I have used 3 different mechanics near my places and all of them charges too much.
I asked how much do they charge for pad placement and all of them answered $90 per pair.
if replacement both front and rear it will cost 180 + parts, they may make extra money from parts too.
is it better buying parts from repco and bring it to mechanics?
or is there any other ways to save money? I live in Melbourne suburb
I feel brakes are the one thing you shouldn't do yourself unless you have been shown or properly understand what and why you are doing the steps you need to do.
Youtube?
While I do agree, it's actually a very easy job. If you have some basic tools (a socket set and spanners are essential, and a brake caliper spreader can speed things up), and you can find a video for your specific model on youtube, it's a walk in the park. If you don't try to cut any corners, it's safe and easy.
Also if you don't have the right tools then take this opportunity to buy some, will still work out cheaper than paying a mechanic for the job - and now you have tools too!
Well, that's a sufficiently open ended enough statement that I don't know why brakes are the special exception there. Surely the majority of things in life are like that.
Like driving the car… Amateur drivers crash, die, kill people all the time. Changing brake pads are easy compared to driving.
Would you say the same thing about changing a wheel? If you don't tighten the nuts properly it can come off and cause a crash too…
Changing brake pads is an incredibly easy task. It's not complicated.
Brakes are trivially easy to do though, especially in the digital era, youtube if you need help.
Sounds standard to me. Mine are $90 for the brake pads themselves (OEM) and $80 to get the mechanic to change them.
As Pierrefranklin said, if you want to save money, change the brake pads yourself
oh okay. I just contacted one my friend recommended and they charge only 60 but the shop is 1hr+ distance so. anyway I thought only my area's mechanics are expensive. Thanks
Piere who?
Learn to read the comments
May I ask which repair u go only charge $80 for labor?
One that's in south-west Sydney
$90 per pair actually sounds very reasonable. Front brake pads tends to wear out faster than the back. Are you sure you need to change both front and back at the same time?
nah i am just saying
I actually need only front parts replaced
the only way to save money is don't brake.
Wish ozbargain had reacts like Facebook sometimes haha
I engine brake as well. Normally get ~80K km on a set of pads
Got told once to use the brakes. Easier to replace break pads then other parts of the engine that get strained with engine breaking.
Not sure how true it is.
can't imagine how that can be true. After all you're simply closing the throttle and resultant airflow, plus the weight of the vehicle.
@SupeNintendoChalmers: You get 80K km on one set of brake pads but how many clutches did you go through on 80K km?
@fredk1000: Even by downshifting through every gear every time, I don't think you should go through a clutch in just 80,000km, unless you don't know how to use the clutch and/or shift properly.
Even by downshifting through every gear every time, I don't think you should go through a clutch in just 80,000km, unless you don't know how to use the clutch and/or shift properly.
I engine brake a lot.
My last car I had to change the original clutch at 155,000km.
Bear in mind this car taught 3 people to drive manual (lots of very very VERY bad driving, including in particular a hillstart exercise where I managed to get smoke coming from the clutch because I couldn't feel the "surge" to let the handbrake go so I just kept increasing throttle and releasing clutch until lots of smoke came out. Car was still fine today at over 250,000km).
So yeah, in some ways clutches aren't easy to kill. However according to the interwebs they are really easy to kill if you set your mind to it.
@eek: The clutch is harder and more expensive to replace, but if you do your rev matching roughly right, there won't be any significant clutch wear to ever be concerned about.
I'd be more worried about the wear on the synchro mesh, cuz they have to work harder on downshifts than upshifts unless you have double clutching down as pretty much second nature, but yeah I see your point.
@SupeNintendoChalmers: Although it's strongly encouraged to use engine braking to maintain vehicle speed on a long decline, engine braking does increase wear on the engine, but I guess if you aren't doing it every minute all day, it's not enough to warrant concern.
Do note, engine braking can be dangerous when you suddenly slow down without brake lights.
As others have said, pads are way cheaper and easier to replace. Their sole job is to slow down the vehicle, why not use them.
Again, I see no problem with utilising engine braking, especially when you're coming to a stop, resist the temptation to put the car into neutral until the car is just about to stall. This way, the tiny save on fuel will add up over a long period of time.
Anyway, not a big deal either way in everyday driving if you're conscious of those brake lights when you absolutely need to light them.
I engine brake as well. Normally get ~80K km on a set of pads
Same here. I'm always surprised when people say how quick their brakes wear out, and then I remember most people barely know how to drive.
then I remember most people barely know how to drive.
