Drop links

Brought the 02 Corolla this morning to a garage to get three tyres(NCT is up soon and they're borderline) and to check what was causing the squeel at low speed lately.

They rang me back to say the drop links were gone, e65 each.
Tyres they said they only had ones for e105 each and whatever way that all adds up it was costing e500

My own assumption was e50-60 per tyre and hopefully e100-150 for whatever the squealing was.

I found it hard to hear them on the phone and wasn't able to ask questions so need a bit of advice.

What should I do next?.
*Can I change the drop links and leave the tyres longer.
*Is that price too high( I saw an older thread on here saying it wasn't a big job),
*Can I change the three tyres and do the drop links after.
Would it pass the NCT with that problem.

Wondering what course I should take, NCT is out in a week and I'd like to have it renewed before my insurance in June.
I'm not working either so need to ge mindful of money of which I've about e300 this week without being able to add to it until next week.

Stallingrad

I'd take the car back, put it through the NCT, then change anything it fails on. Then source your tires elsewhere, you can certainly do better than €105 a corner.

Jayop

Hard to know what the price on the tyres is like without knowing the size but for a normal corolla i'd say that's nuts. About 60 a corner would get you decent enough tyres. Drop links again without pricing them is hard to know but as a general rule about 30 each and normally 40 minutes would put them on.


315 for the tyres
130 for the drop links
55 for the labour

Seems a bit much.


Also, not sure how droplinks would cause a squeel, not to say they're not wornout.


Personally I'd test it as is and change whatever after. If it's only those things then it's probably just a visual anyway.

colm_mcm

is your corolla on 14 or 15 inch wheels. what brand were the tyres he offered?

JohnBoy26

I'd be asking what brand those tyres are. At €105 a corner they should be premium tyres. budget tyres, or ditchfinders, as they are know on here, should be between €50-60 and mid range tyres sould be in between those 2 in terms of price.

If they are giving you a budget tyre for €105 then I'd definitely be looking elsewhere. Even €105 for a premium tyre for that size of wheel sounds a bit overpriced.

colm_mcm

droplinks should be €20 each unfitted for that car.

colm_mcm

colm_mcm wrote: »

is your corolla on 14 or 15 inch wheels. what brand were the tyres he offered?

They are 15s. I have no idea as I had no intention of paying my total on tyres alone. They said they hadn't any other stock bar whatever they were.

Anyway just to point my thread isn't about a garage trying to get me to buy dear tyres. My only concerns are is the drop links price dear, can I do one without the other and what would an experienced head do(ie maybe the drop links is fine but I go elsewhere for the tyres and return etc)

Jayop wrote: »

Hard to know what the price on the tyres is like without knowing the size but for a normal corolla i'd say that's nuts. About 60 a corner would get you decent enough tyres. Drop links again without pricing them is hard to know but as a general rule about 30 each and normally 40 minutes would put them on.


315 for the tyres
130 for the drop links
55 for the labour

Seems a bit much.


Also, not sure how droplinks would cause a squeel, not to say they're not wornout.


Personally I'd test it as is and change whatever after. If it's only those things then it's probably just a visual anyway.

It's probably hard to describe the noise properly. I could say screech, squeal etc... easiest description is the car on rotation at say 1-10mph can make a noise once per rotation.
It wouldnt be too dissimilar to a braking "squeal".

It only started a few weeks ago and I don't drive many miles per week. I knew the car would need three tyres for the NCT but said I'd tell them to check what was causing that noise. My initial indication wasn't that it would need be sorted to pass the NCT, but an early indicator for something going.

I guess I'll just to the NCT first, as I suppose I could also need one or two other bits and it's about to run out next week so getting all present issues sorted before than on a budget seems unlikely anyway.

Jayop

gilberto_eire wrote: »

They are 15s.



It's probably hard to describe the noise properly. I could say screech, squeal etc... easiest description is the car on rotation at say 1-10mph can make a noise once per rotation.
It wouldnt be too dissimilar to a braking "squeal".

It only started a few weeks ago and I don't drive many miles per week. I knew the car would need three tyres for the NCT but said I'd tell them to check what was causing that noise. My initial indication wasn't that it would need be sorted to pass the NCT, but an early indicator for something going.

