$969 to replace my brakes,forget college, I'm going to brake replacement school

[dennis thompson]

I had my 2008 Ford Explorer in for an oil change. The shop called & said I needed new brakes. I wasn't surprised since the car has 41,000 miles on it, so I asked him how much it would cost (4 wheel disc brakes). He said he'd prepare an estimate for me when I picked up the car. I picked up the car & got an estimate to replace the brakes of $969 . My wife tells me I'm living in the past but $969 for a brake job seems awfully high.So here's the question: I (a former auto repair shop owner myself) am currently sending my grandson to college, should I pull him out & send him to brake repair school?
Dennis

[Gary Max]

Around here the service depts are keeping dealerships alive.

[Todd Burch]

I don't know how shops can justify that type of price. I can replace disc brakes with my eyes closed. That's about $242 per wheel. New pads are ~$25/wheel. Unless there's damage, the rotors don't need to come off. It would take me about an hour to do all 4 wheels - in my driveway, with no help.

Highway robbery.

[Adam Neat]

Brake "replacement" can mean a lot of things, anything from just removing the old pads and replacing them, to turning or replacing the rotors, flushing the brake fluid.

At 40k miles I would think new pads would be fine, but I havent seen your brakes, or the estimate.

[Scott Shepherd]

You've hit one of my pet peeves. I understand people have to make a living, I do to. But if I did to my customers what dealers do to their customers, I'd be out of business.

I just replaced a fuel pump on a truck this weekend. They quoted $800. Said it was 4 hours labor. I did it in 45 minutes, sitting in a parking lot with few a handful of tools. Part cost $165.

I don't know about the brakes on a 2008, but I've put brakes on many ford trucks and it's very fast, especially when you put new rotors on. It's also not that expensive, as Todd said.

[glenn bradley]

I don't know how shops can justify that type of price

"The Book" says this job takes X amount of hours. The car makers set an MSRP for the parts. The fact that the job takes an experinced person one quarter of X and that the parts can be had for less does not factor in. As Gary pointed out, these folks are fighting to survive. Cutting you a fair price isn't in their thinking; Scott's example makes this clear. On the upside, its a Ford. There has to be plenty of shops that can do a brake job. I was surprised to find that Midas was competitive with others in my area and with the lifetime brakes, you only pay labor on the next jobs from then till you dump the vehicle.

[Gary Max]

I still crawl my fat butt out and change my own oil---- I figure when I get to darn old to do that myself maybe I need to buy a mule.

[Luke Pighetti]

I generally do all my own work, but for those times where I don't have a shop available or time is money, I take it to a mechanic. I always try to pick mechanics that don't have ASE certification but have dozens of repeat customers. These are the guys to have on speed dial. The only thing that keeps them in business is the quality of their work. Bonus points if their shop is a barn with a lift in it.

[Brian Kerley]

Disc brakes are so easy to do yourself it's not even funny. I'm assuming your total is for new calipers, new rotors and new pads. I know a saturn is a bit cheaper than a ford, but hell, I just did my fronts for $35 in pads...total. Oil changes are cheap enough that it's hard to justify doing it myself. But brakes, man, the prices just aren't in line with the effort. They are easy to do and way cheaper than paying someone.

[Scott Shepherd]

I just wanted to add, I have a ton of respect for mechanics and their talent. A good mechanic is a great person to have on your contact list. I have no problems with mechanics, I have issues with the way their industry is structured and how they bill people for time not used.

If I quote you an hourly rate, then I should charge you for the time it took times that rate. If I told a customer our hourly rate was $80 per hour and they agreed to pay that, and the job took me 1 hour, I'd feel like a criminal if they walked in and I handed them the a bill for $320 and told them somewhere, someone in the world said that job took 4 hours, so I just charged you for 4 hours, even though it only took me one hour. I seriously doubt I'd be in business today. I can't think of any other industry that posts an hourly rate and then charges you for time they didn't actually spend doing it. I honestly think it's criminal.

I know all the examples, "yeah, but if I tell you 1 hour and something goes wrong and it takes me 10, are you going to pay me for 10?". Well, my response would be name me one other business that doesn't have to eat their mistakes. I eat my mistakes. If I quoted you 1 hour and it took me 5, then I shouldn't have quoted you 1 hour. That's my fault, not yours. Now, if during that something happens, like a bolt breaks off inside the engine and has to be repaired, you'd have a dialogue with the customer and explain that additional work was required and you'll do your best to resolve it as efficiently as possible, and then you bill them.

But you can't charge me for 10 hours work when you only worked 2 hours. That's just wrong.

[Peter Kelly]

Why were they looking at your brakes if you were there for an oil change?

[Gary Max]

They need the money???????????????????

[Ken Fitzgerald]

It is not unusual for a dealership to check things like brakes, struts, electrical system etc., when they change oil. My dealer does a 19 point check including checking the charging system, battery etc.

I was leaving on vacation from Idaho. I talked with my dealer about the oil change. Currently it had about less than 2,000 miles on it but I knew I was driving over 4500 miles before returning home. The dealership said get it changed at my most distant destination. I took it to a dealership on Bloomington, IL. They changed oil and pulled up the history on my vehicle. They asked if I would like the tires rotated as it had been a while. I explained I had a tire dealer rotate them before I left home. I bought my vehicle used from the auto dealer and the previous owner had their tires rotated there. The tire dealer rotates them free and they always use a torque wrench to tightened the lug nuts so I prefer to have the tire dealer rotate the tires. Pl

[Greg Peterson]

I did a quick lookup. Parts (pads, calipers and rotors on all four corners) are roughly $400 @ jobber. Who knows if the job requires any hoses or seals, but these parts are relatively inexpensive.

With the low cost of rotors these days, it's almost a push between replacing or turning. I think shops prefer to hang and bang rather than turn rotors.

Beware, if they quote you on Bendix rotors, have them clarify if they are Bendix or Bendix Global. Bendix Global is the economically priced brand. FWIW, I use Bendix Global and have had no problems.

[Jim Matthews]

I still crawl my fat butt out and change my own oil---- I figure when I get to darn old to do that myself maybe I need to buy a mule.

Whars the oil go inna mule?

I'm purty shore I know whar it cums ott...