I dropped off my car (2004 Subaru Outback, 110K miles) at the shot to replace the A/C compressor which died and asked them to check out the whole car for anything else that was needed. Here’s the list with price estimates:
A/C Compressor - $830
Valve Cover Gaskets - $580
Front Sway Bar Links - $295
Exhaust Flanges between Center Pipe and Muffler weak - $765
I’m OK with the first 3, I think, but I’m a bit confused about the last one. They told me there is no leak currently, but it is weak. Is that something that needs to be done as preventive maintenance or is it fine just to fix it whenever it fails?
If they are fixing to give way and drop your exhaust pipe/muffler into the street, then it might need to be done. You’d have to get under the lift and look at them to know. Do you suppose they’d show you what they mean?
Not a hard core car guy, but $765 for flanges sounds high to me. Looks like flanges are about $80 each. (maybe there are a lot of them?). The gaskets are $6 each or so. Are they replacing something else too? I realize labor rates are high, but still.
Random googling implies that their failure is common (or isn’t uncommon) on Subarus:
Ouch. Those prices seem high. Did you take your car to the dealership and get this quote? Unless there’s warranty issues I’d go to an independent shop and get a second opinion.
No, the A/C is needed for sure. My A/C is shot, it was diagnosed elsewhere, and they diagnosed it again. It’s the clutch that is gone, and both places said they needed to replace the whole unit, you can’t just replace the clutch.
The front sway bars make sense to me, I’ve been noticing the front end being loose. I thought there was a problem with an axle but they said they were fine.
I am losing some oil, so this would explain it. I though I was burning it but the valve covers could make sense.
I have nothing to indicate a problem in the exhaust system which is why I question it. They’ve been pretty good to me since I bought the car, they replaced my catalytic converter under warranty without question, a $3000 job. I am suspicious of any multi-thousand dollar estimate, but they’ve been pretty good to me. This is the first repairs they’ve suggested in 7 years of ownership.
I just had an entire exhaust from just behind the headers all the way to the tailpipe made and installed for $341 on a 2001 Firebird.
I have no idea about the AC compressor cost.
The sway bar fix price sounds OK.
Valve cover gasket seem high. They are generally pretty easy to replace in most vehicles. There are a number of write-ups online for the 2001-2005 Outback even.
“Exhaust flanges” is one of those terms that seems to pop up on lists like blinker fluid and muffler bearings when people are talking about nonsense car work that only enriches the shop.
I’m sure a lot has changed in Subaru engines since my 1983 'GL, but $580? Almost makes me think they looked at the wrong column in the price book and gave you the price for a head gasket. Subaru valve covers used to be something like open hood, remove four bolts, smack the cover to pop it free, scrape off the old gasket, adjust the valves as long as you’re in there, put on new gasket, put four bolts back in, close hood.
580 for valve cover gaskets sounds high. I would expect it to be around 400 for the 6-cylinder engine (less than half that for the 4-cylinder). If you got two similar quotes for that, it may be because prices where you live are higher than where I live, but that’s still a significant difference.
295 for front sway bar links strikes me as high. I would expect around 200.
The “exhaust flanges” thing is odd. It appears they’re describing the problem rather than the repair. I assume they’re talking about replacing both the center pipe assembly and the muffler assembly, as that’s the only way I could see it costing 765.
To answer your actual question, if the only concern with the exhaust is weak flanges, there’s no need to fix it now. Left untended, it’s likely to result in a leak which will produce noise and fail some state inspection programs. The repair cost should be the same whether it’s dealt with now or dealt with after it starts leaking.
The A/C compressor was the only one I got the quote for from another place, and the dealership was actually a little cheaper. So I’m OK with that.
The rest have only been diagnosed by the dealership, I may take them elsewhere to get those done if I think it’s worth my time. It’s worth something to me to have them do all the pieces at once and only have to leave my car there one time.
Having said that, I don’t want to throw money away. My car is the 4-cylinder, so the valve gaskets seem like the most excessively priced work on the list. I have no intention of doing the work myself so that option is out. I’d have to find another mechanic that I trust. I’m OK with the cost of the sway bars.
If they can do all the work next week while I’m off on vacation for a few days it may simply be worth it to have it done then.
I’m in Kansas City. I would quote valve cover gasket replacement at 215. However, it may well be that they’re including a valve adjustment. This is a potentially important maintenance procedure, and if it hasn’t been done before now I think it would be very wise to include it while the valve covers are off. I would quote it at 395. So, if they were pricing ONLY valve cover gasket replacement, the price is quite excessive; if they were pricing gasket replacement AND valve adjustment it’s not so bad.