Anyone know anything about VW Passat's?

[BadASSDakota500]

A buddy of mine that I work with has an 02 VW Passat W8 4 motion. He took it in to get the oil changed and they told him that his U-Joints were going back. "One had leaked out all the grease" the other "had a crack in it, so they put a screw in it to keep it in". They quoted him at $500 for the parts (250 each). I told him that that was ridiculous (both what they said, and the quote given)...from my knowledge of U-Joints they cost about $25 for two.

I have searched on alot of places on the internet but can't find U-Joints for them, but can find axle assemblies, and CV-Joints. The CV-Joints look like they are about $200-$300 so I am wondering if that is what is actually wrong with them?

Also, I found a site that shows a picture of the U-Joint, they don't look that difficult to replace, anyone know otherwise?

[copperdodge]

They must have meant that he needed new CV joints. Unless you can jack up the car & confirm that the driveshaft joints have thrown grease all over the bottom of the car, then don't let them work on it. If you look in the front fender wells and see that it's all greasy & wet, then the CV boots are ripped and have slung grease all over the place. Those are pricey to fix, but the $250 figure (per side) sounds about right.

If he needed u-joints on the driveshaft, there would be terrible vibrations at highway speed, too.

[BadASSDakota500]

oops didn't realize that I posted this in the funny pages!