I guess I'll just to the NCT first, as I suppose I could also need one or two other bits and it's about to run out next week so getting all present issues sorted before than on a budget seems unlikely anyway.

Yeah as a rule of thumb I'd just replace blown bulbs and put it through regardless of the condition. At least then you'll get a proper list from them of what's needed. Would be nothing worse on a 2002 car than spending a couple of hundred getting it ready for it to fail on emissions or something that could end up costing you more than it's worth.

JohnBoy26

I'd do the drop links first. If you fail on them it's a €28 retest. If you fail on tires it's only a visual and won't cost you anything.

amikoalien2

just as an example
http://www.micksgarage.com/search/anti%20roll%20bar%20drop%20links/toyota/toyota%20corolla/corolla%20saloon%202002%20to%202007/1.4%20d/90

Did the droplinks on my astra last week
took 30 mins per side ( simple job )

but a squeak or squeal per revolution of the tyre does not sound to me like droplinks
As suggested run it through the way it is as it is just a lucky bag of a test depends on who you get on the day

George Dalton

colm_mcm wrote: »

droplinks should be €20 each unfitted for that car.

Not all droplinks are created equal :pac:

€20 droplinks cost €20 and are made from chocolate and last about 6 months.

€65 droplinks cost €65 and last a lot longer.

amikoalien2

George Dalton wrote: »

Not all droplinks are created equal :pac:

€20 droplinks cost €20 and are made from chocolate and last about 6 months.

€65 droplinks cost €65 and last a lot longer.

Ah yes that may be so :-)
But how much longer will the op get from a 2002 corolla

Jayop

George Dalton wrote: »

Not all droplinks are created equal :pac:

€20 droplinks cost €20 and are made from chocolate and last about 6 months.

€65 droplinks cost €65 and last a lot longer.

Would you really recommend putting 65€ drop links on a 14 year old car?

http://www.micksgarage.com/search/anti%20roll%20bar%20drop%20links/toyota/toyota%20corolla/corolla%202001%20to%202007/1.4%20vvt-i/97

Anything between 19 and 22 quid which is about bang on. I'd honestly be amazed if even the genuine ones cost that much.

amikoalien2

For around 20 should be fine
Been discussed here before
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056965530

Would it be a better option so to pick them up myself?.

At least then I'm only paying somewhere for labour?.

I've booked the NCT for two weeks, I wont be doing much driving until then so might hold off and see what the NCT throws up on me.

Would drop links show up in an NCT?.... Can they get worse ie car needs to be towed at some point.

amikoalien2

Its a simple job
the site listed will do free delivery over 40 yo yo

Not likley anything is going to happen to them in the next 2 weeks
but as I said in an earlier post a squeak or squeal per revolution of the wheel is probably not likley to be drop links
I would probab say something like a flat spot on a tyre had it been sitting unused for a bit
Have you tried changing it over for the spare

amikoalien2

amikoalien2 wrote: »

Its a simple job
the site listed will do free delivery over 40 yo yo

Not likley anything is going to happen to them in the next 2 weeks
but as I said in an earlier post a squeak or squeal per revolution of the wheel is probably not likley to be drop links
I would probab say something like a flat spot on a tyre had it been sitting unused for a bit
Have you tried changing it over for the spare

There's obviously no restrictions to what ones I can get from that page?.... One size fits all so and price is the concern?.

No never changed the tyres yet. The front two and one back are in pretty bad nick as well.

George Dalton

Jayop wrote: »

Would you really recommend putting 65€ drop links on a 14 year old car?

http://www.micksgarage.com/search/anti%20roll%20bar%20drop%20links/toyota/toyota%20corolla/corolla%202001%20to%202007/1.4%20vvt-i/97

Anything between 19 and 22 quid which is about bang on. I'd honestly be amazed if even the genuine ones cost that much.

What difference does the age of the car make? My daily car is 10 years old this year. Does that mean I should start putting spurious ****e into it?

Cee-Jay-Cee

Tyres should be available for around €60 a corner. I personally would change all 4 rather than just 3.

But the drop links yourself and get some local mechanic to fit them. It's a simple job and shouldn't cost more than an hours labour to fit them.

Is it a squeak or a squeal? A squeak could be a dry bushing or top mount. A squeak is more likely to be brake/wheel related.

