Ford shocks!

[NYlakesider]

My wife just had a oil change at the Ford dealership, same dealership she bought her car a 2020 Ford Explorer.

They told her that the rear shocks were starting to leak a bit. She does have 50,000 miles on car. I was riding in the car two days ago and all felt well!

They quoted her about $700 dollars to RR the rear shocks. I can not get under the car but will have my son come over and take a look at the shocks. To me $700 for two shocks sounds crazy! I told her to get a second opinion! Not questioning the possible leaks starting but the price!

What say you, thanks Dave!

 

[Bald1]

Yes that’s crazy. Inflated labor prices at dealers and expensive factory replacement parts marked way up.

 

[sceva]

A quick check on line shows this.

"The average cost for a Ford Explorer Suspension Shock or Strut Replacement is between $556 and $630. Labor costs are estimated between $161 and $203 while parts are priced between $395 and $428"

 

[SMSgt]

I've been told that too. I wipe the shocks clean, and lo & behold, no more leaks. Places will try to rip off the unknowing--particularly women--by squirting a little oil on calipers, shocks, whatever, and convince vehicle owners something is bad. A quick peek on PartsGeek shows a 2020 Explorer rear shock cost at $57. Yeah, they're trying to rip her.

 

[Narragansett]

Sounds excessive. You have got to watch dealerships these days. With limited inventory, they are padding services. 400 for parts sounds high too.

Wipe them off and check for leaks. Did they say they are both leaking?

 

[NYlakesider]

Sounds excessive. You have got to watch dealerships these days. With limited inventory, they are padding services. 400 for parts sounds high too.

Wipe them off and check for leaks. Did they say they are both leaking?

Wife just came home. She showed me the estimate and its for both rears. Course items like breaks, shocks you always should do both sides. I just went out and bounced the car rear up and down, I did not get what I thought was excessive. Course to be fair they said it was a little leak and I know that could work OK like that for a long time

I will let my son take a look he is much more athletic that I now am.


Thanks to all that answered.

 

[LVSteve]

Are the shocks the self-leveling type? That'll up the cost.


Every so often the major manufacturers go through a bad patch of cheap, nasty parts that fail quickly.


Some examples:


BMW early 2000s- High pressure fuel pumps.
Ford 2010s - Water pumps, also supplied to Jaguar.
Mercedes early 2000s - Controllers for 7-speed transmissions
GM early 2000s - Torsion bars on 1/2 tom trucks, Tahoes and Suburbans

 

[Racer X]

A quick check on line shows this.

"The average cost for a Ford Explorer Suspension Shock or Strut Replacement is between $556 and $630. Labor costs are estimated between $161 and $203 while parts are priced between $395 and $428"

So, looks like one to 1.5 hours labor, and maybe $150 for nice shocks shipped to your door. Rock Auto Motorcraft rear shocks under $60 each, plus shipping and tax. 5% off coupons easily found on the internet.

 

[Bald1]

Sounds excessive. You have got to watch dealerships these days. With limited inventory, they are padding services. 400 for parts sounds high too.

Wipe them off and check for leaks. Did they say they are both leaking?

U really have to watch dealers. I posted this before but I’ll do it again. My wife’s Audi Q7 was due for 40k mi check up and maintenance. So I made appointment for oil change and told them I’d like tires rotated at same time. They video tape inspection and send it to you. All 4 tires were off the vehicle while inspecting brake components. This was part of 40k service. When I looked at bill I was charged for oil change as expected and charged $38 for tire rotation. I asked service manager why? He said that’s the price. I said all you had to do was put tires back on differently. They were already off the car. He looked at me like I had 2 heads. I told him we didn’t buy a budget model Hyundai. I told him the sticker was over $70k on this vehicle and I didn’t appreciate being nickeled and dimed that the dealer already made enough money off me. Needless to say the warranty is now up and I go elsewhere for any service I can’t do myself.

 

[dmn57]

I hate to bash a whole industry but I've never had good experiences with dealerships. I find reputable independents that've been around a while. Unlike dealerships they don't tend to stay in business long by ripping people off.

