Greetings,
I went to have the alignment done at a Monro shop on my wife's xc90 (171K miles). Was told that the struts are shot and it would be a waste of time to do the alignment. Quote for new struts and alignment about $725.00. While, with this many miles on the car, I don't doubt that the struts may be bad, the car seems to be driving fine. Is there a way I can check whether he's right without spending diagnostic costs at a second-opinion mechanic?

Thanks!

Also check the condition of your rubber strut mounts. They often wear out before the actual struts. Are they split, cracked or distorted? At that mileage you should automatically replace them too since you are already in there removing the struts. The OEM XC90 mounts are very heavy duty. Consider buying OEM...

As usual Klaus is on target.

I trade at a family tire shop (since '63) that does tires and alignments for local repair shops.

I cannot judge any chain repair shop, but there are a lot that I would not even park my car near!

When a shock leaks fluid, you should hear a noise like leaking air or wheezing when you push down on the bumper. The old 'bounce test' may not result in the car going up and down after the initial push, that used to work when the shock and spring were separate units - that works for some older cars in the rear only.

I would call a local Mom & Pop repair shop and ask them where they send their cars for alignment. I did that and discovered an honest shop with reasonable prices. They do not do any other work, like sell tires and shocks.

Why do shops charge so much for replacing struts? $100 for an alignment, OK. $250 for new struts, OK. That leaves $400 for labor/profit?? And remember, Monroe shocks do not last as long as OE.
--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

Odds are that the struts are shot. The bounce test may give you a false result(every time my mechanic or I did the bounce test, the struts seemed fine, but it was the springs that were taking the load). On my 2001 V70XC, I did struts and rear shocks 1 year ago at 237K and it was worth the expense. It should save your tires also.

Parts that wear slowly can creep up on an owner--you get so used to how it rides at the time you sometimes are not aware of the degradation. However - Volvo struts tend to last a very long time - and front end shops like to sell parts/jobs. You can do some tests of your own. Is there wetness on the strut housing indicating loss of shock fluid? Lift the rubber "accordian" sleeve (you may have to jack up the front to allow the springs to stretch) to get a good look. Does the car pass the "bounce" test? Push down on each front fender or step hard on the bumper (if you are a small person you may need a larger friend to assist with this test) to see how the struts react. Push down and the body should drop and then spring back to proper ride height - if it continues to bounce (up and then back down to normal height ok) beyond that first resettling your struts are weak. Also look to see that the strut housing and spring perch are not rusted. If it will pass those tests you will be ok just getting your alignment - at least until the need for the next one.
As far as their price goes - it is not out of line. -- Dave

Thank you, Dave! I'll give it a try and hope for the best!