hi all,

I just went to dealer to pick up Ingmar from his yearly inspection and an oil service. They found the left CV joint boot (where it goes on to the hub) is torn. I looked...MAN, is it ever torn! Split in two, along the circumference of the boot. The grease has been splattered all over the underside of the car. It will be okay to drive because it's got some grease left, but I will not be letting this go unaddressed for more than another, say, 100 miles. The car has 80,180 miles, do the boots wear out at this age? It looks like it split because of wear, not because of damage. Would it be wise or a waste of money to replace both CV boots? I did not get a close inspection of it, just when the car was on the ground - and the split boot was very obvious. The thing is, the volvo dealer here in Chapel Hill, NC, wants $250 to fix this! A rubber boot, $250? Granted, I know they have to remove the axle, but...that seems steep. What do you all think is the fair going rate for this type of work?

Also, For future reference, I was wondering where on earth I can purchase replacement blades for my headlamp washers? I don't know a lot of auto parts stores that stock the...like...6-inch wiper blades, haha....

Just glad to have Ingmar the viking warrior back, with fresh oil so I won't be paranoid about wearing out my turbo bearings (yes, I am paranoid about that).

-tim 850R