[Boogster]

You really got ripped off. They are not dealers, they are stealers.

Like another poster said, rotors can last for at least two brake pad changes but you always need to check rotor thickness, which should be above about 23mm if I recall. The service manual has all that info.

Ceramic brake pads get rid of most of the black dust problem you see with the standard BMW brake pads. Many companies make very good brake pads. I've bought high quality ceramic pads from eBay as well as Amazon and they last ~60k miles and I need adult supervision the way I drive. Ceramic Pads plus sensor costs about $80 including the anti-squeak goop. If I was racing, I'd be more picky, but for my driving style (aggressive)I've had no issues.

Change them yourself. It is easy but dirty. You need nitrile gloves to keep your hands clean, a can of brake cleaner, a decent low profile jack ($60 when on sale at HFT for the Aluminum racing model), wheel chocks, and pair of low height jack stands, a wire brush to clean the caliper bracket off, a small amount of grease for the caliber guide bolts, a range of 3/8" metric sockets and socket wrench, a flat head screw driver or a small pry bar, a1/2" breaker bar to remove the wheels (plus a 1" x 2' pipe to make the breaker bar longer if you're not very strong or if a wheel lug bolt is stuck), a large 1/2" 17 or 19mm metric socket to remove the wheelbolts and about three to four hours time per front and back. There are tons of YouTube videos to show anyone how to do it. You also need a flat spot to jack up the car. It is really easy. A reversible cordless drill with socket adaptors makes things go faster once the lug bolts are loose as well as pulling the wheel well liners back to hook up the new sensor. A parts tray is nice too if you're an easily distracted nut like me. Maybe put some cardboard under the wheel well while you're worth king there to capture dust and wheel well crud. Look. A squirrel. 😳

The biggest problem is the darn BMW service software. It is buggy at best and is rat fecal material at worst. You may need a buddy who has a BMW software based OBD reset tool for the brake wear sensors. The car's service software works fine for oil changes and tire air pressure but most of the time you can't reset the brake wear sensors or others, it resets break wear at "00000"miles instead of 70,000 miles. So you get the constant yellow service light and warnings. It appears that Germans can't write code. Some BMW owners gomold school and actually just cut the sensor wire, and wire nut the two sensor's wires together for the brake wear. Plan to replace the pads soon when they are 2 mm thick. Check them whenever you air the tires and when you have the time.

Great car but idiot engineering details. Wait until you need to change an oil pan gasket. Yikes.

Originally Posted by 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!