New Brakes/Rotors, 2007 Pilot: Screwed?

[portpilot]

Hi,

I took my '07 Pilot in today, to get the snowtires put on. I got called back,
and was told the brakes were shot, rotors were no good, needed to
replace everything. I know nothing about...well, anything, but for the
purposes of this forum, brakes and rotors and cars. The pilot has 72k
miles, and has the original brakes/pads/rotors/whatever.

The business is very reputable, they have always been very good, the
guy seemed honest, and I have no reason to think they were screwing
me...but the total just seems pretty high. I'm posting this just to see
if people think I was overcharged (~$900).

Below is a picture of the bill. I'd appreciate it very much if someone
could tell me if this seems reasonable. Thanks in advance!

[humanoid]

Yeah, I would say you got raped in the rear end there.

[xGS]

Compared to the prices at rockauto.com, the prices for the loaded calipers seem reasonable.
You could question whether the calipers really needed to be replaced or could they have changed only the pads?

The prices for the brake rotors seem 2-3 times high.

As far as the labor cost, check with other local shops to see what they would charge.

Raybestos does have a rebate promotion on-going for pads and rotors.
Check with them to see if loaded calipers (calipers + pads) qualify.
You can get to the "reward fit for a king" rebate form from this page: Raybestos Brakes - Home

It doesn't appear that the brake fluid was changed.
When was the last time you had that done?

Also, did you have only 2 snow tires put on?

[krazykarguy]

Why in God's name did they replace all four calipers??? I very seldom replace calipers on cars... usually just pads and rotors. If there is a need to replace a caliper, it's usually just one or MAYBE two. Never all four.

If I am to read this right, they machined the rotors (not replaced)??? If so, they charged you about what it would have cost to install new rotors. Most shops don't even bother machining rotors anymore.

You got raped.

I can do a a full brake job on the Pilot in 2 hours, and parts from AutoZone are as follows:
Front Rotors: $48/ea.
Rear Rotors: $28/ea.
Front Pads: $23
Rear Pads: $18

Less than $200 in parts and about $150 in labor is more appropriate.

For reference's sake, calipers from AutoZone are $75 each.

[portpilot]

Originally Posted by xGS

It doesn't appear that the brake fluid was changed.
When was the last time you had that done?

Also, did you have only 2 snow tires put on?

Brake fluid: I suspect when I took it to the dealership for the 60k miles
service. I have a vague memory of them talking to me at the time
about my brakes, and that something would need to be changed soonish.

4 snow tires...the receipt seems to have a charge for putting 2 on, which
is then doubled on the far right column.

[whizmo]

The itemization of the bill is screwy (I don't think they changed the calipers), but if I read between the lines, it appears they charged you $392 for rotors, $331 for the pads, and $205 for labor for a $928 brake job (the tire change shouldn't be included).

This is high for an independent shop, but not wildly high. About the same a dealer would charge unless you bargained or had a coupon. But I suspect you got less then OEM quality in your parts.

- Mark

[rocky]

All this of course assumes you actually needed the work done. All you wanted was an oil change.....Someone else decided its time to give themselves a bonus at your expense.

[94eg!]

DUDE! You need to ask this question BEFORE you have the work done!!!!

[whizmo]

Originally Posted by rocky

All this of course assumes you actually needed the work done. All you wanted was an oil change.....Someone else decided its time to give themselves a bonus at your expense.

Most cars at 72K are going to be at or near needing pad replacement. Whether the rotors should be replaced is somewhat of a judgment call - most shops these days seem to be gravitating towards rotor replacement with pad replacement because they get fewer callbacks this way and make more money. I'm gradually seeing customers being conditioned to more/less accept rotor replacement as being par for the course and that spending $1K every 50K miles on brakes is just normal routine maintenance. If you know what you're doing, this is becoming the best DIY value out there as you can instead spend $100 very 50K miles on pads and do rotors every 2nd or third pad change for another $300 or so. Total savings over 150K miles? $2400.

- Mark

[samc]

What I want to know is if you really needed new rotors and pads at this point. I mean you can see your rotors through your rims, did they look warped in any way? Again you said you knew very little about cars but as such my 1 year older pilot (vs yours) with 10k less mileage is doing well with the original pads and rotors. I can see the pads being replaced in a few K miles but the rotors look just fine.


NOW can you have the shop show you the original pads and rotors? Let me guess they threw them away.

[rgillie66]

Originally Posted by samc

What I want to know is if you really needed new rotors and pads at this point. I mean you can see your rotors through your rims, did they look warped in any way?

Wow. So YOU can look at rotors on the car, with the wheels on, and tell if the rotors are warped? Do you know what 'warped' actually means?

He's obviously not a DIYer, which is fine, and yes, it's a little late to question the cost now, but I would have asked why the calipers needed replacing. Pads and rotors replaced, using a premium ceramic pad, should have run under $600. Again, why the calipers?

[mikemcm]

I can see one caliper being seized but all four is a bit much. I had a seized caliper on my old crv. Took it to 3 shops and they all came back with the same thing. Now I lubricate my slider every spring.

[samc]

Originally Posted by rgillie66

Wow. So YOU can look at rotors on the car, with the wheels on, and tell if the rotors are warped? Do you know what 'warped' actually means?

He's obviously not a DIYer, which is fine, and yes, it's a little late to question the cost now, but I would have asked why the calipers needed replacing. Pads and rotors replaced, using a premium ceramic pad, should have run under $600. Again, why the calipers?

Yes I do, if you need help them feel free to ask instead of questioning others trying to help the OP.

We're all agreeing that the guy got hosed yet you're just repeating what I wrote, stop the borderline trolling.

[carguy07]