Just before purchasing my 2008 Dodge Ram 2500 (i6 6.7L Turbo Diesel), I took it to Larry H. Miller Dodge in Sandy. I saw a few dents on the lower suspension and wanted to determine if there were other issues before committing to a purchase.
At the time, they quoted about $1200 in repairs for all four ball joints (upper / lower, left and right side), and outer tie rod ends. Considering the deal I was getting on the truck ($24000), I thought $1200 in front-end work would still be a bargain.
The odd thing was, the front tires showed no signs of wear, the ride was fine (until about 75mph, where it would shake a bit) and there was no obvious indication of front-end problems.
On Monday (at 7am), I dropped the truck back off at Larry H. Miller to effect the repair work. Around 2pm, LHM phoned me (Service advisor = Jim) and indicated that the price was now up to $2500 and pretty much the entire front-end needed to be replaced (shocks, control arms, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc..). I said, No-Thanks and recovered my truck.
Yesterday, I decided to get a second opinion and took the truck to Les Schwab Tire & Service Center (Taylorsville). After 10 minutes of inspecting, the two mechanics walked me over to the truck, showed me how they inspected and indicated that no front-end work was needed. They said, there was a little play in the ball joints, but that was normal for stock Dodge parts.
Now that the founder is dead (Larry H. Miller), are they becoming so desperate for revenue that they would lie to generate short-term gains in service fees by losing a customer for life (long-term)?
At the time, they quoted about $1200 in repairs for all four ball joints (upper / lower, left and right side), and outer tie rod ends. Considering the deal I was getting on the truck ($24000), I thought $1200 in front-end work would still be a bargain.
The odd thing was, the front tires showed no signs of wear, the ride was fine (until about 75mph, where it would shake a bit) and there was no obvious indication of front-end problems.
On Monday (at 7am), I dropped the truck back off at Larry H. Miller to effect the repair work. Around 2pm, LHM phoned me (Service advisor = Jim) and indicated that the price was now up to $2500 and pretty much the entire front-end needed to be replaced (shocks, control arms, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc..). I said, No-Thanks and recovered my truck.
Yesterday, I decided to get a second opinion and took the truck to Les Schwab Tire & Service Center (Taylorsville). After 10 minutes of inspecting, the two mechanics walked me over to the truck, showed me how they inspected and indicated that no front-end work was needed. They said, there was a little play in the ball joints, but that was normal for stock Dodge parts.
Now that the founder is dead (Larry H. Miller), are they becoming so desperate for revenue that they would lie to generate short-term gains in service fees by losing a customer for life (long-term)?
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