I've done all of the work on ol' Jersey Graphite for the past 7 years, but a combination of work/life, coming up on 100K, a nagging vibration at 75 and above, and a lack of confidence in doing my own suspension work forced me to bite the bullet and find an indie shop for my baby.

After much research and deep meditation, I decided on Mr. M Car in Farmingdale, NJ (a BIMRS.org shop). I called and spoke with Dwayne who set me up with an appointment for the following week.

When I arrived earlier this week, I knew that I was likely due for a slew of suspension components as my original Sachs struts and shocks were at 94K miles. I suspected there were probably a handful of bushings that were ready for the garbage as well. With that in mind, I asked Dwayne and Don to dig in and replace whatever needed to be done. I let them know that I was pretty sure the shocks and struts at a minimum were shot as they were original. I also told them that the car just felt sloppy lately, and that I expected that some other components were probably toast as well. I left the shop assuming I'd have at least a couple of thousand bucks worth of work done.

Later that day I got a call from Don. After a drive and inspection, he related that despite her age and mileage he didn't really see anything in the suspension that needed to be done right now. The shocks and struts were still holding their own, and the handling issues he chalked up to my alignment being a disaster ("you basically had four tires pointed in four different directions"). He chased the annoying vibration down to two bent right side wheels (thank you, NYC). He got that 80% mitigated with a good tire balancing.

So in summary-- after pretty much giving the guy a blank check and completely expecting a several thousand dollar bill, Don basically says-- no reason to throw a bunch of money at her right now-- she still drives great and has some life left in the suspension. The man seriously wins the honest mechanic of the year award.

A couple of hundred dollars and a day and a half later, my car is back to feeling like her old self-- and I've found an indie shop for life...

If you're anywhere around central Jersey and need an indie shop, this is absolutely your spot.