What's the mileage on the thing? $1800 is a big chunk of change. I could walk around a 5 year old low mileage car and suggest $1800 worth of repairs in ten minutes. If the brakes are not an immediate safety concern have them provide a separate estimate for them. Ask for minimum and actual thickness specs on the rotors. Call around for prices on "pads and rotors". It's usually standard menu pricing at most shops plus the cost of the rotors.
Did this shop give or even offer a written estimate? Anyway, for a shop to just say, "yup you need a bunch of front end parts" is pretty unprofessional. No shop should charge for a front end inspection, with few exceptions. Aside from the usual putting the vehicle in jounce and moving and prying on components, a good shop will be able to provide and compare actual specs versus maximum specs on the various front end parts. It may be the obvious case though that some of your parts are actually falling off as the truck rolls on to the lift. It happens.
It could also be that multiple ball joints are bad, as well as some other components. If a vehicle has one bad front end part it's usually fine to replace it and move on. However, if the front end has a ton of miles on it and they only replace one or two parts it's likely that you will then feel slop or run out from the older existing parts now which would be no fault of the shops other that they didn't properly diagnose and suggest the correct repairs. It may also be the case that due to other worn front end components they may not be able to align the vehicle. If a shop refuses to do only part of a job, it's usually for a good reason. Liability. If they only do part of a job and let the vehicle roll in an unsafe condition, they are liable. Same thing with brakes. If you go in for brake pads and they show you a leaking caliper or out of spec rotors they likely won't just slap new pads on. Some shops however will recommend replacing everything just to cover their butts, or they just see $$ coming. Brakes and front end tend to get oversold quite a bit, thus my suggestion to get at least a second opinion. You may be surprised as to the difference in the estimates.
So while you may get an estimate for pretty much everything, just make sure they explain what and why. It's your money, you deserve a competent written estimate. Also, ask to have the technician show and explain everything on the estimate. A good tech will have no problem not only selling the proper repairs but themselves as well and that's quality.
If any shop only wants to give you a "guesstimate", run. Ask if the technician is ASE certified.
Your mileage may vary...
