[200q20v] front axle

[Brett Dikeman]

Go down to the shop(unannounced; don't give him time to "make" the
driveshaft bad) and request that he show you the axle and
what makes it "bad", or you're taking the car elsewhere.  If he gives some
excuse, threaten to a)leave with
the car and b)file a complaint with the DMV/state attorney's office.

Worst case, get underneath the car with a flashlight and look at the
shaft.  The worst I would expect to see is maybe some bubbling/chipping
paint.

Whenever a mechanic tells you something like this, push for more details.
"Why is it bad?"  "What is wrong?"  "How do you know it's bad?" are all
perfectly legitimate questions.

The $750 price tag is about double what a reman'd center driveshaft(ie,
the one that's made out of carbon fiber etc) cost my car's previous
owner.  You're being taken, as Paul said.  Be especially wary of "I can't
let you drive off the lot like this..."  If that's the case, he'd -better-
show you what's wrong.

If you find the driveshaft is fine, please let us know the name of the
shop.

Brett


On Wed, 2 May 2001, Gorman, Ken (PA62) wrote:

> I sent my car in for its annual state inspection and got a phone call from
> the service technician that the right front axle is bad and he won't pass
> the car without replacing it.  He quoted $750 for the part and $200 for
> installation.  I told him that seemed a bit high and he said that if I found
> a part cheaper, he'd install it.
>
> Is a bad front axle something I should have noticed?  I felt pretty
> comfortable that the car would pass inspection.  This caught me completely
> off-guard.
>
> Anyone want to make a recommendation.