Tried out a new shop this week since they were running an A/C service special for $39.95. While there I figured I'd get the brake pads done since they were horribly low.

A/C Special ended up being $175
Brake Pads ended up being around $160 installed

That can't be normal...I think I will find a new place to do my front rotors. What should I be paying for that job? (2003 SE front rotors)

 

times are tuff lol...but seriously i think u kinda got ripped off...u get front and rear done? wut do pads cost...lik 30-40 bucks if i remember for lik just the front pair?

 

Just pads... no rotors? Sounds like you got boned.

It's called "bait-n-switch", and it's a difficult lesson, man. Everyone goes through it. Sometimes more than once.

Live and learn.

 

Well, I hope they kissed ya first.

Did they at least turn the rotors? I would hope so. My buddy put on all new brakes on all 4 corners, pads and rotors last month. Parts were $120, gave my buddy $50 for doing it.... yeah, you got ripped off.

 

You deffinatly got ripped, but if it makes you feel better, I did too. It was the dead of winter, just before a 500 mile road trip to DC, and I needed new front pads and rotors, and living in an apartment I have no garage and ended up shelling out close to $500 because I didn't want to freeze my a$$ off and do it my self. It sucks but sometimes it happens and you're not the only one.

 

dude,

Queens NY here, brakes and rotors, labor for $60- $65. its sounds like you went to strauss auto or pep boys, those guys are only good for oil changes.

 

I paid around $70 for pads and installed them myself (not terribly difficult). Couldn't have taken more than a couple hours on the weekend.

 

....not even, they forgot to put oil back in my buddy's altima. pretty much put 100k miles on it in 100 miles.

 

lol close, Goodyear tire and auto center...walking distance from my new apartment. Thankfully there are 3 others within a block, they just looked the most legit so I went there first.

Trial and error FTL

I was thinking about getting OEM front rotors online or something and taking them to whatever shop I can hit up...do we have a consensus as to where to get the best prices?

 

brakes are one bolt, undo slide the caliper up put new pads, rotate the piston back in fronts are done with a c clamp and backs are done with this cube looking thing, thats 10 bucks, so for clamp, plus rear caliper tool maybe 20 bucks, pads cost me 40 for front and rear, and I found a deal for new rotors for I believe it was 100 shipped, so 160 for new rotors and pads, rotors are even easier, it's a total of 4 bolts for each side(two for the caliper and two on the back of the rotor. I wouldn't bring my car back there ever again.

 

-Ken

 

That is the going rate for brakes done by an independent garage. Remember, they are a business just like anyone else. Of course, it's always cheaper to have a friend of yourself do it. This is why you "paid" someone else to do it. Call the dealer, I bet they would have charged more than $160. AS far as the A/C, I am not sure what the special advertised is versus what you actually paid for.

 

man thats messed up
i just changed my brakes on my max cost me $26
and 40 minutes of my life time

 

I run a service dept at a car dealership. We charge $214.95 for brake jobs all day- replace pads (factory) and resurface rotors...

 

Actually, when you're pushing the piston back it's better to pinch off the line and let the displaced fluid drain out the (loosened) bleed fitting. What you DON'T want to do is push the dirtiest fluid in the whole system (the stuff that's sitting in the calipers) back through the ABS unit. You'll have to bleed the system afterward, but it's a really good idea to keep the fluid in the lines fresh anyway (I think it's a chemistry issue involving copper).



OP - you can get Hawk HPS brake pads for $70/axle and ATE front rotors for $70 each at Tire Rack. Do not get Brembo rotors.


Norm

 

Went to a second shop today about the rotors. He said they are about $40 a rotor and its a half hour job...so like $120. They also gave me a ride home when I dropped my S2000 off for an inspection.

 

methinks you got kinda

 

WOW.... i did rotors and best ceramic pads all the way around for $260

 

what shop was this?

 

Savvy Auto and Tire Center on Long Beach Road. Here's the breakdown:

$107 [labor] remove and replace front brake lining, check brake pedal reserve and braking equalization
$72.95 [parts] front ceramic brake pads
Total Brake: $179.95 (rotors were not replaced or resurfaced)

AC Service $149.95 (evac and recharge, inspect system)

 

Was gonna do mine myself but....

Just got a qoute from my local stealership and they don't even charge that much. Bringing my own drilled and slotted rotors in... $120 for pad and rotor install.

I was pumped... Thought it would be way more.

 

sorry about that bro but the last time I checked they have to write out an invoce and the total price is on the invoice before they start the any of that maintenance, and You have to okay it before they start any of the maintenance too. Then If there is any issues while they are working on the car they have to let you know of them and If you dont want them to work on that they cant. So just a bit of information about that before you go and spend that much again.

 

Ah. Well, that's not a 40 dollar special. $40 is the inspect part.

 

I see a lotta people mentioning how cheap they got their pads...what type of pads you guys talkin about?

 

duralast gold lifetime warranty on em good enough for me

 

This is why I screw up my car myself. Props to pinchin off the brake line and opening the bleeder. Great idea Ill have t try it.

 

you should always learn how to work on your own car. you save alot of money.

 

for some reason I am deathly afraid of touching my brakes

 

It's sooo easy to not realize that there are far better pads available then the replacement brake pads available across the counter at Pep Boys/Autozone/etc. You simply can't comprehend what you're missing until you actually drive with a set of performance street pads. Sure, I used to run mass-market replacement pads and shoes (Raybestos and others). Won't happen again, though.


A o G - As long as you're careful about a couple of things, brake pads and rotors are actually among the easier things to service. It's reasonably easy to reach everything, there are very few fasteners, there aren't any fussy adjustments any more with 4-wheel discs, and you can always do one side of one axle at a time so you can look at the other as you're re-assembling the one side. Basically, don't stress the flexible brake hose and don't let brake fluid get on the rotors, pads or anything painted. Don't let the master cylinder reservoir go dry. Make sure that you have a nice solid pedal feel before you test-drive it. Having somebody with some brake service experience around while you're doing your first brake job or two might be a good idea.


Norm

 

Times are tough and what you experienced has become common practice in those type of places. I have a Firestone less than a mile from my house so if I need an oil change or tire rotation, or anything simple it's very convenient for me to bring our cars there because I can drop it off and walk home. The past few times they have become worse than used car salesmen.

I used to drop our cars off for an oil change and they would call about 2-4 hours later and say it was done. Now they always call with these *Urgent* issues that the car needs right away. A couple of months ago I brought my daily driver G20 for an oil change and about an hour later I get a call from them saying the manual gear oil was filthy, the fuel injectors were clogged, and the car needs an alignment all for the tune of $300.

Now I just had the gear oil changed at the dealer not even 3 months ago and how would they even know if the fuel injectors were clogged? I always tell them no but it's getting to the point where I can't go there anymore because I hate letting people that dishonest touch my car. When I picked the car up I told them how the gear oil was recently changed and I'd like to see how dirty it is and the guys says "Oh we were just going by the miles on the car, we didn't actually look at it." Believe me that's not what he said on the phone. I can only imagine how many unsuspecting people fall for this crap when they go to places like this.

And I know I should do this stuff myself but I have 2 herniated discs in my back and it makes even oil changes very tedious and painful for me.

 

Just did this yesterday:
Rear pads $32
+ Rear rotors $44
+ Rear calipers $180
+ Fluid flush $5
------------------------
$261

If excluding calipers, just about $80.

I used AutoZone & Advance Auto parts

 

I hate the rears, such a pain