overpriced quote for lowering springs?

[guitar4090]

Hi All,

I took my 2004 Pontiac Vibe (base) to a local tire shop to get a quote on installing lowering springs, They wanted $641 including alignment (I provide the parts) and I thought that was a little high.


Does anyone here live in the northern California area with some recent experience having springs installed so I can get quotes knowing what I should be paying for this work to be done.


Thanks a bunch, love these forums by the way.

[kumquat]

That doesn't seem that unreasonable. To replace all the springs, all 4 struts have to be removed, broken down, and rebuilt. It's kind of a pain and you're looking at probably 3+ hours of labor alone. Shop manual quotes 2.3 hours to replace the front springs and 1.7 to replace the rear.

Does the quote include new struts?

[Salsa Guy]

If you are going to install lowering springs you may want to install new struts also with an older car. However you may want to let the springs settle 3-4 weeks before doing the alignment.
The price doesn't seem to be out of line.