Loose tierod -- or not

[JAXVIBE]

Before buying my 04 std Vibe last week from a private party I took it to a dealer for evaluation. Writeup says "right front inner tierod is loose" and dealer would charge $171 for parts plus (ouch) $600 for labor! Claims frame needs to be dropped or some such.But the car drives fine, even at 85-90 mph. There are no drivability issues at any speed. So I took it to a local indy who got under the car, had me turn the steering wheel back & forth a bit while he grabbed the tierod, and said he doesn't think it's loose enough to need work. Right now the car is at a 2nd dealer, getting yet another opinion. This dealer says he has never had to do this work before on a Vibe.Any thoughts/suggestions? Has anyone else had this problem and if so, were there symptoms? (I have none!) Is this price reasonable? Should I consider an indy, or is the work complex enough that I should pay extra for dealer labor? I hesitate to spend so much when the car is driving fine, but I also want to be safe if you know what I mean. Otherwise I'm enjoying my copper colored Vibe with black Einke (sp?) wheels.

[zionzr2]

Hi! And Welcome to our Vibedom!!While i dont reacall this being an issue with anyone else here. Here is what i would probably do is get the guy to drop the price by the amount of the repair or at least a portion of the repair. That way its not going to be coming totaly out of your pocket.

[JAXVIBE]

Thanks for the welcome! I did that last week, i.e. got price lowered before I bought the car. Now, after getting the new indy's opinion, I wonder if I should go ahead since I have no symptoms & got conflicting opinions. Guess I'll know more when 2nd dealer calls; just hoping I might find someone here who has had this (alleged) problem. I mean, if i don't need to spend $700+ to fix a loose tierod, that money would go a long way towards improving my sounds.

[Raven]

With an '04 unless the mileage is extremely high, it seems unlikely that a tie-rod should be loose. My '04 had well over 60,000 miles and everything was good.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by Sunny »With an '04 unless the mileage is extremely high, it seems unlikely that a tie-rod should be loose. My '04 had well over 60,000 miles and everything was good.Unless the former owner drove it too agressively or abused it...Be careful. If the second opinion agrees with the first, I'd make sure they check EVERY inch of that car for any signs of abuse, neglect, or wreckless driving before you commit to it! I agree with Sunny, it doesn't seem like something that should "just happen." I'm no expert though...Might wanna run a carfax too...

[ToolGuy]

The service manual states you do not have to drop the frame for a tie rod just as an FYI. In fact, nothing special to do them. I saw an inner tie rod replacement on a 300C last week at Chrysler and noticed no frame drop. $600 sounds kind of high, the parts sound about right I suppose. Will be interesting to see what the 2nd dealer says.

[CAN-AWD-VIBE]

should be less then 2hours labor with an alignment 1.6 i thinki will have to confirm tomorrow though600 is crazy no matter what... thats 6 hours in my shop and I can do most of the motor in that time

[JAXVIBE]

My bad -- forgot to mention Carfax report of collision with moderate damage to front in Jan of this year. Sorry for the brain fart. My private seller did not own the car until April and claimed no knowledge. That's why I went to a dealer.I told the first dealer about the Carfax report becuse I wanted them to explore all possible damage. I did not tell the 2nd, by design; I want to see what they say without knowing about the collision. I only showed them the report from the first dealer re loose tierod per above. If they use Carfax they'll know anyway, I guess.

[jimincalif]

Hmmm, collision in January, then sold in April, now being sold again. I'd be suspicious that there is something not quite right on the repair, not immediately noticeable, but enough to make the owner want to dump it.

[JAXVIBE]

The bad news is, Dealer 2 confirms that a tierod is needed.The GREAT news is, in the words of Terry at the service desk, "We're taking care of it."You mean I don't have to pay for it?"That's right."Thank you Jim Causley Pontiac! I was tempted to ask why, but as my mother used to say, "Never look a horse in the mouth."(EDIT: I stopped by Tuesday; car not ready, which is OK considering the price of this repair! I asked Terry how he got such coverage; turned out it was a phone call to the factory. He emphasized again that they had never done a Vibe tierod and noted I wasn't "that far" out of warranty [42K mi]. I said great, thank you very much, and hereby note that extra efforts like this one are the kind that build brand & dealer loyalty!)