Dealer tried to rip me off on brake job?

[jumpyg]

I'm not sure I can trust my regular dealer any longer. They told me at 62K miles that I needed new front brake pads. Well, being the procrastinator that I am, I put this off until 72K miles. I took it in to a different dealer than my normal one because they said they'd replace the pads and turn the rotors for $209--$30 cheaper than my regular stealer.

So I drop off my Pilot and the dealer calls a little later and says I still have 2mm to go on the front pads and they should last another 5-10K miles!!! I about fell out of my chair.

Anybody else had experiences like this? It makes me want to learn how to do the brakes myself.

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by jumpyg
I'm not sure I can trust my regular dealer any longer. They told me at 62K miles that I needed new front brake pads. Well, being the procrastinator that I am, I put this off until 72K miles. I took it in to a different dealer than my normal one because they said they'd replace the pads and turn the rotors for $209--$30 cheaper than my regular stealer.

So I drop off my Pilot and the dealer calls a little later and says I still have 2mm to go on the front pads and they should last another 5-10K miles!!! I about fell out of my chair.

Anybody else had experiences like this? It makes me want to learn how to do the brakes myself.

Relax,
2 MM is way too thin.
5K to 10 K miles can be only one oil change for some, and considering the risk both of brake failure and damage to other parts, I would say you were on the edge of overdue.

Not much I can say about the price. My dealer is way to high, but that seems to be the norm with brake work.

[whizmo]

This is not uncommon at all. But I think you're being a little hard on the first dealer to say they're "ripping you off".

When to replace brake pads is a bit of a judgment call - they don't wear perfectly evenly and vary from side-to-side and front-back. Some dealers make the judgment that if you're within the last 25% or so of wear in a normal service visit on any pad, they'll recommend they be replaced to avoid any chance you'll wear them below the limits and to avoid extra service visits.

So you may be looking simply at one dealer being more conservative than the other - one dealer saying replace at 62K and another recommending you stretch to 77K. This is only a 20% or so variance in judgment on brake pad life - not especially significant.

That being said, I'm sure the 1st dealers main motive was to make more money on hgh-profit brake jobs.

- Mark

[sprocket]

$209 sounds awefully high for pads and turning rotors, but it has been a long time since I have had brake work done. Is this normal?

Do most owners use the dealer for this type maintenance or a tire/brake shop?

[krygny]

When I ask for a quote on a brake job, I also now ask how much to replace the rotors, just in case. I don't know about the Pilot but rotors have come down in price and most places don't bother cutting them anymore.

70K+ is good life on a set of front disk brakes. You must do a lot of highway driving. I typically get around 50K.

[larryziegler]

Originally posted by sprocket
$209 sounds awefully high for pads and turning rotors, but it has been a long time since I have had brake work done. Is this normal?

Do most owners use the dealer for this type maintenance or a tire/brake shop?

$225 is what the local Honda dealer here charges. Every now and then they will have a coupon good for $179 for pads/resurfacing. At $100/hr for labor, it's not hard to get to those numbers. My dealer also does it right every time, so even if they were on the higher cost side, I'm willing to pay it as the job has been done right everytime with my vehicles.

[netman88]

IMO, $30 difference is not a whole lot if they do the job right the first time.

If it's like $40-50 then it makes me think.

I once did my brakes at Midas and they messed it up. I could even drive the car out of the garage since the brakes were stuck.

I save $$$ but it cost me to miss a party and time to tow the car back to their shop.

[sprocket]

I would agree that it is worth an extra $30-$40 to have this done at the dealer. It's probably been 5 years since I had brake work done. I seem to remember it being around $90 at a tire shop. Guess gas used to be under $2.00 too

[hondacuraplanet]

Yep, the price seems about right.

[TomStromie]

Originally posted by grungy
When I ask for a quote on a brake job, I also now ask how much to replace the rotors, just in case. I don't know about the Pilot but rotors have come down in price and most places don't bother cutting them anymore.

Turning the rotors can also make them too thin to disperse the heat from braking, causing them to warp. It's not a bad thing to replace them unless the cost is too high.

[GreenMachine]

Lucas Honda here in Jax, FL - $159.99 for front or rear brake and that includes turning the rotors if necessary.

[krygny]

Originally posted by TomStromie
Turning the rotors can also make them too thin to disperse the heat from braking, causing them to warp. It's not a bad thing to replace them unless the cost is too high.

Some rotors are "finned" internally for cooling and I don't think they can be turned very much, if at all. Some are slotted and/or drilled for cooling, like motorcycles. My Subaru's were solid. I never cut them and never had to replace them; I only changed the pads. I suppose there are rotors and then there are rotors. Years ago, I recall hearing about rotor prices from $100-150 apiece. The first time I ever had to replace rotors was about 2 years ago (on another car) and they were only ~$45, so why cut 'em, even if you could?

Anybody know the typical dealer price on a rotor for the Pilot?

[rockman19762001]

I used my local independent mechanic, I bought the pads and he charged me $100.00 to replace the front and rear pads. Did not touch the rotors they looked good.

[ejthomp]

I agree that the first dealer wasn't trying to rip you off. You're definately due for a brake job. If not right now, fairly soon. You can shop around and find lower prices than a Honda stealership, but they weren't doing anything wrong by suggesting you do it now.

I do all of my own maintenance and repair. Been doing it for 20 years now. Cars are so much better now than 20 years ago, it is crazy what stealerships charge to do simple stuff. People think cars have gotten more complicated, but I would say it is just the opposite. Nothing is repaired anymore. Just replaced. And things last so much longer than they use to. 100,000 miles with no tune ups! 72k miles with no brake work!!

Anyway....on brakes. Some of you will be shocked to hear this, but I just run the darn thing until it starts making noise or the rotors go out of round. Then I just buy new rotors and pads and install them. No sense in wasting time with just pads or turning rotors. For $100 you can buy new pads and rotors. Did my 96 Camry the other night in about an hour. First brake job was about 80k, it now has 155k. If I had left that decision to a dealer, I probably would have had four or five brake jobs in the past 10 years.

[PChiu]

Just to share experience in Canada.
Last time I checked, the Owner manual say 2mm of pad is time to replace.

If I remember correctly, old age, dealer wants Cad$400 for front pads and rotors, but I went for my private mechanic for roughly Cad $500 for front pads and rotor, rear pads (not 100% rear rotor or not), brake fluid etc...