Tigger

colm_mcm wrote: »

droplinks should be €20 each unfitted for that car.

+1
i get annoyed when i pay more than 14 for droplinks
65 is crazy

JohnBoy26

George Dalton wrote: »

What difference does the age of the car make? My daily car is 10 years old this year. Does that mean I should start putting spurious ****e into it?

What's wrong with spurious drop links though as long as you get something half decent?

I fitted blueprint drop links to my corolla 4 years ago, they are still on it today and I'm not sure that blueprint are great for these kind of parts either.

I know that genuine will in most cases last longer but in this case spurious will be fine.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I have cheap Q&H drop links in my Legacy for the last three years, not a rattle or noise out of them and even if they gave up tomorrow, they're still as cheap and easy to fit so will use them again. Genuine Subaru items were over 4 times the price!

JohnBoy26

George Dalton wrote: »

Not all droplinks are created equal :pac:

€20 droplinks cost €20 and are made from chocolate and last about 6 months.

€65 droplinks cost €65 and last a lot longer.

How can you possibly know that when we don't even know what brand of drop links the garage is fitting?

Frankie Lee

I've never seen links gone on a 02-> Corolla, €20 ones may well last the rest of the cars life. Even the 03 on Avensis I've only ever seen 2 with links gone and the were both taxis with crazy mileage.
Does the op hear any knocking over rough ground?
The crazy price for tyres looks suspicious to me too.

Jayop

George Dalton wrote: »

What difference does the age of the car make? My daily car is 10 years old this year. Does that mean I should start putting spurious ****e into it?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with putting certain spurious parts into cars, particularly cars of a certain age. Not all spurious parts are ****e and in some instances the spurious stuff is much better than the genuine parts. The likes of droplinks etc are ideal for spurious and at a 12 year old car I'd say the €20 one would last as long as the car will remain on the road.

Special Circumstances

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I have cheap Q&H drop links in my Legacy for the last three years, not a rattle or noise out of them and even if they gave up tomorrow, they're still as cheap and easy to fit so will use them again. Genuine Subaru items were over 4 times the price!

I was quoted crazy prices even from limerick motor factors, never mind subaru. Meyle HD got online, grand job.

George Dalton

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

What's wrong with spurious drop links though as long as you get something half decent?

That's the point. They aren't decent. We fit a lot of drop links (as you can imagine) and depending on the customer (note that I said depending on the customer not on the car) we supply various brands from cheap all the way up to genuine. Cheap links just don't last. It has gotten to the stage where we now try to avoid the cheap brands because we were having to replace too many under warranty. In other words having to do the job multiple times but only getting paid for it once.

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

I fitted blueprint drop links to my corolla 4 years ago, they are still on it today and I'm not sure that blueprint are great for these kind of parts either.

Maybe you've been lucky or your Corolla doesn't see many bad roads but I have seen plenty of instances of repeated failure of Blueprint links in Corollas.

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

I know that genuine will in most cases last longer but in this case spurious will be fine.

Depends on what the OP wants. If they just want to get through the NCT and drive on then fine, if they want a lasting job then spurious won't be fine beacuse in all probability they will have to replace drop links again for the NCT this time next year.

George Dalton

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

How can you possibly know that when we don't even know what brand of drop links the garage is fitting?

I don't know.
You don't know.
Colm doesn't know.
The OP doesn't know.

Only the garage who quoted for them knows. That was the whole reason I posted in the first place.

The OP said they were quoted €65 for links. Colm said they can be got for €20. The logical conclusion for someone unfamiliar with the area is that the garage was charging €65 for a €20 part.

My post was just to point out that this may not be the case. I didn't mean to start an argument

George Dalton

Jayop wrote: »

There's absolutely nothing wrong with putting certain spurious parts into cars

I know there isn't. I do it every single working day. That's why I know what I'm talking about.

Jayop wrote: »

particularly cars of a certain age.

Here you go again with the age thing. The age of the car is not relevant. The attitude and financial circumstances of the owner of the car is what matters.

Jayop wrote: »

Not all spurious parts are ****e

True

Jayop wrote: »

and in some instances the spurious stuff is much better than the genuine parts.

Very, very rarely is this the case. Can you give an example?

