You said it right!
I took her in to the dealer a few months back, with a coupon for a "bargain" 4-wheel alignment. Of course, they refused to do the alignment without changing the two upper ball joints. $545 but they did not have the ball joints in stock. Good; I'll be back next Friday with the new ball joints installed.
I ordered the pair from a dealer (OEM) on-line, total cost $99 for the pair. Took me less than 1 hour to install them both, including jacking and removing the wheels, then putting it all back. Plus, I didn't see anything wrong with the old ones.
Boy, $545 for that is some sweet money.
You know why the "bargain" wheel alignment is one of the most profitable come-ons for a dealer: they 'find" all kinds of things wrong, and get a lot of business.

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Providing a home for these cars:
1951 Buick Special De Luxe
1977 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II
1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
1986 Mercedes-Benz 420 SEL
2005 Mercedes-Benz E 320 CDI
2012 GMC Sierra 1500 4X4
1927 Pierce-Arrow Series 80
1931 Pierce-Arrow Series 43
1926 Ford Model T coupe