[Legovmit]

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!

[Express]

you clearly got ripped off. price sucks, and the car likely didn't need brakes.

[tofu-]

I'd think a shop would charge 2 hours labor plus parts. I don't know how much parts cost, but you can base you're assumptions off that

[boostd92]

Depending on how your wife drives, it's totally possible she needs brake pads front and rear. It's HIGHLY unlikely she needed rotors (and that's the expensive part) - especially rears... they can easily go 2 and sometimes 3 sets of pads before changing. The fronts can usually go through 2 sets of pads.

That being said, a complete brake job, minus rotors would have been ~$375 front, $350 rear.

For future reference, if you are out of warranty and low mileage and the shop says you need "complete" brakes, say you are okay with doing the work if they provide the brake rotor thickness measurement, and you want the old rotors returned to you (for verification).

[blacknbean]

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.

[AndyzDad]

Originally Posted by boostd92

Depending on how your wife drives, it's totally possible she needs brake pads front and rear. It's HIGHLY unlikely she needed rotors (and that's the expensive part) - especially rears... they can easily go 2 and sometimes 3 sets of pads before changing. The fronts can usually go through 2 sets of pads.

That being said, a complete brake job, minus rotors would have been ~$375 front, $350 rear.

For future reference, if you are out of warranty and low mileage and the shop says you need "complete" brakes, say you are okay with doing the work if they provide the brake rotor thickness measurement, and you want the old rotors returned to you (for verification).

You're right, an Indy shop charged me 400 incl. tax to change the front rotors and brake pads on my e90 xi.

[John 070]

I'm not just saying it, I'd have a hard time taking advantage of people as part of my job responsibilities. I took my car in for the $69.99 oil change, the SA gave me a hard time because the 335i "uses special oil" and "takes more than 7 quarts," he says they're doing the hpfp recall too, and he calls and tells me he's putting on 4 new tires and alignment, should have me outta there for about $2500. I told him whoa, nelly, unless you can get me ling long ultra rfts, then hold off on the tires. I've got like 5/32 left, not sure if they have some new standard when you're using a $69.99 coupon

And put it this way, my car has 30k and the CBS says there are 42k left on the fronts, but only 21k on the rears. Whatever the case, there is life left at 30k.

[J02 335i]

The price sounds right, but the story is......did you really need them?

[CirrusSR22]

I just replaced the rear brakes on my parent's car because the DEALER told them the rear pads were almost gone. They told them "they'd be lucky to make it to winter" before they were gone. I ordered the parts (because I do all the car work for my family members), took it all apart and the rear pads were probably 75% still there. This was after 85,000 miles of "old-people" driving.

My E36 is at over 80,000 miles on both the front and rear pads with tons of life left. The rears will go 125,000 miles easily. I do drive "smartly" though and try to conserve momentum, unlike most drivers. Still amazed at how many people drive full-speed at a RED LIGHT and then slam on the brakes when they get there...

I'm still just so glad I'm not a slave to a mechanic. A FULL 335i DIY brake job is under $500. Rotors, pads, retaining screws, grease, brake fluid.

You got ripped off.

[J02 335i]

Originally Posted by CirrusSR22

I just replaced the rear brakes on my parent's car because the DEALER told them the rear pads were almost gone. They told them "they'd be lucky to make it to winter" before they were gone. I ordered the parts (because I do all the car work for my family members), took it all apart and the rear pads were probably 75% still there. This was after 85,000 miles of "old-people" driving.

My E36 is at over 80,000 miles on both the front and rear pads with tons of life left. The rears will go 125,000 miles easily. I do drive "smartly" though and try to conserve momentum, unlike most drivers. Still amazed at how many people drive full-speed at a RED LIGHT and then slam on the brakes when they get there...

I'm still just so glad I'm not a slave to a mechanic. A FULL 335i DIY brake job is under $500. Rotors, pads, retaining screws, grease, brake fluid.

You got ripped off.

I know you can do these brake on your own for cheap with ebay parts, but the op got OEM BMW brake pads, rotors and possibly new sensors. So there is going to be a difference in price and quality.

If you want your brakes to last 125,000 miles (unheard of) your not going to do it with $500 brakes for a 335i from ebay.

[J3NGOe90]

unfortunately u got rippeD OFF!

[CirrusSR22]

Originally Posted by J02 335i

I know you can do these brake on your own for cheap with ebay parts, but the op got OEM BMW brake pads, rotors and possibly new sensors. So there is going to be a difference in price and quality.

If you want your brakes to last 125,000 miles (unheard of) your not going to do it with $500 brakes for a 335i from ebay.

That was actual prices from AutohausAZ using Zimmerman rotors and Textar pads. Both high quality brands, not cheapo eBay stuff. Textar has been one of BMW's OE manufacturers for ages along with Jurid and ATE and maybe others. Zimmerman makes (or once made) OE rotors for Porsche. $477 for the full rotor and pad

[J02 335i]

Originally Posted by CirrusSR22

That was actual prices from AutohausAZ using Zimmerman rotors and Textar pads. Both high quality brands, not cheapo eBay stuff. $477 for the full rotor and pad set.

Ok but for what kind of car are we talking about a 335i?

[CirrusSR22]

Yeah, that's what they list for a 2007 335i

[username604]

Legovmit, you joined 4 years ago, i wish you'd post more often!
anyways, i think her brakes would be squealing like a mother before they were unsafe to drive. you could have driven around for the best price (the price you got was standard for a dealer brake job on a 335i).
i am personally never going to the dealer for brakes when my standard maintenance is up.

[CirrusSR22]

OP, were the pad sensors tripped?

[galahad05]

What the hell, didn't the brake pad wear sensors scream at her on the dashboard?

[galahad05]

Ha, Cirrus beat me to it.

[Fortyb]

Hell for that price i would have flown there did your brakes myself and would have charged you just $800 for air fare and same day round trip tickets.

[galahad05]

No, those really are dealer prices, more or less.

[redline2001]

Doesn't the cars computer tell you when the brakes need to be changed ?

[kcalhoun27]

thats the right price from the dealer, but its a ripoff in general.