Jayop wrote: »

The likes of droplinks etc are ideal for spurious

My opinion is the opposite. Based on putting thousands of parts into thousands of cars I reckon that drop links are one of the things that you can't cheap out on if you want a long lasting solution

Jayop wrote: »

and at a 12 year old car I'd say the €20 one would last as long as the car will remain on the road.

You can't possibly make that call any more than I can. You don't know the car or the OP.

JohnBoy26

George Dalton wrote: »

That's the point. They aren't decent. We fit a lot of drop links (as you can imagine) and depending on the customer (note that I said depending on the customer not on the car) we supply various brands from cheap all the way up to genuine. Cheap links just don't last. It has gotten to the stage where we now try to avoid the cheap brands because we were having to replace too many under warranty. In other words having to do the job multiple times but only getting paid for it once.



Maybe you've been lucky or your Corolla doesn't see many bad roads but I have seen plenty of instances of repeated failure of Blueprint links in Corollas.



Depends on what the OP wants. If they just want to get through the NCT and drive on then fine, if they want a lasting job then spurious won't be fine beacuse in all probability they will have to replace drop links again for the NCT this time next year.

It sees a lot of bad roads actually, maybe I have been lucky but I had a similar experience with an older corolla. I don't doubt that the genuine parts are better and in the older corollas, the genuine rear drop links even look much different than spurious ones but the spurious links where much cheaper and still lasted a good few years.

Maybe this is the exception rather than the rule and if money was no object I'd buy all genuine parts but I can only give my experience which was positive tbh.

gctest50

George Dalton wrote: »

I know there isn't. I do it every single working day. That's why I know what I'm talking about.
............

It's easier to just believe some people are re-incarnated cats and hence :

George Dalton

gctest50 wrote: »

It's easier to just believe some people are re-incarnated cats and hence :

I genuinely don't know whether that video means you agree or disagree with me :pac:

Jayop

George I'm not going to get into it too much for you but I'll give your example Transit vans of the last generation, the spurious flywheel is eminently better than the Ford one.

Look, I'm not going to change your mind or ways now but for me advising someone to pay 130 for a set of droplinks for a 12 year old car is a bit much. And we do have an idea of his financial status given that he's said what it is.

alta stare

There is no way in hell I would ever pay 65euro for a drop link. Iv used spurious parts lots of times without any issues. I know some are poor quality but there are decent parts out there for decent money.

gctest50

George Dalton wrote: »

I genuinely don't know whether that video means you agree or disagree with me :pac:

I agree with you for sure,

Next time someone starts that " why would i put good parts on it, it's a 10 year old car " logic, think of the video above

George Dalton

alta stare wrote: »

There is no way in hell I would ever pay 65euro for a drop link. Iv used spurious parts lots of times without any issues. I know some are poor quality but there are decent parts out there for decent money.

There are no decent links available without paying for them. About 2 years ago I got sick of replacing the front left drop link in our Focus van every 6 months or so with cheap links of various brands (Delphi, Moog, Firstline, etc.). I fitted a genuine Ford link (approx €70) and would you believe that 2 years later it is still fine. As is the front right link which is also a genuine Ford part and has been in the van for at least 7 years and 140,000 miles. I know this because I've never had to touch it in the 7 years and 140,000 miles that we have had the van.

Frankie Lee

Frankie Lee wrote: »

I've never seen links gone on a 02-> Corolla, €20 ones may well last the rest of the cars life. Even the 03 on Avensis I've only ever seen 2 with links gone and the were both taxis with crazy mileage.
Does the op hear any knocking over rough ground?
The crazy price for tyres looks suspicious to me too.

I'm not sure about knocking but lets say I'm on a smooth enough road, it does feel a TINY bit bumpy.

But the only real indication to a problem is the noise really, and there's nothing above first gear.
Can sound a bit "squidgy" as well rolling slow, kinda like a tyre is flat or the mud guard is being engaged but maybe none of that is relevant.

alta stare

George I get what your saying but personally i would not pay that much and iv never had any issues with any spurious parts iv used. Some of the OEM parts are overpriced some are reasonable, its the over priced ones I avoid unless needs must and I wouldnt be someone who doesnt look after my car. It gets the tlc it needs just not with high costed parts which can be got cheaper and of near like quality in some cases.

