Gut tells me I'm getting ripped on brakes....
 

My gut tells me I’m getting ripped.

My rear brake rotors are completely worn out on my 2000 SE. I took to a local chain repair shop Boston MA. They told me last winter I would probably have to replace the rear rotors, pads and calipers. In December they said this would be about $400. Ok, a bit high, but I do not know how to change my brakes and don’t know anyone who can show me how.

Two weeks ago the brake light came on so I went to get the brakes looked at. They told me yes, the rear rotors, calipers and pads need to be replaced but ALSO there is a crack in the “Brake Flex hose” and its leaking brake fluid. So they need to replace this as well and it’s going to cost me $925 for everything.

Am I getting ripped? Totally think so.
:mad:
Again, I would like to remind everyone I do not know how to change brakes. I’d rather pay someone who knows what they are doing.. Just saying this as I know most of you do your own brakes…

they add over $500 for a hose? I don't know a ton about these things but that doesn't seem right. I don't think your calipers should be changed unless they are broken. You have a lot of miles on the car? Front rotors replaced yet? they do most the braking I think

absolutely ripped. you can upgrade your entire brake system with wilwoods for that much...and find someone else to install it for you for free if you should not want to do it...

Get an ITEMIZED estimate, so you know what you're paying for.

If they are saying there's a leak in a line somewhere, have them SHOW it to you.

The only thing that would necessitate replacing the calipers, is that one or both were SEIZED and or worn to the point that they could no longer be adjusted to accomodate new pads/rotors.
If a calpiper is seized or not working properly, have them SHOW you where and why!
It IS possible to rebuild Calipers (seals/boots) but NO shop would do this (not worth the labor $$) they will simply REPLACE them and pass-along the cost to you.

Not sure how many miles you have on you '00, or how many miles have transpired since your last servicing.....but rear brakes SHOULD last up to 75k to 100k miles. That is TOTALLY subjective, and dependent upon driving conditions /climate (salt) / habits.

Best thing to do, is to listen to your gut and go to another shop for another estimate.
Don't TELL them you already got another est., or for how much, and don't TELL them you don't KNOW anything about brakes!

I'd estimate that cheap pads for both sides would cost about $50-75, Rotors about $50-60 each, Calipers would be well into the $100 ea. range, and no idea on the Labor or Brake Line replacement. They'll probably charge you for a brake line FLUSH (good idea) and fill as well. Just make SURE they actually FLUSH and FILL the entire system with NEW FLUID! (quote)

There should be NO more than 2-2.5 hrs. of labor involved in that entire process for a professional shop.

That estimate IS a bit on the HIGH side!

good luck.

gr

the simple fact that they told you that your calipers need to be replaced without actually taking anything apart is a red flag. Seems like they planned on selling you new calipers 6months ago regardless of their condition.

Definitely get another quote. Better yet, post something in the Northeast section to see if anyone in your area can do the brakes

That sounds pretty steep to me considering I do my brakes myself, but thinking back, I went to meineke with my '99 and they quoted me almost $800 for pads, rotors and 1 caliper. That was probably 5 years ago too so it may not be that much off.

What I recommend is buying your own pads, rotors and calipers and guide clips and bring them to someone to install them. I would say it should be a 2 hour job max for a shop. I would help you out with them but I cant find the time to install my own pile of stuff I have sitting in my spare room.

Hawk HPS pads: $65-70
Brembo or other blanks: 2 x $50
Calipers: 2 x $75
Lines: 2 x $30
Labor: 2 x $80


Total = $540

Sorry guys I did not include additional info. The same shop replaced all tires last December and at that time they told me about the brakes. I know my rear brakes need to be replaced, rotors and pads at least-you can literally feel it when touching the rotors. When braking, there is slight vibration of the whole car. Occasionally the steering wheel ‘judders.’ Last January my brakes stuck together driving to work and it was a nightmare driving to work. My max has 107K miles. I got new front rotors/pads 3 years ago, so they are on borrowed time. I bought the car used @ 78k miles and no idea what was worked on before this.

They shop called a while ago and I told them I would have to wait until Monday, so they have taken it off the lift. It would be hard for me to ask them to put it up again just so they can show me…? But $925 for all the rear work still sounds insane. I will definitely ask for a written quote.

