT exclusive so therefore is trying to have you off abit there on the price. The labour involved in changing a wishbone and 2 drop links is probably an hour. So unless it's an Audi/Bentley/Ferrari garage, i'd be questioning the £90 / hour labour charge. Unless he's booking 30 minutes for a side repeater, in that case tell him where to stick it.

*Edit* I mention the full wishbone as I believe you basically pay for the labour of replacing a wishbone when you just do a ball joint so may aswell front the extra ~£10-20

*2nd Edit*
Wishbone = Suspension Arm
Drop Link = Anti Roll Bar Link

Thanks for all your input guys. I dont mind giving things ago but just havent got the time, space or the right tools to do it myself so just going to get it done lol

Cheers all

Pedrolami said:

For a normal road car you ain't going to see much difference between cheaper option compared to the expensive one.
The ones on eBay for a tenner are metal, they ain't going to wear out and they do the job..

Click to expand...

It isn't just a rod of metal though, it has a ball joint at each end. These are what fail, not the rod, therefore buying better quality items will make them last longer.

And to the OP, that does seem high, £25 per pair is top price for droplinks. I'd be sourcing my own parts, if he does supply you with parts make sure you get the name of the company making them and you can cross check prices online.

If I have work done by someone else I tend to supply them with my own parts, then I know what's on my car.