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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Suspension | Brakes | Chassis > 2007 335i Brake Job: Ripped off or fair price??



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      10-08-2011, 02:38 PM   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Legovmit View Post
Ok,
She authorized the work and the bill was $1,377. ($758 for the front and $620 for the rear). I have 2 questions:
1) Is this a fair price for a brake job or did we get screwed?
2) Is it normal for a car with only 26K miles to need a brake job or is this pushing it.

Let me know what you think!! Did the dealer rip us off or treat us OK.

Thanks!
You should check out r1concepts...
http://www.r1concepts.com/bmw-335i-2007-sc.htm

Honestly, the work to do your brakes yourself isn't much of a task at all and so much cheaper than having a shop do it! Also, chances are they gave you the OEM brakes. And because it's a BMW, they say you need to replace the rotors as well when you do pads. I got that a lot! For that price, you could have drilled AND slotted rotors, Stoptech (Street Performance) pads and still have about $700-800 saved in your pocket which could be a brand new set of tires...
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      10-08-2011, 05:07 PM   #46
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Dude i'd fly out there for $1000 and change your brakes. They're super easy to do!
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      10-08-2011, 05:27 PM   #47
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ENINTY View Post
Shops pull this bullshit all the time. I've seen it over and over; a woman comes in for an oil change and leaves with an unnecessary brake job to boot. It's the old "it's unsafe to drive" routine that plays on a woman's fear that the car will suddenly be unable to stop.
Even if there is no pad left at all, the car will stop with some really bad noise - metal on metal will stop the car! Theory proved on a friends car when we were teenagers
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      10-08-2011, 05:32 PM   #48
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This is just a classic case of taking advantage of someone without car-sense. It's been going on for ages and is the reason dealerships stay afloat. They're technically not "wrong." It's never bad to change rotors and pads but doing so prematurely is to pad the dealership's books.
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      10-08-2011, 10:27 PM   #49
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kcalhoun27 View Post
thats the right price from the dealer, but its a ripoff in general.
Yeah from the dealer that is the right price I got quoted $1200 from them...but I have a mechanic that used to work at the VW/BMW dealer in the area and was the one certified mechanic that they had (hes certified by so many manufacturers and really knows his stuff) and we got the whole thing done using EBC pads and rotors for about $800 including labor if my memory serves me right.
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      10-09-2011, 12:25 AM   #50
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dmorga1 View Post
DSC? Nothing to do with CBS. The only "wear sensor" is the one that gets its wire broken if you go down to minimum thickness. In certain conditions, like tracking, as you point out, CBS may be making guesses based on its algorithm (on mine, it still seems to be basically counting down miles in normal city use). But my point stands--CBS doesn't have a good idea of how many miles are left on the brakes from mine and others' experience.
sir, if you feel DSC has nothing to do with how the CBS calculates brake wear, please ask BMW to change their description of how it works. I am pretty sure their engineers, who designed the system know a little more than you.

There is actually a service bulletin put out by BMW for the E90 in 2008 (SIB 34 02 08) which corrects "Erroneous Brake Pad Replacement Messages" This service bulletin lists how the DSC module is used to calculate brake wear.

There is a lot more going on than just mileage being counted down. I know that you thought you knew what you were talking about, but in reality you are wrong, just accept it, don't fight it. The car really was designed this way. It's ok, no one is mad at you.

"Front brake pads – Monitored by the DSC stability control module
-Rear brake pads – Monitored by the DSC stability control module"
http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/...ice-cbs-t8509/


http://tis.spaghetticoder.org/s/view.pl?1/09/87/18
"DSC: Dynamic Stability Control
The remaining distance for the front and back brake pads are calculated separately in the DSC control unit. When making the calculation, the condition of the brake pad wear sensors is taken into account (reference point at 6 mm and 4 mm). "

Last edited by mike3000fl; 10-09-2011 at 12:48 AM..
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      10-09-2011, 12:58 AM   #51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Legovmit View Post
Ok,
I dont normally write in but I have found so much useful stuff on this site I just had to share. My wife has a 2007 335i with 25,800 miles on it. We have had it since new and it is driven to work and back, very low mileage.
We took the car into BMW Seattle for an oil change (I was out of town). They called her back and told her she needed a complete brake job on the car, it was unsafe to drive, and she needed to let them know right away if the car was to be ready for her later that day.
She authorized the work and the bill was $1,377. ($758 for the front and $620 for the rear). I have 2 questions:
1) Is this a fair price for a brake job or did we get screwed?
2) Is it normal for a car with only 26K miles to need a brake job or is this pushing it.