 

[Farmer17]

My girlfriends mother is a very sweet woman in her mid 70s that can barely walk and she always takes her Mazda Minivan to get serviced at the dealer she bought it from and does everything they say. The van is about 8 years old and stays in the garage all the time and is in brand new condition and the dealer is constantly telling her to have maintenance done or buy tires or something and the van only has 25K miles on it. I'm sure she has spent a ton of money doing everything they say and they also tell her they want to buy it. She mentioned the dealer said "we might even be able to get you as much as $5,000 for it!!! "

 

[meaneyedcatz]

Shocks are not mounted the same way as they used to be.
Used to be you supported the axle and ran off two or three retainers, jerked the shock off in a matter of minutes. I remember swapping out out all four in less than thirty minutes before.
Today’s cars are more labor intensive and the parts cost more. It may or may not be a legitimate price.
Are the tires cupping or riding harsh? If not leave it.

 

[SMSgt]

I hate to bash a whole industry but I've never had good experiences with dealerships. I find reputable independents that've been around a while. Unlike dealerships they don't tend to stay in business long by ripping people off.

I don't find a good experience with any mechanics anymore. Either something isn't fixed right the first time (or second, third) or the repair generates a new problem. Dealer - independent, no difference.

 

[Step N. Mud]

I was shocked recently at a Ford dealership with an estimate repair cost of an emergency repair cost of $300.00 per labor hour for a broke valve spring in my F 250.

 

[Racer X]

Shocks are not mounted the same way as they used to be.
Used to be you supported the axle and ran off two or three retainers, jerked the shock off in a matter of minutes. I remember swapping out out all four in less than thirty minutes before.
Today’s cars are more labor intensive and the parts cost more. It may or may not be a legitimate price.
Are the tires cupping or riding harsh? If not leave it.

motorcraft brand rear shocks under $60 each. 300% markup from RETAIL is pretty egregious.

And the rear shocks on my 2013 Prius are mounted in a eerily similar manner to the front shock on my 69/71/72 Buicks. Threaded stud on the top and crossbar on the other end. About $100 shipped to me for a pair. Rock Auto again, KYB GR-2 lifetime warranty. KYB is a Japanese OEM for Toyota.

Very high quality brake pads and new rotors are very reasonably priced for every vehicle we own, which is 8. Crazy what a shop charges for a brake job these days. MAJOR profit job for a dealer, and only an hour for the dealer . When you get a $500 quote, for $100 in parts and an hour of labor, you know they use that "special" math.

 

[VaTom]

My dealership story. We have two Toyotas. Our Toyota dealership is very good and seem very honest on their service HOWEVER I had one incident which caused me concern. I change my own air filters and cabin filters - I write the mileage and date on the filter border with a sharpie. Two years ago the service writer came to the waiting room and said the "tech" said you needed a new air and cabin filter (I was in for just an oil change and state inspection). I told her that I change my own filters and no I didn't need new ones. Tell the "tech" to pull them and look at the dates. About 15 minutes later she call me and said my car was ready. I think sometimes a "tech" just goes by the vehicle mileage without actually checking. Yes - service is a big profit center for dealerships.

 

[Kinman]

My son had an older Exploder, the rear shocks were hydraulic or air and replacement costs were terrible, he unloaded it.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

They were fixin to gooney you.

 

[Chuck24]

My son had an older Exploder, the rear shocks were hydraulic or air and replacement costs were terrible, he unloaded it.

Hope that was a typo, although now you never know.

 

[LVSteve]

Two years ago the service writer came to the waiting room and said the "tech" said you needed a new air and cabin filter (I was in for just an oil change and state inspection). I told her that I change my own filters and no I didn't need new ones. Tell the "tech" to pull them and look at the dates. About 15 minutes later she call me and said my car was ready. I think sometimes a "tech" just goes by the vehicle mileage without actually checking. Yes - service is a big profit center for dealerships.

For something like a cabin air filter, I can guarantee that is the case. They look at the record of the last time they changed those filters, and if it is more than a year you need new ones. Checking the cabin filter is not a thing.