Thanks for the feedback. It is an inner tie rod end. The $200 quote I got is *just* for that repair and doesn't include the original alignment. And then they originally were telling me I would have to pay for the realignment after the tie rod repair. I have it in writing that they first quoted me that, and then later said they'd realign at no change. (But do I really want to take my car back there??)

Thank you for the tips on how to handle such places in the future, ie checking on issues before asking for actual work to be done.

In any case, there wasn't much play in the steering but a lot of pulling to the right. And they had it up on a different lift for tire rotation and balancing + oil change just minutes before. They even called me back there to point out the smallest oil leaks in other spots, etc... while it was still up on the lift, but didn't mention a damaged or bent inner tie rod until **after** taking it to a different bay and actually completing the alignment and parking it back outside. To me that seems unethical and I'm trying to determine if it really was (unethical) or just my slant on it.

Thanks!!