Okay, so my car needs a new "CV gator joint".

Oh the joy!! So far I've had two companies give me a quote, one was £70 (£30 for the actual joint and £40 for balancing) and the other was £93. The more expensive was at a Citroen garage, the other at a pretty big branded garage (can't remember the brand but it had six bays and it was green and blue branding).

I've never had any work done on a car before, so what's a good price, and how am I going to know if they've done a good job?

Ask friends who they use, and if they're happy with the work.
I don't believe, ultimately, that you can tell just from a chat and a quote. The proof of the pudding and all that - so ask around.
I had a Pug 205 once that started pulling to the side under braking.
Fearing the worst, I asked one big name chain place, they said a brake rebuild with a new caliper was the way forward.
My friend suggested someone else, and £10 later, the disc had been cleaned, and the joint repacked with grease with a new gator and clip on it. All it was, the gator had split and leaked gunk onto the disc. A simple fix, and they didn't milk it.

So ask around - oh - and avoid main dealers.

lucky you my catalyc converter needs replaced on my new 406 £400

Is it not covered by warranty?

Mark

CV joints are kinda easy to do once you know what to do. I reckon if you have some decent tools you should be able to do one.

I think on the older Pugs you have to take the hub off, which could be a pain in the arse if it's rusted.

£70 is OTT though for just a gaitor though! It's just a case of slipping the old one off and putting a new one on.

ah I mean new as in new car kinda, as I got rid of the 1.1 saxo I now own a 2.0 litre turbo diesel peugout 406 nice n fast

its the 2001 model and prob not covered by a warrenty

Does that £70 figure include the labour, or just parts?
If it's including labour, grab it.

Well the thing is that 1. I'm in Pompey now, and 2. I don't know anyone back in Bournemouth who has been happy with the work!!



Yeah, this is the thing that I want to avoid. I'm a car n00b and don't want to get ripped off!



Well, this is what I've been told. The thing is, I don't mind paying somebody to do it. I'd rather have the peace of mind that a pro has done the job. I just don't want to pay over the odds.

Well the words he used were "£70 all-in". He said £30 for the joint but it would need balancing afterwards which is another £40. I've done a quick look around the 'net and the part is only about £15?

£70 is a pretty good price, as long as the work is good, I'd go for that.

Unless you want to get involved more in fixing your car, I wouldn't bother trying this yourself. The tools alone would probably cost nearly that much. It's a fairly straightforward job, but it needs some pretty heavy duty tools.

I'm not sure what he means by balancing though - the wheels won't need it (and if they did, £40 is extortion) - maybe he means steering alignment? I wouldn't have thought it needed that either, although if he's quoted an 'all in' price, he's probably added that to the quote just in case it all goes wrong and does end up needing to do it.

Well I can't remember if he said balancing or aligning, but they've definitely quoted for one of them!

I didn't mention it to him, but at the moment the steering is slightly out. You only really notice it at speeds of 50+ but when the steering wheel is straight, the car is actually steering left slightly. With a bit of luck that'll be all good when it comes back.

Fair enough - at least then you'll know if he's actually done the work he charged you for!

The thing is, the job does involve undoing the steering arms, which could possibly upset the alignment. I think most service manuals would recommend an alignment check after doing CVs. In practice though, it wouldn't normally be an issue (I've changed a few joints in my time, and never needed to do the alignment).
I think he'd just hate to quote you £30 then have to spend an hour afterwards (for free) sorting out the steering again!

Cool beans.

I found the website of the company, and they have a voucher on the site for £2 off wheel alignment! Whoop whoop .

It'll be a good time to get them to tighten up my door too. One of the bolts has come loose and the door has dropped slightly so it's rubbing. It means I've got to really slam the door to close it and it's getting annoying. I've tightened it myself a couple of times but I haven't got the right bit and it just loosens itself over time.

If its the CV joint you have to replace the driveshaft as they dont come apart.

If its just the gaiter (CV boot) you could buy a 'split' gaiter which as the name suggests is split in half and you join it together when fitting. A lot quiker and easier to fit but they gernerally dont last as long.

http://www.carparts-direct.co.uk/splitd ... gaiter.cfm

didge