2000 Toyota Camry Steering Intermediate Shaft

VMRAO

MEMBER
2000 TOYOTA CAMRY
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
160,000 MILES

My car is Toyota Camry 2000 year make. I have an issue with power steering. The steering wheel has become hard and it is very noticeable while making turns. I gave it at a service center and I was told the issue is with 'U-joint' and the entire 'Steering Intermediate Shaft' needs to be replaced. I got a quote of $700. Is this a reasonable quote? What would be a fair quote?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

Hi vmrao. Time for a second opinion. Most shops use a "flat rate guide" so they all charge the same number of hours for each job. The labor rate is a variable, but a typical rate is $100.00 per hour. Call the dealership's parts department and ask for the price of the part. I can only share from my experience at a Chrysler dealership that an intermediate shaft typically costs around $100.00 - 150.00. That leaves a lot of hours to replace the part. On most Chrysler products, it takes about 15 - 30 minutes to replace the shaft. Toyotas and Chryslers aren't that different. Add to that diagnostic time, test drive time, time for the mechanic to write up the final documentation, and 700 bucks still seems rather high without having an itemized estimate or knowing what other parts or service are involved.

Caradiodoc