YACT: Good Price for Front Brake Work?

[chin311]

Well, the time has come for new brakes...need to get the front ones changed out on my 96' Corolla.

Price List so far (parts from autozone):
$45 rotors, 22.50$ a rotor (x2)
25$ set of pads
----
70$ parts

My neighbor down the street does mechanic work on the side (retired), he said he'll do it for 75$, just for his labor...

Now, im not a car repair guru, but ive heard front brakes are relatively simple, so do you think he is charging too much, the right amount, or should i offer him a lower amount??

thx.

 

[DougK62]

That's a fair price, but if you have an hour, basic hand tools, and jack stands you can do it yourself very easily.

 

[iamwiz82]

are your rotors bad?

 

[freebee]

Sounds fine. Labor sounds about right, parts are right on. (OEM stuff or generic I assume)

If you don't know what you're doing, don't mess with the brakes. I tried bleeding brake lines when I didn't know how to and got air into the system. Very worrisome. Therefore, let the mechanic take care of it.

 

[amdskip]

Try offering him a lower amount. It would probably be more to take it to a shop though. Do you really need new rotors or can't yours be turned down a little?

 

[Pepsi90919]

the pads seem a bit pricy.

 

[chin311]

AMDSKIP: yeah, maybe around 60$, ill try. and yes, the rotors NEED to be replaced, they are warped and shuddering under hard braking.

PEPSI: Yeah, i didnt go for the cheapest pads exisiting, they are middle line.

 

[TMPadmin]

Had my front brakes replaced at Monroe for $250. I feel ripped off but I don't know how to do it myself nor do I have the time, so I accept it and paid it.

 

[chin311]

bumpppp

any more advice?

 

[desertdweller]

Originally posted by: chin311
AMDSKIP: yeah, maybe around 60$, ill try. and yes, the rotors NEED to be replaced, they are warped and shuddering under hard braking.

PEPSI: Yeah, i didnt go for the cheapest pads exisiting, they are middle line.

That doesn't mean they need to be replaced. If they're not to thin, they can be
machined to straighten them. Where you take them to have them machined
will be able to tell if they are too thin.

If you do replace the rotors, doing the front breaks is a 20 minute job.

DD

 

[V00DOO]

The job should take an hour and average price an hour for mechinics is $50. I would say a fair price is $50. Unless your rotors are wearing thin you don't need to replace them. Maybe you'll need to resurface the rotors and it'll cost around $5.00 each.

 

[Vegito]

1. look up rotor thickness, if possible, save the old rotor, and get it resurface for next time, good to have 2 sets of rotor if you're going to keep the car for a while.. I got 3 sets
2. maybe you should get origial toyota pads.. some aftermarket are really bad..
3. a honda brake job with rotor resurface "cut" is 250.. so this is cheap


EDIT: I do it on my car once a year, thats just my opinion. I would also bleed the brakes and put all new fluid in.. but thats just me.. im paranoid

 

[teckmaster]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
the pads seem a bit pricy.

The pads I put on my fronts were $60 for the set

 

[grillmasterP]

I would suggest this-
Offer him $50 bucks - and you will help him - This way you will learn how to do it yourself for the next time/ next vehicle.

A case of beers is also good currency amongst friends/neighbors

 

[gunblade]

I think the rotors price is really cheap. Mine is about 40 a pieces. And the price of the brake pads is fair too, depend on the brand. I think Toyota uses semi-metallic, right?

They usually charge a lot for the brake job. But it actually is a pretty straight forward 30 min job. Toughest part probably would be to loosen the nuts. I spend an hour to loosen the nuts with some penetrating oils. and swapping out the rotors and pads are as straight forward as swapping parts out from a PC. They were all bolt-ons. Get a repair manual, it is as easy as doing oil change.

 

[Nyical]

Originally posted by: chin311
Well, the time has come for new brakes...need to get the front ones changed out on my 96' Corolla.

Price List so far (parts from autozone):
$45 rotors, 22.50$ a rotor (x2)
25$ set of pads
----
70$ parts

My neighbor down the street does mechanic work on the side (retired), he said he'll do it for 75$, just for his labor...

Now, im not a car repair guru, but ive heard front brakes are relatively simple, so do you think he is charging too much, the right amount, or should i offer him a lower amount??

thx.

Ewww...20 dollar rotor, I see you replacing them on your next brake job becuse of warping that will happen with those
cheap rotors

 

[tcsenter]

Ewww...20 dollar rotor, I see you replacing them on your next brake job becuse of warping that will happen with those cheap rotors

Its a Corolla, not a Corvette.

I put $20 rotors on my Bonneville a couple years ago and they doing fine. OEM quality rotors have actually gotten cheaper in the last decade, since they're all made in China or some where they pay workers $2.00 a day.

I wouldn't try to talk the guy down. He's taking a huge risk by performing a service for fee on your vehicle. Auto repair shops have liability insurance, home owners liability doesn't cover this kind of thing. If something goes wrong, and there is an accident, he stands to lose everything he has.

I never do safety-related auto work on the cheap for anyone except my mom. I'll be happy to take the risk of losing everything I own, but its going to cost you plenty.

 

[dquan97]

I think paying $75 for an hour's work is a little excessive...I paid a friend of mine $30, and that's being generous!

 

[spanky]

thats a good price. u could probably do it urself... its just a matter of u willing to put in the time (and having the right tools).

 

[resinboy]

everyone's a brake expert till they have a problem. If the guy's a mechanic, you are paying for knowledge and experience. He has an eye for potential problems that the average " I can install my own pads" person can't. He'll also clean and lube all the caliper slide pins and rails ( if he is gonna do it right), and see if the caliper pistons are good and free or are starting to stick. And don't waste your money cutting rotors: unless the rotors are machined on the vehicle, there is no way to get them within a + or- tolerance of .002, due to the fact that FWD vehicles have a -0- bearing play tolerance, unlike their RWD brethren (older style rotors are more forgiving). Also, the factory don't give you much extra meat anymore to machine, so most of the time, you are close to the minimum thickness before you even start.

 

[Ornery]

WTF? How much does the local brake/muffler shop want to do it? Either do it yourself or pay the man $75.00. Sheesh!

 

[CFster]

Why are you replacing the rotors?

Most of the automakers now recommend that you DON'T EVEN MACHINE a set of rotors when replacing pads unless they're severely rusted, scored or have excess lateral runout (warped). This is a common fallacy that most people have, that you need to machine or replace rotors when replacing pads. Absolutely a waste of money, unless you have the above problems.

And, if you machine a rotor that's warped, it will warp again in the future - once the metal is bent (it's like a spring now), it wants to bend more.