So I went for some maintanence recently at the dealership and they told me they have to replace the right and left axle joints due to failed CV boots and loss of lubrication. According to their estimation the cost will be $530 for parts and $490 for labor for a 5 hour job. Does that sound right? What would u do? I hate always going to the dealership because its so expensive but I would be afraid to take it somewhere else. Is there someone who would be less expensive but do as good a job? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
This Site Might Help You. RE: I have a 2003 volkswagen passat and CV Boot has failed they have to replace right and left axle joint? So I went for some maintanence recently at the dealership and they told me they have to replace the right and left axle joints due to failed CV boots and loss of lubrication. According to their estimation the cost will be $530 for parts and $490 for labor for a 5 hour job. Does that sound right?.
For the best answers, search on this site shorturl.im/aycX9 That kind of price would be for both the driver and passenger side CV axle shafts (not joints - each shaft has 2 CV joints but axles are typically replaced as a unit when a joint goes bad). Rebuilt aftermarket replacements generally run, depending on the application in the $100-150 range each. 5 Hours seems excessive. I can't recall what it came to for the last Passat axle job I estimated (and I am not at work now to check) but I don't recall doing a CV axle job on any vehicle that booked for much more than 2.0 hours. Ever. And this is about as routine a mechanical job as one can get, you certainly do not need to go to the dealer for it.
Tell them to use aftermarket axles. I get warranty claims on these all day long, and I find the axles at NAPA or Autozone for around $109.00. If they refuse to use aftermarket parts, take your car to someone who will. NO WAY it is 5 hours to replace 2 axles on that car!! It is 1.8 hours for both axles. VW takes warranty time from the labor guide and multiplies it by 1.5 to come up with their total time. Basically they are marking up their own labor. I hate to take claims from Audi, BMW, or VW dealers because they are all ripoffs and argue over labor. Go to Firestone or Pepboys. They use Mitchell labor and the labor is 1.8. They can't charge you anything to check them out because you already know what is wrong with them. They will use aftermarket parts. You may also want a second opinion on the extent of damage. Did you hear any noise from the joints? You don't mention that, except that you went in for maintenance. VW and BMW have a new policy that they will not replace a CV Boot, but will only replace the axles if the boot is torn. You could possibly only need CV Boots replaced, which cost $48.33 each and include grease, althought the labor is about 1 hour more.
