Toyota Yaris rear wheel bearing replacement cost: £500

FredSmith01

Hi,
Took my car (Toyota Yaris 1.2 2008) to a Toyota garage for its MOT, engineer failed it as the rear wheel bearings, on one side, need replacing.
They quoted me £500.
£225 parts + 2.5 hours labour + vat

£500 sounds a bit on the high side, doesn't it to you?
Thanks

EdGasket

The bearings may be integral to the hub meaning the entire hub has to be replaced. Then the brakes might need to come off and be bled when refitting. The estimate is OK for a main dealer but get some others from an independent garage as it could be done in under 2 hours I think and using cheaper parts.

Are the bearings noisy or have excessive play? Sometimes play can be adjusted if they are taper bearings.

If you go with an aftermarket part, a rear hub can be had for about £60 tops:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XToyota+Yaris+1.2+rear+wheel+hub.TRS0&_nkw=Toyota+Yaris+1.2+rear+wheel+hub&_sacat=0

pappa_golf

based on the details you give and a google it seems that its a sealed unit , and a whole hub is supplied


for example: http://www.eurocarparts.com/wheel-bearing-and-wheel-hub

AdrianC

Just because eBay sellers list a hub for £30 doesn't mean that a £30 hub is worth fitting. It may well be that a genuine Toyota one is £225. Bear in mind that if the garage supply and fit a part, and it fails in short order, they're on the hook - so there's no way they'll go near a suspiciously cheap eBay part - also, they pick up the phone and make one call, the part is delivered from the dealer or factor in an hour or two. It turns out to be the wrong part, it's replaced in an hour or two. No waiting with a dismantled car on the ramp for three days while somebody the other side of the country gets round to shoving something in a jiffy bag.

So £500 - vat = £400 - £225 parts = £175 / 2.5hrs = £70/hr.

Not cheap, but not exactly ridiculously OTT, especially if you're in the SE.

bigjl

£500 for a rear wheel bearing is well overpriced.

Even if the bearing has to be pressed out.

bigjl

EdGasket wrote: »

The bearings may be integral to the hub meaning the entire hub has to be replaced. Then the brakes might need to come off and be bled when refitting. The estimate is OK for a main dealer but get some others from an independent garage as it could be done in under 2 hours I think and using cheaper parts.

Are the bearings noisy or have excessive play? Sometimes play can be adjusted if they are taper bearings.

If you go with an aftermarket part, a rear hub can be had for about £60 tops:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XToyota+Yaris+1.2+rear+wheel+hub.TRS0&_nkw=Toyota+Yaris+1.2+rear+wheel+hub&_sacat=0

Can you name a car where the rear wheel bearings can't be changed?

They might be prohibitively expensive and a pain to change but they can always be changed.

pappa_golf

bigjl wrote: »

Can you name a car where the rear wheel bearings can't be changed?

yes the yaris as its a sealed hub assembly

bigjl

pappa_golf wrote: »

yes the yaris as its a sealed hub assembly

How do they get the bearing in then?

Just because it is engineered that way doesn't mean it can't be changed.

It is actually easier to change the hub than a bearing.

AdrianC

bigjl wrote: »

Just because it is engineered that way doesn't mean it can't be changed.

For "can't be changed", read "can't be changed in an economically worthwhile way".

As you say, it's quicker and easier to swap the whole hub and ABS sensor than to strip something designed never to be stripped and replace a bearing that may well not be an off-the-shelf size.

But you've still got to strip and rebuild the rear drum and backplate, assuming it's one of the high-spec Yarises with that optional extra fitted. Which may include the pipe being found to be rotten. It may include replacing the cylinder. It may include replacing the shoes both sides. It would certainly make sense for it to include replacing the brake fluid.

gilbert_and_sullivan

That £225 is indeed the main dealer price.
Engineer my foot.
Try an old fashioned mechanic at another garage who'll fit a £50 pattern part probably inside an hour.

Strider590

Dealers charge a lot for this sort of repair, their technicians most likely can't do this sort of job and they'll have to contract it out to a third party.
Dealerships do servicing, routine maintenance, minor repairs and ECU diagnostics print outs, most these days don't see the value in paying proper mechanics wages and experienced mechanics usually won't tolerate the way dealerships are run (by desk jockeys and salesmen).