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Pads and rotor replacement cost?

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  eweis 
#1 ·
My parts just arrived today, pfc z rated pads, brembo rotors, ate super blue fluid, wear sensors and stainless rotor screws... Now how much should I expect to pay to have them installed?

I called two shops and they refused to install my parts, one shop will however. They said their labor rate is typically $60.00 and hour but if it's a customer parts service they charge $120 an hour. They said "typically an hour an axle" and then I told them I had fluid... "Oh you wanna replace the fluid too?" "well that could take an extra half hour to an hour in case the bleeders aren't good"...

$340.00 labor for pads rotors and fluid? Would $240 be better? I don't want to drop off the car and then end up having a ridiculous bill because "they ran into issues" or made up that they ran into issues. The car has 57k on it and simply needs pads and rotors swapped out. Does this shop sound shady or are they right?

It kinda irritated me that they assumed I was going to keep the same fluid on a front and rear job at almost 60k...
 
#2 ·
First, that's BS that they charge twice the labor for you to bring parts in. I have had a place install my parts all the time at the same labor perhaps even cheaper.

If you have time, take a day and do it yourself. If not, find another place.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Bimmer App
 
#3 ·
You should install them yourself...it's actually both fun and rewarding! Many diys on this...and this is actually a reasonable one to begin with. Ask in your regional forums if anyone is around to help you.

But, $300 for a shop to do this work and bleed brakes isn't bad really. There are things that can go wrong on any car work...that wouldn't be the shop's fault. But, brakes are pretty straightforward.

As for labor cost doubling because you bring in the parts...seems a bit high...but there are reasons why you want a shop to order your parts. One, if there are parts' issues...the shop will fix them no cost to you. Second, they make money on parts...so at least they were honest enough to tell you they double labor rate!

If you read about 3 hours of brake diys, I bet you could do this...might cost you a little in tools if you don't have the right ones, but they'd pay for themselves in this one job alone.
 
#6 ·
First, you don't need to bleed them if you're just replacing pads and rotors. Sure, its a nice pm thing to do but just replace those first and after you're done and built up some confidence, do the bleeding later.
Secondly, not sure what worries you about cleaning and anti seize. You clean the rotors with a simple spray can of brake cleaner and rag to remove the shipping oil. Apply a thin layer of anti seize to the hub before putting the rotors on and onto the rotors where the wheels mate.
As stated, just read a couple DIYs and videos and you can do it.

Sent from my EVO
 
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