Brake Job, did I get hosed?

[Asian_defender]

I recently took my car in for regular maintenance and a brake service and fluid replacement.

I was called by the service advisor and he said my front brake pads needed to be changed. I told him go ahead and now looking at my invoice, I am seeing the following.

Brake Service + fluid replacement- $199
service all physical brake components including brake rotors, calipers and pads. Remove all rust and brake dust build up and lubricate applicable shim kits and sliders. Also perform any adjustments if needed
purge all brake fluid from systems, clean brake fluid reservior and refill system. please bleed out any and all air from system and road test.

Replace front brake pads + machine rotors - $278 labour
Replace front braike pads and machine rotors. Perform full brake service on the front brakes only. clean and lubricate all physical brake parts pertaining to front pads replacement.
Brake Pad set - $124.61
Shim Kit - 52.00

total: 454.61 for bake changing + 199 for the service and fluid replacement

seemed like i got hosed, perhaps someone in the industry can chime in?

[hrdkore]

looks pretty standard at the stealerships.

[ExtraSlow]

looks like you are getting charged twice for the "brake service" labour.

[BavarianBeast]

looks fine to me

[avishal26]

I don't think you got hosed.... sounds like you took it to a Lexus Dealer? (assuming its the car in your profile - 2011 IS250)

$450 seems a tad high for front brake pads replacement and machining rotors.. but for a dealership it is about right. Brake fluid flush alone is usually about $120 at most dealerships. On top of that, changing pads and machining rotors on front only would be about $400 at most dealerships.

What seems wrong to me is that they charged you for servicing the front brakes and on top of that changing out your front pads .... usually when you change the pads and machine rotors, you would clean all brake dust etc anyway - they should've only charged you for brake service on the rear brakes.... which should not be more than about $100...

I'm assuming you paid only $199 for the brake service + fluid replacement? not $199 + $199 in labour like the first part of your post implies.

Mind you when I say 'most dealerships', I'm considering 'luxury brands' Infiniti, Lexus, Acura etc., not Nissan, Honda etc.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
looks like you are getting charged twice for the "brake service" labour.

This.

T&T Honda quoted front brake service for Civic, pad replacement to be just over $450 all in.


That said, I think standard rate for any shop is now $135/hr? Even at crappy tire.

[dirtsniffer]

you got hosed for sure. so much overlap between those two services. the tech is laughing his way to the bank. Probably got paid 4 hours for something that took 1.

[Asian_defender]

would it still be 2 hours in labour even though they were already doing brake work? I would think this is maybe 15 mins as they were already bleeding brakes and 'servicing' the pads, rotors.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Asian_defender
would it still be 2 hours in labour even though they were already doing brake work? I would think this is maybe 15 mins as they were already bleeding brakes and 'servicing' the pads, rotors.

Yes, they charge you whatever their book tells them is the standard hours.

If the book says 1 hour, and the guy is experienced and gets it done in 20 min., you still get charged 1 hour.

[Aleks]

People always say Lexus is cheaper to maintain than BWM. I had my rear pads, rotors (new not machined) and sensors replaced at Calgary BMW for $480. This was least year on a car in the same class.

[revelations]

^ How well do you think a Lexus compared to a similar model/level Beemer would do over a 5 year period?

The parts might be expensive for both, but BMW probably requires you to replace/inspect 2x as much.

[CapnCrunch]

Nissan quoted me $800 for new front pads and rotors on my old truck. It could have been a lot worse lol.

[max_boost]

Just had my brakes done, new rotors, pads etc. on the Tribeca and it was $850. Any sort of mechanical work is $$$

[Asian_defender]

There must be a beyond that wants to do brake jobs in his garage for some extra money haha.

If your that beyonder, drop me a PM!

[avishal26]

^ I will do it for ya but no warranty on work and it will probably take me a whole day haha

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by Asian_defender
There must be a beyond that wants to do brake jobs in his garage for some extra money haha.

If your that beyonder, drop me a PM!

For next time?

[FraserB]

Yeah, pretty standard.

Try getting a truck serviced in Fort Mac lol, until I came up here I had NEVER heard of "mud time" as a charge. Your same service, plus an oil change and tire rotation would run about $1200 for a half ton truck. And they didn't even wash it for me.

Exact reason I do all my own maintenance. Takes a tiny bit longer, but you can usually get better parts and you build up a tool collection as you go.

[revelations]

As much as I love working on vehicles, brakes are the one thing that can very easily be messed up.

Years ago I had CT work on the brakes of my old Mazda B2200 - long story short - I ended up replacing the entire front braking system 3 months later myself at U wrench. The brakes were leaking at the calipers (both sides) and the discs (CT machined) were out so bad you could see it on a stand.

Even my Civic, the axial runout for a new disc is supposed to be 0.005". The hubs had a fair bit of material deposited on them and I had to mark and sand off the high parts before new discs - otherwise the pedal could vibrate at speed pretty good.

I doubt that most home mechanics would bother to measure this. I have a dial indicator around from my days of wrenching jet engines at Air Canada.

[CapnCrunch]

Originally posted by revelations
As much as I love working on vehicles, brakes are the one thing that can very easily be messed up.

Years ago I had CT work on the brakes of my old Mazda B2200 - long story short - I ended up replacing the entire front braking system 3 months later myself at U wrench. The brakes were leaking at the calipers (both sides) and the discs (CT machined) were out so bad you could see it on a stand.

Even my Civic, the axial runout for a new disc is supposed to be 0.005". The hubs had a fair bit of material deposited on them and I had to mark and sand off the high parts before new discs - otherwise the pedal could vibrate at speed pretty good.

I doubt that most home mechanics would bother to measure this. I have a dial indicator around from my days of wrenching jet engines at Air Canada.

I think if the average DIY'er was blind, missing both arms, and was 4 years old they would still be 10 times more qualified than the best CT tech in the entire country.

[Asian_defender]

Originally posted by G-ZUS


For next time?

Well my rotors will probably have to be done soon as it was just pads.
Have to think about my rear brakes too. At this rate it going to be another 1000 to get those done