Control Arms

370Z Purist

Hey everyone, looking for a little expertise.

Not too long ago a few of you might have seen my thread, "winter driving."

Long story short, foolishly fast driving in slick conditions ended up with me hitting the passenger side rear wheel enough so that it has a significant toe out angle. I can't tell if the camber was particularly bad because of the damage. I bought a new rear wheel (because the last one was toast, but it held up rather well) and mounted it so I could hobble over to the dealer not three miles away.

In any case, after a long month and a half of the Z being snowed in, I drove it over to the local dealership (Rosen Nissan) that I haven't particularly heard good or bad things about.

The mechanic that talked to me basically told me that someone took a look at the car and said it needs a new control arm, and that said control arm + labor + alignment all comes to 608 dollars and some change.

I don't have any other details yet. I'll be going there later today (in about 12 hours) to talk to the mechanic about the specifics.

I know enough about the Z to say that there is an upper and a lower control arm in the rear, and that said control arm part costs anywhere from 100-200 dollars. Alignment should be a maximum of 75-100 dollars, so this mechanic is trying to squeeze out 300 or more out of me for labor? That seems rather suspicious.

The guy also has the nerve to tell me that "he doesn't know what else could be wrong, but that a new control arm is a good way to start."

I understand that within reason, that's a good statement, but it's making me feel like the dealer is trying to get more cash out of me. Right now I'm looking at paying out of pocket if it's smaller or claiming insurance. My family recently had a line of claims within the last year so the claim is only if the repair honestly and really needs to be more than 800 dollars.

I talked to someone else about local, family owned Z shops and I misplaced/deleted his PM. I'm in a northern Chicagoland suburb (Gurnee), so any help is appreciated.

Just looking for a little advice here, and again, I thank everyone for their help ahead of time.

__________________
-Phil

"Since one of my brake light bulbs just went out, the forum told me that my piston rings are about to blow."