[adilakif]

Very popular mechanic in this forum quoted me $834 for front pads+rotors+sensor replacement. $821 for the rear.

The car (2013 328i xDrive) has regular brakes. I wanted 2-Zimmerman rotors + Akebono pads which are $208 online. Did they quote me $626 labor for 2 wheel brake job?

The guy on YouTube changes the rotor and pads in under 10 minutes, that is including the intro and outro. Is it not reasonable to expect a mechanic to change one wheel under 30 minutes? 1 hour to change both front wheels.. So they want $626 for 1 hour of labor. What am I missing here?

I got a quote from my local BMW dealership for $950 to replace ALL 4 rotors, pads and sensors. I don't want OEM pads because of the brake dust. I want ceramic pads which they don't offer for this price.

Do you know a shop that can install the parts for a reasonable price?

[Billfitz]

Call around to the local trade schools. The one near me does the work for free, you just have to supply the parts. You don't need to be BMW certified to do a brake job by any means. It's one of the easiest repairs.

[Gen13 F36]

Ouch....it so rediculous now.

[chowser51]

I found it cheaper to do it myself and watched the kies video on how to do it. Did it quickly on my 430. Prepping to do the rears on my x2 soon.

[toxik]

did autocouture quote you this lol?

[johnung]

Originally Posted by adilakif

Very popular mechanic in this forum quoted me $834 for front pads+rotors+sensor replacement. $821 for the rear.

The car (2013 328i xDrive) has regular brakes. I wanted 2-Zimmerman rotors + Akebono pads which are $208 online. Did they quote me $626 labor for 2 wheel brake job?

The guy on YouTube changes the rotor and pads in under 10 minutes, that is including the intro and outro. Is it not reasonable to expect a mechanic to change one wheel under 30 minutes? 1 hour to change both front wheels.. So they want $626 for 1 hour of labor. What am I missing here?

I got a quote from my local BMW dealership for $950 to replace ALL 4 rotors, pads and sensors. I don't want OEM pads because of the brake dust. I want ceramic pads which they don't offer for this price.

Do you know a shop that can install the parts for a reasonable price?

My local BMW shop with factory trained techs charges about $100-$125 per corner for labor when people bring their own brake parts. That includes full replacement of brake fluid and proper bleeding of the lines.

Ceramic pads are no better than average in performance. Hawk 5.0 pads have the best bite and have low/light dust too.

[quakerroatmeal]

You're missing the overhead cost of owning a shop? If you want the cheapest you can find a local handy man who does it as a side job. You'll then have no warranty if anything goes wrong. Typically shops charge a min labor rate and it typically doesn't go down to 30min even if that's how long it takes them.

[Icarium81]

Originally Posted by quakerroatmeal

You're missing the overhead cost of owning a shop? If you want the cheapest you can find a local handy man who does it as a side job. You'll then have no warranty if anything goes wrong. Typically shops charge a min labor rate and it typically doesn't go down to 30min even if that's how long it takes them.

Even with a minimum hourly rate that price is ridiculous. Call it 100 an hour and it's still ridiculous.

[Gen13 F36]

Originally Posted by quakerroatmeal

You're missing the overhead cost of owning a shop? If you want the cheapest you can find a local handy man who does it as a side job. You'll then have no warranty if anything goes wrong. Typically shops charge a min labor rate and it typically doesn't go down to 30min even if that's how long it takes them.

You serious

My local BMW dealer have a 280/hr labor rate....OP said 600/hr from an Indy

This shop is getting popular and want to cash in on us forum members free referral. Keep looking around. Even a Honda mechanic can do a BMW brake job

[Billfitz]

Or a high school kid in Auto Shop class.

The main reason why dealers have such high labor, and for that matter parts, prices is because they make very little profit on cars, so the shop supports the entire operation. The profit margin on selling a new car is less than 10%. Most retail businesses need to make at least a 30% margin to survive...because they don't do repairs. Indys can be lower priced because they don't have to support the showroom.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by adilakif

Very popular mechanic in this forum quoted me $834 for front pads+rotors+sensor replacement. $821 for the rear.

Is that Kies? Dinan shops used to do the same but eventually went bust.

Local indies usually charge $500 per axle pads + rotors + sensor.

[eddymerckx3]

...most dealers are running a value service promotion lately....I know, everyone hates dealers for service. Go to https://bmwusaservice.com type in your zip ...

I just had rear rotors, pads, sensor done for $475 in Westchester (all in) ...that is very competitive with indy price, considering that FCP Euro brake kit is about $360 (for non M-sport) .. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...34216864900ktr

[toxik]

Originally Posted by bavarianride

Is that Kies? Dinan shops used to do the same but eventually went bust.

Local indies usually charge $500 per axle pads + rotors + sensor.

kies is outsourcing all their work to an affiliate shop now, also they're south jersey, not north.

[snipagang]

Originally Posted by adilakif

Very popular mechanic in this forum quoted me $834 for front pads+rotors+sensor replacement. $821 for the rear.

The car (2013 328i xDrive) has regular brakes. I wanted 2-Zimmerman rotors + Akebono pads which are $208 online. Did they quote me $626 labor for 2 wheel brake job?

The guy on YouTube changes the rotor and pads in under 10 minutes, that is including the intro and outro. Is it not reasonable to expect a mechanic to change one wheel under 30 minutes? 1 hour to change both front wheels.. So they want $626 for 1 hour of labor. What am I missing here?

I got a quote from my local BMW dealership for $950 to replace ALL 4 rotors, pads and sensors. I don't want OEM pads because of the brake dust. I want ceramic pads which they don't offer for this price.

Do you know a shop that can install the parts for a reasonable price?

I need to do rears as well. Can anyone recommend a decent shop in NJ

[quakerroatmeal]

Originally Posted by Gen13 F36

You serious

My local BMW dealer have a 280/hr labor rate....OP said 600/hr from an Indy

This shop is getting popular and want to cash in on us forum members free referral. Keep looking around. Even a Honda mechanic can do a BMW brake job

But all op did was take the price he found online subtracted it from the total and then just guesstimate how long it takes from a youtube video and claims its for a hour job. If the shop actually quoted labor of 600/hr on the sheet that would be ridiculous yes.

[AndrewC1989]

Check out Forest Hill Exotic Performance and/or Montclair MotorWerks

[sqwinny]

Should be 2 hours labor or 150 an hour. Firestone rate was that years ago and even now I believe. Changing pads and rotors isn't rocket science

[Shred Sled]

Motorworks West in Wycoff
Shade Tree in Morristown

[LA1Z24]

You walked into a shop. They don't buy their parts online. They buy them from a local store that pays rent, labor etc. Not some random warehouse in the mid west.

[Billfitz]

They do buy wholesale, so it's unlikely they're paying more than an online source charges.

[silvercas]

Sometimes when someone quotes a ridiculous price they don't want your business or will take it if you pay the price

[AlmondJayRoM3]

Originally Posted by adilakif

The guy on YouTube changes the rotor and pads in under 10 minutes, that is including the intro and outro. Is it not reasonable to expect a mechanic to change one wheel under 30 minutes? 1 hour to change both front wheels.. So they want $626 for 1 hour of labor. What am I missing here?

What you are missing is that you are paying for the mechanic’s expertise, tools, and equipment required to do a job quickly and efficiently while providing a quality product.

Book time on brakes is definitely not 10 regardless if it can take that long. About 1-1.5 hours per axle. A shop is not YouTube and not all brake jobs go to plan or as smoothly as the stuff you see on YouTube.