When i bought my VX a year ago it had the same problem. I replaced the ball joints and tie rod ends with a cheap kit from ebay. What difference. And if you are good with the wrench it is not too hard to do yourself. Marlin mentions whacking the joints with a sledge to seperate them. He is right. You don't need to rent a ball joint seperater. It is also a great chance to replace the tie rods with the tough Indy 4x4 ones.