Let me know what you think!! Did the dealer rip us off or treat us OK.

Thanks!
I assume when u say "full" brake job, u mean rotors, pads, sensors all around + fluid flush..i paid $250 w/o rotors..so yes u did get ripped..honestly the only time to take it to a dealer would be if you need the computer programming capabilities or if its a very complex job..but brakes??..thats about as easy as it gets..should have went to an indy shop...there is nothing special about a brake job as long as you source the right parts and lubricants..
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      10-09-2011, 12:59 AM   #52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dmorga1 View Post
But my point stands--CBS doesn't have a good idea of how many miles are left on the brakes from mine and others' experience.
Sir, that was not your original point...


Sir, your original point was this....
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmorga1 View Post
My point? It's this: BMW has good data, I think, on fluid replacement intervals based on their knowledge of the internals of the engine and the fluids in use at time of manufacture. They're not so good with brakes. I don't know how CBS calculates brake time, but it seems to do it on a straight mileage counter--something that doesn't take into account how hard or soft you brake, how often you brake, etc.
You said that the CBS does not take into account how hard or how often you brake, your original point is simply wrong. Do the research. Your original point was that CBS for brakes was based on just mileage.
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      02-04-2013, 12:42 PM   #53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by J02 335i View Post
The price sounds right, but the story is......did you really need them?
+1

I just bought all the needed brake parts from Advanceauto with hefty coupon code for only $200(F+R rotors, pads, sensors, etc.)....i mean literally everything. But I am thinking about returning some back, because I really don't think I need to replace rear rotors. Although my sensors say they need to be replaced, it's just a street car and I still have a pretty good braking distance. I will still replace front pads+rotors and rear pads and sensors.

Now, I am a bit late to this post, but it all comes down to whether you really are needed to do this. I go with sensors....no doubt. But it really depends on how you drive. If you are beating on your car with dme chipped and some meth/n2o injections, then your tires will wear prematurely. That case simply replace them. Did the car throw some sensor? I've read my bentley manual, and it said you measure the depth of the rotors, then decide whether to replace.

Let me tell you one last story. My wife's honda van....she brought it in for a "prepaid" service, they did all the needed recalls, 15k miles services, but asked my wife if she wanted a "battery service." Cmmon! It's a 15k miles van bought new, serviced by schedule with prepaid plan(paid $450 when we bought the car, but I regret), and saying that the battery needs a service? It turned out that they just applied that BG liquid to the negative terminal(which looked perfectly fine before the service) and charged $16 for the part and $14 for the labor. You've got to be kidding me....SERIOUSLY! American auto dealers are called "nuts" for no other reasons! Unfortunately, my wife accepted that recommendation, and yes, she paid for it. It's almost getting me puked....disgusting....nasty.

Bottom line, if they recommend, don't accept it. Just tell them that you will think about it. Then call around and take your car to an indy shop, get a secondary opinion and quote. Now.....I sometimes don't even trust those indy shops these days. I've got another ripped off service done by a nationally known tire shop.....argued but didn't work. Yes, that's right....you need to know what it is if you want to save your hard earned cash....or just ignore to know and pay whatever they say and feel good after having brand new parts all the time you take your cars in. My route....I'd rather know what it is, then find a place who can do the job cheaper than others. It's your choice.

Last edited by najin23; 02-04-2013 at 01:17 PM..
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      02-04-2013, 04:21 PM   #54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blacknbean View Post
sounds about right. dealer quoted me ~1400 for front/rear brakes+rotors when i got the extended maintanence on my car. whether you needed new rotors or not i dunno, but brake pads are cheap.
Omg. that's so expensive, around here, Id pay like 700 MAX for front+rear oem pads+oem rotors.
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      02-04-2013, 04:33 PM   #55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CirrusSR22 View Post
A FULL 335i DIY brake job is under $500. Rotors, pads, retaining screws, grease, brake fluid.

You got ripped off.
this is your answer right here OP. I had the same year car and I didn't change my brakes until 80K miles. But, when I did the break job it took me ~an hour a corner working by myself and never having done the brakes on a bmw before (not rocket science). Parts where $468 bucks and I got free shipping.
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      02-04-2013, 05:10 PM   #56
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What I hate is not just with autos but any type of business where the whole premise is bordering on fraud....like certain items that come with a lifetime warranty, but they jack the labor up even higher than if you had no lifetime warranty and were paying out-of-pocket.
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      02-04-2013, 05:45 PM   #57
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ouch..
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      02-04-2013, 05:57 PM   #58
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Where are the worn parts?
Sensors should have gone off if unsafe to drive.
Actually the sensors go off long before an unsafe condition.
Ripped...
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      02-04-2013, 08:04 PM   #59
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The parts are $600 front and back for oem rotor and pads. $1400 means the labor was like $800. That's about 6+ hours labor at $120/hr.