George Dalton

Jayop wrote: »

George I'm not going to get into it too much for you but I'll give your example Transit vans of the last generation, the spurious flywheel is eminently better than the Ford one.

Spurious as in solid conversion? On 00-06 Transit I would agree with you but we have had awful trouble with the solid kits on the facelift version from 06 onwards.

One other example of spurious being better than genuine is headlights on 03-> Almeras. The Nissan headlight melts around the bulb holder but the spurious parts don't. But that's one of the exceptions that prove the rule IMO.

Jayop wrote: »

Look, I'm not going to change your mind or ways now but for me advising someone to pay 130 for a set of droplinks for a 12 year old car is a bit much.

I know I am repeating myself but in my experience it depends 100% on the owner, not the car.

We have lots of customers with older, so-called "low value" cars and I know for certain that if I fitted a cheap substandard part to their car they would not be happy at all. The very fact that we maintain their car correctly despite the age and value is one of the reasons they come to us in the first place.

On the other hand we have plenty of people with newer cars worth a lot of money who won't entertain the idea of paying for anything more than the cheapest option available.

It isn't an exact science. The reality is that you have to take each situation on its merits and respond accordingly.

Jayop

George Dalton wrote: »

Spurious as in solid conversion? On 00-06 Transit I would agree with you but we have had awful trouble with the solid kits on the facelift version from 06 onwards.

One other example of spurious being better than genuine is headlights on 03-> Almeras. The Nissan headlight melts around the bulb holder but the spurious parts don't. But that's one of the exceptions that prove the rule IMO.



I know I am repeating myself but in my experience it depends 100% on the owner, not the car.

We have lots of customers with older, so-called "low value" cars and I know for certain that if I fitted a cheap substandard part to their car they would not be happy at all. The very fact that we maintain their car correctly despite the age and value is one of the reasons they come to us in the first place.

On the other hand we have plenty of people with newer cars worth a lot of money who won't entertain the idea of paying for anything more than the cheapest option available.

It isn't an exact science. The reality is that you have to take each situation on its merits and respond accordingly.

Do you know what George. Maybe I might just agree with you there!

The Sidewards Man

Spurious is an interesting word, I never thought car manufactures make their own drop links.

George Dalton

The Sidewards Man wrote: »

Spurious is an interesting word, I never thought car manufactures make their own drop links.

I don't think anybody in this thread claimed they did. There are three types of parts IMO, this is how I classify them.

OE: Genuine parts, supplied by the car manufacturer. Made to the OE specifications either by the manufacturer or a supplier appinted by the manufacturer. These parts will be supplied in the manufacturer branded packaging and will be backed by manufacturer warranty.

OEM: Aftermarket parts supplied by a company that also supply OE spec parts to the manufacturer. May or may not be OE spec. Examples include Luk clutches, Hella lights, Brembo brake pads.

Spurious: Parts made by companies who are not OE suppliers. These are basically cheaper copies of the OE part. Examples include National Autoparts clutches, Depo lights, Apec brake pads.

The Sidewards Man

Luk clutches would fall into Spurious or beneath it there now George, lets not be extracting urine now.

randy hickey

^I thought Luk were the OEM for the clutch and DMF in the Gen 7 Honda Accords?

stefanovich

amikoalien2 wrote: »

Ah yes that may be so :-)
But how much longer will the op get from a 2002 corolla

Another 10 years at least.

Esel

Chocolate /= Polyurethane.

€65 a pop for droplinks? Fup off. Unless Toyota use some kind of weird thing there...

Agree with putting the car though the NCT before spending on it.

stefanovich

They are ripping you off. FInd another garage. Also get a good set of tyres. Your life is worth the extra few euros.

cjt156

Back to tyres. Please don't replace three. I die a little inside when I pull up behind someone with different patterns across the rear axle.

Shocks, springs, tyres, discs and pads; always replace in pairs.

biko

65 per droplinks sounds way too pricey, as said around 20-ish per link is more normal in my experience
Do them yourself and save on labour. Check on micksgarage and ebay.

colm_mcm

Is the 65 including Labour I wonder

colm_mcm

colm_mcm wrote: »

Is the 65 including Labour I wonder

I don't think so as it was e65 each, plus e315 for tyres, e8 for oil and the whole thing added up to e500.
There was definitely an extra near e100 which must have been labour.