1.) I don't understand why you would need to replace the rear calipers, seems bogus\

2.) Rear rotors should run you no more than $40 per rotor, same thing for pads, unless you're going aftermarket, so assume high end $200

3.) 2 hours labor @ $80 = $160

4.) $400 is relativley accurate, although the caliper replacement is likely :bs:

5.) Take someone with you out to your car and press on the brakes, you should be able to see the fluid leak out...but more specifically, a leak would result in a near immediate loss of brake line pressure and you'd feel it in the pedal

6.) With hose replacement, rotors, and pads, it should not exceed $550

Contact KRRZ350, he does jobs like these for us Maxima guys IIRC, he has a shop too.

I'm sure he would be happy to help you out or point you in the right direction on getting this done.

Or
Post in your local section and see if someone is willing to help you out.

LOL. Cant delete. I got distracted at work and hit the submit way after writting. Now what I said is completely redundant.

Cause after 100k miles the rear calipers are just on borrowed time, the maxima rear calipers are absolute JUNK and cease easily. I had 2 sets cease up on me.

:Orly: Didn't know that, thank-ya

Drunkie, I disagree that the Maxima calipers are junk. This is my 2nd Max and on my 97 my rear calipers went for 140k miles before one started seizing up on me (not cease). Now on my 03 I have 81K miles and only changed out my pads because I upgraded to Hawks all around. I'm replacing my front rotors soon due to steering wheel vibration while braking after excessive speed.

To the writer of the post, sounds like you didn't follow your gut if I followed what you wrote correctly; your car is already at the shop on a lift and you knew beforehand that it would cost $900 large? From my experience, a decent brake job with new parts that you provide should cost about $500-$550 parts and labor.

Even less if you go cheap on the rotors, your situation sucks because obviously you've been going to this shop for more than a minute and they still gouged you like that. I suggest you find another mechanic immediately.

They took it off after I said I would come back (yeah right :p). No charge. I asked for a written estimate.

BTW, without the car being on a lift, how can I tell if its leaking brake fulid. Is it a specific color?

seems like they are taking you for a ride..

i would help you out but i live in NJ. sorry

You've driven your car for 6 months knowing you might have brake problems? That's only going to make a minor problem worse. However, it is rare that calipers have to be replaced and I'd insist on them showing you were the brake line is actually leaking. I'd also get a second opinion.

If you include the brake hoses, pads, rotors, calipers ...My guts are estimating about $270.00 in parts...so just buy your parts and do it yourself....But I would inspect the car myself first or IF you're clueless go get a 2nd or 3rd opinion!!!! It sounds like a rectal violation too me!!!! But you are to blame for driving continuously when there were maintenance/repair issues!

Post some pics, and then we can decide if your rear brakes need to be replaced.

hmm.. now that you mentioned it, I think i got ripped off.

I replaced all 4 rotors and pads and 2 calipers for 673.90 2 months ago...what do u guys think?

Get another estimate.

not that bad, but I'm in CT. Everything is expensive. front pads and rotors were priced at 300 for me including install obviously

The point is you replaced your rear calipers because of issues. You haven't reached that 100k mark in the 5.5, and your post confirms it.

Most maxima's I have had come across the rear calipers are on the way out once they start hitting that 100k mark, not to mention they are a really bad design. Some people are lucky and can get a little more mileage, but the point is you had to replace yours and so does the OP. They are Garbage, bad design, solid rotor, small one piston = garbage.

Do you have the site or part number i can look that up? Wilwood upgrade might not be a bad idea.

You guys are getting ripped off, you can do it yourself, a complete rear brake job would be maybe 300$ for both side. A caliper is a damn metal casting it just need to be cleaned or sandblasted. Worst case scenario you buy a new hardware kit, that come with seals, if the piston is jammed, remove it and clean it/polish it will be good to go, trust me I did this few times. The pads, rotor and brake hose can be buy for not that much money. I could find you the part number if you need. Come on ! it's time to get dirt on your hand, you'll save money and will learn how to not get screwed up on brake jobs. Good luck, if you need help we are here to help.

Cheers

AA

Just adding my two cents.

It seemed my rear caliper was seized, but it ending up just being the slide pin that was seized, nothing more. Removed the pin - very hard to remove, had to use a vice. Then I very gently used the brush side of a bench grinder on it, added new grease, good as new.

Before they claim the caliper is seized, have a look at the slide pins, especially in the rear. This happened at about 80k. I'm on 120k with no issue to date.

you guys pay $80 for labor per hour????!!! holy ****ch. The most expensive labour rate around here is $50/h. I have a backyard mechanic who also works at a Muffler and Brake shop who only charges $20 and does amazing work.

