My wife’s car has split compliance bushings, they apparently need replacing and I’m being quoted £250. I’ve checked and the bushings are around £30 each, does it seem like a fair price for the work involved or should I be able to get it done for less? I’m told it’s not an MOT fail but is it something I should be doing sooner rather than later?

prices can vary a lot between very poor ones right up to OEM quality. Which are you being quoted for and which are you looking at for £30?

If it’s not urgent then try another garage for a quote and ask which parts they are quoting for.

Bushings can be a right pig to replace, and depending which ones they are you might need the alignment checked afterwards too. Without knowing more detail £250 could be perfectly OK.

depending on the car its often a time consuming job changing the bushings hence £30 parts £220 labour split. Can be cheaper easier to replace the wishbone that the bushes are part of.
if they have started to fail its worth doing as shot bushes lead to excess tyre wear and some odd handing characteristics hence the MoT fail.

The £30 is per side, wishbones are good so no need to replace but I may also get the worn drop links done. That price of £250 is Honda main dealer hence my reticence to just pay up but looks like it’s the going rate.

Thanks for the help.

That doesn’t sound too bad to me but if its a main dealer it should be cheaper elsewhere. Whether its worth the hassle to save maybe £50 is another matter.

Bushings are a pain the change your self. I had to drop my car on them with a trolley jack to get a set out – safety first! Real pain in the ass.

I would go through the Honda main dealer for a job like that to make sure they use correct parts and fit correctly. It’s a bit of a lottery at an independent garage and probably not much cheaper. Labour will be the main cost involved, the bushes themselves are relatively cheap.

Honda main dealer is likely to be ~£100/hr labour.

Independent (depending where you are) could be £40-£50/hr.

So you could save nearly £100 going to an indy I reckon.

Bushes are 30 quid each …..

If its the wishbone bushes then you have most likely have 4 ….thats 120 quid right there.

250 sounds not bad to replace the bushes and a main stealer.

Being a lazy home mechanic without a press i just swap wishbones.

My mechanic being a lazy mechanic without a press also just swaps wishbones.

How ever wishbones for my motor are only 80 quid , take half the time to fit and seem to last long enough to make it economical sense…. Although i once had a ford escort where patern wishbones were made of cheese. Once drove missed an unmarked speed bump at 25mph and ended the day with both front wheels pointing at each other.

Having just wrestled 25year old metalastic bushes out my land rovers suspension the changing of complete wishbones is not a practice im likely to stop anytime soon.

My mechanic being a lazy mechanic without a press also just swaps wishbones.

So if the labour outweighs the price of an arm it’s cost effective. Not all bushes are available seperately, and depending on what else is attached e.g. balljoints, it’s probably wise to swap the lot at the same time.

What would I know I work in an independent garage and just love ripping people off according to STW 🙄

Had my trailing arm bushes done yesterday (assuming that’s the same thing as yours?) and paid a bit more for Cupra bushes over the standard ones. Mechanic said they were a bit more of a pain to fit than the standard ones, but not too bad.
They also re-did the tracking and fitted two new tyres that I supplied at the same time.
Total cost of £218.

£250 from a main dealer doesn’t sound too bad, especially if the parts are £30 a side.

congratulations on out of context quote there benji.

congratulations on out of context quote there benji.

TrailRat you misunderstand the reason for my post, I was not having a pop at you, but trying to help justify the reason for changing more than just the bush, to the folks who believe everyone in the motortrade is either a robber/cowboy/bodger.

+1 for the “I just change the damn wishbone”

But avoid the cheap wishbones. Especially when they do things like rivet ball joints on instead of using bolts.

Was looking up parts prices for a Discovery 3 the other day to get an idea of costs. £57 for cheapo brand, £150 for genuine LR boxed and £75 for OEM. Been happy taking the OEM option on the FL so far as stuff has turned up with good brand names on but won’t touch the cheap crap.

At least you know being a dealer they will be genuine parts so £250 doesnt seem bad if it’s quite a few. I would still want to see just what they are doing for that amount though as it could be 2 easy to get to bushes.

On youtube it only took 3.30 minutes to change them!!