Don't remember engine braking being on the driving test or in the driving manuals/lessons so I guess this might be the reason people can "barely" drive?
@serpserpserp: Yes well your driving license is to ensure you know the road rules and can drive safely, nothing beyond that really.
Some mates blast around curvy mountain roads and wear out their brakes quickly
I reckon it depends on the car too, and make of the pads
Wife's Holden goes through brake pads every 30k km, my Skoda (partial engine breaking with the DSG) still has healthy factory pads after 120k km…..
downshift to slow down
pull e-brake to stop
if all fails , open door , put your foot down
Yeah I cut a hole in the floor to flintstone it
Yabadaba do.
One of the best ways is to lift and coast more, especially when making the next light is unlikely and will save petrol. People will hate you though, people rather wait at lights than drive slowly.
Going to be interesting all those people with heavy and expensive SUVs in the Corona Recession 2020.
You got that wrong.
Bendix 4X4 pads for my 4WD $90 a Pair.
@Snake 4: Okay mate. If you didn't get it, you never will. It isn't about the cost of changing it as taking off the wheels and changing the pads is the same regardless of car or SUV.
I know someone who opens door to let the clutch out
Literally peanuts in costs over what 40,50,60 thousand K's and you are questioning $180
Like not even worth your time thinking about this and should've got it done already.
180 + parts price. and I am student yet not making money
Have you tried askable for market research opportunities, you can make over $50 normally for a hour session
mechanics can replace all four pads in an hour. but it doesn't matter. I asked this question cuz I thought the mechanics near my place did price-fixing so it's expensive. Now I know $90 / pair is fair cost.
people below pls stop punishing me :D
@javawoo: I was a specialist brake mechanic. I've probably changed 1000+ sets of brakes I can't do all 4 in an hour if I do the job properly.
Obviously you know better than them so why not do the job yourself? Brake pads are cheap - ~$50 off ebay for something half decent
@smpantsonfire: depends if you do it properly or not. regrease sliders, clean all the rust and dirt out of the pad seats, copperkote metal on metal surfaces, get the rust and dirt off where the wheel meets the hub.
Maybe I need more practice…
Maybe I need more practice…
This is why you WERE a specialist brake mechanic and not anymore. You couldn't even change 4 brake pads in under an hour like all the keyboard warriors out there.
You obviously didn't watch the youtube video titled "How to change your break pads in 30 minutes with the one little trick" (video runtime: 80 minutes).
@serpserpserp: The trick is an F1 pit-team that can jack a car in <0.5s flat and remove wheels in ~1s.
And they need to get the guy that fills the fuel in petrol stations, I just hate standing there for 2-3 minutes waiting for my tank to fill…
He could save $90/hr if he has some tools and commonsense, the later is too common these days though.
Sounds like you can't afford to drive…
I am student
As a student it is your duty to DIY everything, this is an easy job.
I just realize this is a stupid question should I delete this post?
Pleasedo
The forums are a cesspool of stupid questions. Don't feel special.
This sounds like it warrants another thread to be honest.
Nah, please leave it here. OzBargainers love a good old rant on the automotive threads
No because it is educational and is answer for many people
Don't go cheap on brakes… it's what keeps you alive!
I would say if you let the mechanic change your disks and pads, you are going cheap. Unless you supply your own parts. I would say most shops just use the cheap stuff.
Case in point, at one point my best friend and I both had exactly the same VY Commodores, I did my brakes myself, and she used whatever her mechanic put on. If I got in her car, I got a free leg workout while braking. If she drove my car, we would headbutt the dash whenever she braked.
It sounds like your friend just uses a shit mechanic!
I used to do everything myself, but I live in an apartment now so I don't have much choice but to go to a mechanic. I obviously talk to the mechanic so that I know exactly what they're doing.
Pretty sure it was just a Midas.
The brakes were fully functional, just crappy pads and disks.
The brakes were fully functional, just crappy pads and disks
Did they even bleed it properly? Lol
@bobbified: I believe they did. Brakes were not spongey. You just had to press on the pedal with more force than in my car for the same brake force.
@AdosHouse: I was just thinking about it and realised it wouldn't actually be very often we get the same car to compare side by side! haha
Ahh there is the problem.
as if anyone else, who isn’t doing it for a mate or family, would do any better.
as if anyone else, who isn’t doing it for a mate or family, would do any better.
Midas are pretty dodgy. I've had to go in there with friends/family members and sort out overcharging issues and shoddy work. They just have a lot of juniors doing the work who can be lazy or lack communication skills. Seriously if you are a mechanic your dream job is not working for Midas.
