Hi,
I'm in Houston where the local Honda dealer quoted $2700 to do the shocks on my '03 S2000. An independent garage that specializes in Honda's quoted $2300.
The local Goodyear shop, which does a healthy repair business, quoted just over $1000......???

All three shops say they will replace the whole strut assemblies, not just the shock absorber. (that was a new one on me too)

First, these prices all shocked me ! (pun intended), but what am I looking at here with such a wide price range ? And, should shocks cost this kind of money ?

Any input appreciated....thanks in advance
Jeff

 

The difference is likely OEM vs aftermarket parts. Honda is obviously going to use OEM parts, and the independent honda specialist will probably use the same parts but charge less labor. Goodyear is using an aftermarket assembly, as the front strut alone from honda is ~$262 (the assembly is showing discontinued for 2003, but presumably they have found a source that still has them).

 

Takes about an hour to swap them on this car so labor should be low. I assume they were including parts in those quotes?

 

As mentioned above, I'm sure the large difference in price has to do with parts cost, OEM vs aftermarket replacements. A set of Koni shocks will probably run about $500 + $500+- in labor seems about right for a private garage. On the other hand, online Honda retailers are pricing a set of 4 OEM shocks for around $1,300. Add the labor cost and you're expecting roughly $2,000 before taxes. A dealership will most likely charge full price on those shocks so expect the cost of parts to be closer to $1,800 for all 4 corners.

If OEM parts are what you're wanting to stick to and mechanical work isn't something you can or want to do, I would suggest ordering the parts from an online retailer, like Bernardiparts.com, and then going to a private mechanic shop and seeing how much they would charge to install them. You'll find the best prices for OEM parts online and then you can shop for the best price in labor. An honest shop shouldn't charge more than a few hundred to install.

 

Contact Chase Johnston @V6 Donut He will hook you up. If you can't get in touch with him, PM me. I'll forward you his info directly.

 

Konis have gone up in price. $700 for the shocks last I checked.

 

I paid $800 for labor and parts to put 034 motorsport lowering springs on my Audi RS3. the same amount of labor is required to remove the struts so I'm assuming most of those prices are for oem parts. You could probably save some money getting a nicer Bilstein pss9 setup

 

Hi all,
Thanks to all for the info. Randomwalk101, I'll Ping V6Donut. thanx

Meanwhile Ive had another setback - 2 Honda dealers have confirmed Honda has discontinued these parts for the S2000. They can't get them !!!
After-market is the only choice we all have now I guess.

Regards,
Jeff

 

No idea if they are interchangeable or not, but the front and rear struts are still available for a 2009 s2000. If they are interchangeable you could replace the struts only and re-use the springs/rest of the hardware. I know the entire assembly would bolt in, but I'm not sure if you can take an 03 spring and put it on 09 struts. Might be worth looking into if you want to stay OEM.

 

They're interchangeable the springs just won't be matched to the dampers but it shouldn't even register to 99.9% of drivers.