It does not take 6 hours to do rotors and pads for the dealer. They have a lift and air tools. 3 hours at most for rookies, 2 hours for veteran mechanics who've done it 100 times already.

In addition, those price for parts is retail. So the dealer gets those parts at wholesale prices and passes on the difference in cost between retail and wholesale to you. As a result, the dealer not only made exorbitant money in labor but some in parts as well.

This was in my opinion at ripoff. Buy the parts and take it to an independent shop next time.
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      02-05-2013, 10:16 AM   #60
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I know this is an old thread and brake wear is highly variable but I have the same car. Rear brakes replaced at 70k miles and front brakes replaced at 90k miles.
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      02-05-2013, 11:28 AM   #61
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I'm actually really surprised at how many people are just assuming the OP was ripped off because they did the job themselves cheaper, and didn't have to do it until longer.

The OP mentioned that they owned the car brand new... that's over 5 years. Also driven to work... so regularly.

I drive my car to work 5 days a week, and I work 14 miles each way from my house. I use the brakes five times each way: turning out/in to my street, 1 stop light before the highway, off/onto the ramp, in/out of the parking garage, and parking the car. That means My brakes make contact 10 times over 28 miles.

If you work 1 mile from house, but have stop lights, stop signs, school zones, and/or hills... you may hit brakes 40+ times each 2 mile trip. It isn't exactly impossible for brakes to wear down in 30k miles over 5 years of use.

Also, if it cost the same to have your brakes done at the dealer with OEM parts, you wouldn't be shopping online for coupons to spend 2 hours of your saturday working on brakes. I know, if it saves you a couple hundred bucks, sure. But here's the thing, and there's really no way around this:

OEM is not OEM. It may feel 95-99% like OEM, but it's not OEM. Some people get a peace of mind in knowing that a car has no excuse to not operate as expected because all the parts are made by the people who engineered the car. That peace of mind is baked into the price of OEM parts, and they usually ARE more expensive (particularly where "BMW" is the OM).

Bottom line, it's impossible for me or anyone else to really tell whether the brakes were in operating condition or were safe to drive without looking at them. $1,400 for a full OEM replacement of pads, rotors, and sensors is not irregular for what BMW dealers charge.
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      02-05-2013, 11:42 AM   #62
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Is the price rather high? Not really considering a dealer did the work. For a BMW seems quite low to me lol. A coworker has a 2009 STi and the dealer quoted him 2800 to do front pads/rotors and rear pads.... now thats a rip off. complete brembro brake but still. 1300 seems like nothing compared to that.
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      02-05-2013, 12:25 PM   #63
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackhawk36 View Post
I know this is an old thread and brake wear is highly variable but I have the same car. Rear brakes replaced at 70k miles and front brakes replaced at 90k miles.
I've never had a car where the rear brakes went first. You drive a lot in reverse?
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      02-05-2013, 01:30 PM   #64
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sounds like you got took. The only way I could see the brakes being shot at that mileage is if your tracking or your wife is just a super late braker
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      02-05-2013, 01:36 PM   #65
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Quote:
Originally Posted by art_z View Post
I've never had a car where the rear brakes went first. You drive a lot in reverse?
even in reverse front brakes still do most of the stopping lol
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      02-09-2013, 01:31 PM   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1N54E92 View Post
Yeah, it seems like a rip off. My E92 had 29,000 miles when I sold it and did not need brakes. The new owner had it inspected and it passed without any brake work being required. You can buy the BMW OEM parts for about $600 ( pads and rotors for 4 ) and have a indy shop install it for $200.Total of $800 for all .
^ This. At Tunermotorsport, they have a full rotor/pad upgrade kit for $500. So if indy installed, maybe $200. So $800 would be tops.
I'm not very garage talented, but I will learn to do the simple things like brakes and fluids to save as much as I can long term.

My CPO (bought at 32k) had its front brakes done at 35k and I just hit 50k and the rears are still good. Tischer gives 15% off parts, so if you take to a dealer you are paying 15% more for the parts right off the bat. Then, you are paying BMW hourly rates of possibly $125+ vs around $80 an hour at some indy shops. That's a few hundred dollar difference right there.
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Last edited by Kid Red; 02-09-2013 at 01:38 PM..
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