I need an estimate for front brake pads & rotors and left rear caliper. Is $584 too much? I have a 92 Regal.?

Answer 1

I come up with:

Pads $50
Rotors front $80
Caliper rear $92
Pads $50
That makes like $272. Another $100 for labor. I think someone is trying to rip you off.

For parts check out these online stores:
http://www.rockauto.com
or
http://discountautoparts.com/
or
http://dmauto.com/content/book.asp?BookName=DEFAULT

listed in order of cheaper upwards.
Check around for other prices, and $584 is WAY too exspensive for those parts

Answer 2

if you can find a friend who can do it, autozone has all the parts you need for $91.96( + a core charge you will get back when you return the old parts). you would still save a lot if someone did everything but the caliper. they are a little tricky to replace, since you will need to bleed the air from your brake system after you replace it. if bled incorrectly your brakes will be no worky-worky.
find a 16 year old kid in the neighborhood with a crappy car. he will probably have done brakes before, and would do it for $20 and a cheeseburger. plus the rotors are $16.99 each, most shops charge $10 each to resurface, so pay the $7 extra and get the new ones. if they try to resurface the old ones, and get below the minimum factory spec for thickness, you will need a new one anyway, AND pay them for resurfacing the one you cant use.
otherwise go to the library, and borrow a Chilton maintenance book, and do it yourself. just make sure you use a jack stand when you lift the car. a jack alone is not safe. about all you need to do brakes is a big c-clamp to compress the piston, a screwdriver to pry the old pads off with, and wrenches to remove the caliper. make sure you use a wire coat hanger to hold the caliper out of the way. if you hang it by the brake line, you might crack it, and then you will need to get a new line, add brake fluid, and bleed the system. good luck

Answer 3

It sounds a little high are you going to a dealer??. Get estimates. But in my experence, as a mechanic, always change both calipers. If the run out on your rotors, thickness, are good then cool, just keep the calipers even wheather its on the back or the front. Change both do yourself a favor. Belive it or not if you need rotors ask for the chinese rotors . Much lower in price and they are safe. Dont let them tell you that they are crap they are not. Any automotive brake stuff that is imported has to be D.O.T. approved. Ive put a million of them on and they are good rotors. Calipers on the other hand get new or good rebuilds.

Answer 4

While it is a fair price for the work quoted, I'd see if any friends or someone you work with will do it for you. The pads will probably be less than $20, Why do they want to change the caliper? and can the rotors be turned (cost of maybe $10 each) or are they out of limits?

Answer 5

After reading some of these posts, I had to engage the conversation. Your price is at a shop or dealer I assume. Their price is a fair price for the service you getting. You can't call parts stores and ask prices because the shop HAS to make a profit. For example, if a set of pads on their invoice says it costs you let's say $50. They probably paid around $30 or so bucks for them. The extra $20 buck is not mere profit. Let me explain, of that $20 bucks, a good bit goes to keeping the shop operating so you have a place to bring your car. Only a small percentage is actually profit, probable a buck or two, maybe. Let's say down the road you have a noise with the brakes, the shop is then responsible and should gladly take care of it. On the other hand, if you want to bring your own parts (the shop now has lost it's mark-up) then they can't be responsible for any pad failure. You would have to pony up for the labor again. Another way to explain this would be, let's say you want a steak but don't want to fix it. You go to the local steakhouse and it says a steak dinner is $30.00. Now we all know steak doesn't cost that much at the market. There is a mark-up in the "part" or steak and a service that's being provided. Remember, you wanted a steak served to you. Now tell the waiter you want to bring your own steak because you can buy it for $5.00 at the store but you want him to cook it. He will probably laugh because he knows number one, it's not a profitable option and secondly, how can he stand behind the taste of the steak if he doesn't make money on it!! Kind of see where I'm going with this. I'm not saying trust every estimate given, some people do overinflate prices. I am just saying don't compare walk-in prices from the local parts stores to the ones on the invoice. As a rule of thumb, take the cost of a part and multiply by 1.67. This number is a fair mark-up for your parts. It varies with regions, cost of parts or shops. I hope this shed some light on shops in general and maybe help some of the people who tried to help you.

Answer 6

Sounds a little high unless it also includes resurfacing and remounting the front rotors (both of them).

When you doubt the price, ask them for item breakdown, each item's cost and labor. The shop's labor rate should be posted on the wall near the entrance, and should be about $90-125 in the US. If it doesn't match what's on the invoice it's time to think about leaving. :) As for # of hours on each job that's from the standard Chilton's book, not much wiggle room there.

Answer 7

seems quite hihg. if you can do it yourself you will save and is very simple to do.pads and rotors should be around 150 including labor rear caliper about 100 but it is very easy job

Answer 8

Sounds kind of high. I just paid $325 for redoing my front brakes. Price may depend on where you live. Have you gotten any price comparisons?

Answer 9

its a fair price,,, i just paid 500 for all 4 breaks and rotors