So your car didn't a vacuum leak from the servo
I used to think the same. I needed new hardlines for my brakes, and got a local brake shop to make them up for me. They leaked from day one, and I couldn't safely drive back to get them to fix it. Bought the tools needed for less than they charged me to make them, and made new ones myself.
Just because you're paying for a professional doesn't mean you'll always get a professional result. With the right tools and a bit of research, I just trust myself more.
Just because you're paying for a professional doesn't mean you'll always get a professional result.
There are lots of dodgey "professionals" out there. Hence it's not wise to simply go for the cheapest - you increase your chances of getting one of those.
That's the thing, I didn't go for the cheapest - I went to ABS Auto in Hobart, as apparently they are brake specialists. And they were pretty pricey too. That's why buying the tools and doing it myself was cheaper.
@Spam Service: Did you complain and get anything back? Leaky lines would be a huge safety issue.
I had a screwed up service at a Holden dealer before. They changed my engine oil and either didn't put the cap back on or didn't tighten it. I opened up the bonnet when I got home and there was oil everywhere. They sent a guy out to refill the oil and then took the car back to clean out the engine bay. They also refunded the $200 I paid for the original service. Glad it wasn't a long drive home so the any engine damage would've (hopefully) been minimal.
not just him, but also others life. be wiser not miser
Arrr, you call that an anchor? shakes fist
Euro cars the stealership servicing departments seem to charge around $600-$700 for brakes and rotors supplied and installed. You can save a few hundred doing it yourself if you don't mind spending the time. Not something you want to mess up though..
You'll only mess it up once.
The way those cars are, that one mess can be quite expensive.. :D
DIY
Don't insure yourself?
Yes. That way you can save $600-$1000 and use the money for brake pad installation.
Please do not skimp on brakes.
As someone in the trade I can tell you $90 is about right.
Mechanics generally use trade only brakes (not sold to the public) unless a particular brand is requested. Trade brands are usually high quality and on par if not better than ones you can buy retail.
At our workshop we simply won’t fit customer supplied brake pads. Not that anything goes wrong but if something does if a customer supplies the pads we can’t always replace with the same so we simply won’t do it. Most mechanics won’t. Also even if you save on the pads by buying them yourselves they will probably charge you full labour cost vs a set brake labour price which is usually less.
At our workshop pads and machining is around $290 for a pair including pads machine and labour.
Pads and rotors can vary depending on the brand of car and the type of rotor but $395-$495 for pads,rotors and labour.
If you brought you own pads (and we agreed to do it) we would charge a full hours labour at standard rates vs discounted package rates for brakes
What brand/model brakes do you supply that the public can't get?
RDA mostly
I thought you were going to say ATE, Akebono, Textar, Remsa, Ferodo or even QFM… but RDA?
Sorry, I don't rate RDA at all. I'm sure they are ok if you don't drive with much enthusiasm.
@JimB: Well we have had almost no returns or complaints with RDA (which cant be said for other brands we have used/use when requested)
They did a massive shake up last year and changed their manufacturing process, they are a much better product than they were a few years ago thats for sure.
We also did not rate them for a long time, but since the changes they are a much better product.
Certainly far better than bendix.
Their performance/Heavy Duty range is second to none.
For ceramics we use other brands and super HP cars we also source pads elsewhere
for the mazda 2 or corollas etc RDA are imho the best out there right now.
We have tried plenty and RDA wins hands down for quality especially since they changed things up in early 2019
@jimbobaus: That's good info to know. There weren't very good years ago, so I've stayed clear of them. I have used their rotors as they are super cheap when on sale.
I drive European cars, generally stick with Remsa, Textar or ATE once the original pads wear out.
@JimB: Yeah for a lot of EURO's we would not always use RDA , Mercedes/BMW for sure we do not suggest RDA tbh
they have a product but pads in those instances are not always the best choice.
Over the years we have learned the best option for each car
the run of the mill every day car from japan/korea/aust (rip) .. RDA does the job fine
Give me a break!
You want to complain about a charge of $90 to replace the pads - the mechanic needs to fund and pay for all of the equipment to hoist the car, then remove the wheels, change the pads and replace the wheels. Also provide you free of charge a warranty for the work done!!
If you cannot afford the $90 labor then (a) sell the car and buy a bicycle or (b), take a TAFE course in basic mechanics
Also the training to make sure it's done right on each particular model.
Just use engine brakes.
What’s the going mechanic rate? $150/hr
20min per side seems reasonable. It’ll probably be quicker, but that allows for something to not go as well as planned.
Just do ot yourself.