Well, I think you are trying to differentiate between does it need to be done, or would doing it make the driving experience a little bit better.
At 150k miles I can guarantee that your car could use a complete front end rebuild from a suspension standpoint and the improvement in driving feel and funny bumps/clucks/noises would decrease dramatically.
Is VAC correct in that you could continue to drive it, be happy, and save money, yes, they are. Some shops will look at the age/value of the car and base their recommendations on that. They may not think it makes sense to recommend $1,000 worth of suspension work when the car is only worth 2500-3500$... It doesn't mean either shop is wrong, they are just looking at things differently.
The bottom line, at 150k miles, just about any wear component in the front end could cause the symptoms you are describing. |