2001 Honda Civic Rear struts

EXTRAORDINAIRE

MEMBER
2001 HONDA CIVIC
6 CYL
4WD
MANUAL
92,000 MILES

8 months ago the tie rod and front struts were replaced. At that time the shop said the rear struts also needed to be replaced-estimated cost $500.00. To date I have not had that done. The car drives fine. Last month when I had the car in for an oil change-same shop-they said the price of the rear struts would be $400.00. Is it necessary to have the work done since the car drives fine? Why would there be a $100.00 range in the estimated price at the same shop and is that price within range or should I shop around?

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 AT 4:28 AM

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,331 POSTS

Hi Extraordinaire. Welcome to the forum. Besides the obvious ride quality, struts have an affect on tire wear which you usually can't feel. Struts can leak oil or the internal seals can allow the oil to bypass the piston. Either of these will cause excessive bouncing as you drive down the road, cupping of the tire, or the same vibration as an out-of-balance wheel. If you're not feeling any bouncing or vibration and there's no sign of oil leakage, replacing the struts is probably not a priority.

As for the difference in cost, the parts store where they get the struts from could be running a sale, they might be quoting prices of two different quality struts, or the first quote might have included extra parts such as the upper mounting plates. As for quality, the least expensive struts are generally equivalent to original equipment. Higher cost struts could have compressed gas to reduce oil foaming on long trips or variable damping for different road conditions.

Caradiodoc

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Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 AT 5:28 AM