I went to my dealer yesterday to get my brake pads changed and I was shocked at the cost. With tax it was $190. This is my first time dealing with this, my father did all of our mechanical work before he passed, so I am not really sure if brake pads are normally this expensive or not, but it just seems outrageous that I was charged $135 in labor to install $45 worth of parts. Did I get ripped off?

 

At our dealership, we quote the same price on brake jobs...$189.95
We don't just slap the pads on and call it a day. We resurface the rotors, clean the caliper brackets, lube the slide pins and finally...slap the pads on!
You paid a decent price on a complete brake job...not just a pad slap!

 

no, around the same at all dealer. if you DIY, you would save at least $150.

 

Sounds about right if the rotors were resurfaced and brakes bleeded. Labor is expensive now a days. If this is your first brake job with no petal vibrations, true you could of just removed the old pads and slapped on the new ones in the parking lot of an auto store. Just make sure to pump the brakes several times before driving off.

 

Ok thanks guys, it just seemed like alot, but apparently there was more involved than I thought to the brake job

 

UNFORTUNATLY You got HOSED! Plain and Simple!
If you had done it yourself? For that money you could have bought NEW rotors and pads and still had about 50 bucks left over. Stock replacement rotors are like 40-50 bucks each and pads are the same for the set of 4.
Another tip! Never resurface these rotors. They are thin to begin with. After turning they will warp even quicker. It's good insurance to just buy new ones every brake job.
Brakes on these xB's are so easy you can just about do them with your eyes closed. NO POOP! SORRY

***Another tip*** Avoid using the dealer unless it's a warranty issue. You will not only pay about double for all work performed but you also run a high risk for other damage done by techs that don't really care about your vehicle!!!! Seen it happen too many times. Get a service manual and see how simple most of the stuff is to do yourself. The money you save on the first repair will more than cover it's cost!

 

hosed most likely, but if they did machine the front rotors, which i dout they did because they dont unless you ask for it, at a additionl charge to you, at leaset that what we do, and bb2ner said, never take it to the stealership unless its warranty or you really cant do it yourself. i know our rate is $78 an hour, just think of what you could have dont with that extra moola...........

 

You can spend $600 installing a $3 part. (throw-out bearing anyone?) Cost of parts has nothing to do with labor charges.

Shop around next time, btw.

 

i think that may be the cheapest throw out bearing price i ever seen, i just replace on a few hours ago and it cost me $40 at my dealer cost

 

almost, every dealer service u get is a rip off.. brake pad replacements are fairly easy to do or you can just goto another mechanic who willcharge u much less.

 

The local dealer in Charlotte stated that bleeding the brakes wasn't part of the normal brake change.

So I waited until I moved back to CA to do it myself.

New brakes and not bleeding the air out of the lines?

Yeah, mmMmm ok.

 

you dont have to bleed the brakes when you do a pad change, duhhh, do you really think air got in there and if you do you should not be doing your own work

 

Sure, I want four year old fluid in my brake lines.... and that nice squishy pedal you get with unbled brakes.

I've been wrenching on cars for a long time now... one of the things I love about the Xb is that it's like a big toy to work on... much easier then the 300zx twin turbos, for example.

I was just illustrating the fact that the dealer service cut corners, as far as I'm concerned. To do a brake job and NOT bleed the brakes... well... to each their own.

Oh yeah, nothing like "swapping pads" and not cleaning or lubricating anything while you're in there too, right?

 

i work for a dealership and its not fun and games for us techs, we dont get paid to slack off and spend all day on your brake job, if you want the brakes bled with new fluid sorry to tell you that is going to cost you extra, no freebies, as for lubing all your components is all up to the tech, some do and some dont, but a good one will