Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 35
allignment depends on car
5/12/2016 at 9:16 PM
depends how the ball joint is done, if you are able to press a ball joint in your old control arm it has nothing to do with alignment. Some make you replace the whole control arm as a complete unit and one of the control arms will adjust the camber.
You can usually mark the position it was in before and put it back the same way and it should stay the same but a mechanic will always suggest a alignment as they can't guarantee it and don't want to be liable. (even if installed the exact same always chance of manufacturer error and the arm being a hair longer or shorter)
If they don't quote you a price beforehand, you are paying per hour and $100 is actually a bit low maybe at a small business type shop I think even then it's $110 usually. Dealerships I think are usually $130 or 140 per hour now and also sometime they add a fee for shop supplies ontop of this maybe $20. Even if really easy would be bit over an hour to bit over 2 if hard(round up when by the hour) so they will probably charge 2-3 hours labor wherever you depend. so probably 110-140 an hour is $330-420 minimum on labour.
Also hard to say on the price of your ball joints themselves cause they do vary a bit on type of vehicle, brand of ball joint, and style of ball joint (if it comes with whole control arm). cheaper quality tends to be cheaper although dealer brands are just mark up.