I bought my first car threee years ago, a used '92 Toyota Camry. The hood is held by two gas-lift suspenders similar to shocks, one on each side. They were working adequately well three weeks ago when I put some oil in my car. I took my car in for other maintenance and they mentioned the hood shocks both needed replacing, quoting me a pricew of $160 each. I said they didn’t help the car look good or move, so don’t bother. But if you support one side of the hood, it is clear the other side is not supported, both now seem to be gone.
I went to Canadian Tire and they had the same parts available for $30. Fine. But is it possible the mechanic actually damaged my shocks in hope of making a quick $260 profit (plus labour)? Could this be proved if it was true? What are thge odds of both going at the same time (unless one shock is sufficient to support the entire hood) and how long do shocks last, anyway?
It is very unlikely that the mechanic damaged the struts. 8 or 9 years is about the expected lifetime. His quoted price seems very high. Does that include labor? I would guess that it is very easy to replace them yourself. If you do I suggest you have a friend help you and/or know ahead of time how you will prop the hood open while you work on it. Replace both of them but only one at a time.
I have an old Datsun hatchback and the hatch door is supported by the same thingies. Many moons ago the gas in them started having less and less pressure and then just did not support the door at all. And it is heavy! But when i found out the ridiculous price of replacing them I found a broomstick will support it just as well. Yeah, those pressure cylinders are ridiculously expensive and tend to go bust with time but I doubt they’d suddenly go bust. On the other hand maybe they already were and you hadn’t noticed. i doubt they would do anything like you suggest.
Well, what mechanism would you suspect for them to be deliberately damaged? The only thing I could think of would be to drill a hole in the cylinder. So I guess you could look for something like that, or other forms of abuse.
It’s more likely that one of them went and the other one wasn’t up to the strain of trying to support the hood on its own.
But if you’re dealing with a mechanic who’s willing to ream you for a couple of hundred dollars more than the replacement cost for a couple of struts for a 10 year old car, you really should be shopping around for a new one.
Actually many mechanics do end up damaging them: many mechanics will leave cars in the shop overnight with the hoods up, which is bad for the struts (the struts tend to lose gas pressure if left in the “up” or extended position). This can also cause the hood to rattle or squeak afterwards, too (modern cars are flimsy pieces of s*** and often the hood’s back corners actually get bent down a tiny bit if the hood is left in the raised position for long). All mechanics may not know this, but they should.
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The struts for my ex’s 93 Accord SW were 90 each American two years ago. I got some generic ones for 40 each from a local import shop. Are these prices you are quoting Canadian or US?
The prices I quoted are Canadian; obviously I bought the parts at Canadian Tire ($29.97 CAD each) and self-installed them, and no I don’t see obvious drill holes, but even nicking the chrome rod might be enough to cause lower gas pressures.
I am working in Saint John for a few months. This si not mynormal mechanic, and will not be doing anything for me in the future.