Update:
This morning I went to a local shop and asked them if I could take a look underneath and I’d give them $50 or something. The rear left brake line and/or caliper is leaking brake fluid. Take a look:

http://net1994.smugmug.com/photos/55...9_TRFxz-XL.jpg
http://www.paintbypixels.com/photos/...14_QqAgi-L.jpg

Instead of $925 like the other place for the rear work (pads/rotors/calipers), they were going to charge be $550. They also looked at the front brakes, and said they could do those as well. $725 for everything. What do you think?

I think it’s just me, but I don’t have warm fuzzy feeling about them doing it. Really worried they will just slap on ‘ok’ pads/rotors. I want something that is going to last, but nothing super high-end. Can you think of a good rotor/pads where I can get long life? Don’t need racing pads/rotors…

From the pics above, do you think I really need new calipers?

yes.

And how come the other shop didn't mention anything about your fronts?

The same shop that quoted me $925 for the rears, wanted another $325 for the front!!!!

Anyone think the calipers are salvageable, or a hazard at this point...

Hard to tell if you need new calipers visually - gotta have a look at if they work properly.

And yes, I'd agree you need a brake line ;)

well i've seen worse, at this point its up to the matter of looking to see what is still functioning, but rebuilt calipers can be had for so cheap now from an auto parts store, it might be easier to replace then rebuild yourself

I don't think this is true and I don't know what area you are in but I spent half of that on all four calipers and pads.and by the look of your calipers you should replace them soon.

Once sandblasted those caliper will be like brand new, but you would still need new shim, seals, pads, brake lines etc. I'll post a pics over the week-end of my old brake caliper once sandblasted. Good luck with the fix.

On a side note, the reason why caliper cease is because people don't do maintenance on their brake, and they wait until there on the point of no return. If you do a preventive maintenance twice a year on the brake you will never have to face this kind of situation.

One thing I forgot if you do the preventive maintenance your brake will last the life of the car, except for the consumable.

I can't believe any shop would let you drive off without giving you a strict warning about your safety, and a smack on the back of they head for doing it for this long. That looks like a leak that's been going on for a VERY long time, there's fluid and corrosion everywhere. You would have had to fill up the master cylinder a few times just in these last 6 months. How could you NOT know you had a bad break leak?

You need to take better care of yourself man...you're taking huge risks for yourself and any passengers...

Well yes, it was my fault for waiting a few extra months. But don't let the pics fool you. I live in Boston and that's why your seeing most of the corrosion from the super fun winters we have here. A lot of rock salt! I think the fluid has been leaking for at least two weeks now. Thats when the BRAKE light came on. Although, I have noticed having to press deep down the on brake since last November....

I know all of your heads are going to explode for me asking, does anyone have a link that shows preventative break maintenance? It sounds like I was pretty lucky the last 6-9 months...

The best thing for break maintenance is frequent inspections. Twice a year and whenever you feel something isn't "right" would be a good rule of thumb.

Some other things, don't use the brake like it's a video game. Try to always anticipate road conditions so that you can let the car slow on its own, only applying brakes gently, and limit hard stopping to emergencies only. Driving like that you can easily get 50-100k miles out of a quality set of pads and good rotors.

As far as leaking seals, bad cables...if corrosion is normal because of your conditions in winter, there's not much I can recommend. Our winters here in FL are brutal, but we get salt on the cars when we drive on the beach. Any time I ever went down there, I always got home that afternoon, or very next day, and gave the underside of the car a killer rinse. Usually put one end up on stands so I could get the whole thing clean. Maybe as you're nearing the end of the winter season, You should rinse down your car as best as you can...

Please tell me you meant your winters in FL are not brutal :confused:

And we have beaches up here too.....I really dont think there is much comparison between driving on the beach and the winters up here. In order to keep the salt off our cars we would have to wash them after ever time we take them out.

But i am not defending the OP.....my calipers have never looked like that. That looks like the brake fluid is causing most of the corrosion.

Ok, just got the car back. Wow, I can't believe I got 'used' to the crappy/dangerous brakes I had. Need to brake them in as there is a horrible smell after hard breaking. Smooth like butter, but....

I'm still getting the same peddle play as before. It takes the same time/force on the brakes to come to a stop. I was expecting to use a lot less with the new brakes? My foot still goes 6-8" down for a gradual stop. Whats up with that. Perhaps they didn't bleed the lines? Is this easy to do myself without taking the wheels/brakes off the car?

I asked a lot of questions and they were glad to see me go, and sure as hell won't be happy to see me in the morning. :laugh:

Yea, sounds like you have air in the line(s).

You'll have to remove the wheels to bleed the brakes. And having a helper makes it a lot easier.