DIY auto repair means not having to deal with obnoxious auto repair shop prices

[BLND1]

You bought two sets of pads, two rotors and two calipers for only $300 at Advance Auto?

Depends on the car - but some of the combo deals are surprising.

 

[SC Maintenance]

You bought two sets of pads, two rotors and two calipers for only $300 at Advance Auto?

4 coated element 3 rotors and EHT pads all the way around for my Xterra, shipped to my house for under $200 - all in tax included not that long ago. - for the Xterra in my sig. Reman calipers are 80 bucks or so had I needed them. So close.

Shops get heavy discounts from the local parts stores. There costs are probably pretty close. Shops usually bill parts at retail, which depending on the part is double or more.

 

[72C10]

Shop prices are high nowadays, but so is every other kind of useful trade service.

People don't want to do that kind of work, so they are going to pay for it.

 

[GMBoy]

To quote: Brake work is gravy for shops and flat rate techs.
They beat the book time and come out ahead. On the other hand, I get it how they can lose on a job which is complicated with things going sideways and exceeding book time.

As a shop owner yes we sometimes win but more often you lose when you run in to complications, rusted bolts, bad parts etc.

 

[GMBoy]

4 coated element 3 rotors and EHT pads all the way around for my Xterra, shipped to my house for under $200 - all in tax included not that long ago. - for the Xterra in my sig. Reman calipers are 80 bucks or so had I needed them. So close.

Shops get heavy discounts from the local parts stores. There costs are probably pretty close. Shops usually bill parts at retail, which depending on the part is double or more.

The parts discounts for shops is starting to be less while the parts cost more but still decent room for profit. For example just did front brakes on Range Rover and the pads list for $68.58 and I get them for $38.75 but the customer pays $64.99 over the counter so I make a good profit there....but the same vehicle needed an alternator last month and the difference between my cost and the over the counter price was just $16. It all depends on the parts to determine what profit I will see on parts.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

So I took my GMC Yukon Denali for an inspection, they shop said it had brake issues, quoted me $1300 to fix it.

Upon examination, it ended up being all brake pads, 2 calipers, 2 rotors and bleeding the brakes. Got $300 in parts and did it myself in under 2 hours. Most of the time was spent jacking the car up and looking for the right sockets. I am slow and I have zero power tools. There is no way that was $1000 in labor. I spent 30 mins per wheel (and did 3/4, the 4th one didn't need it but I think the caliper is sticking thus needs replacement). I think a well equipped shop with a rack and all the tools ready can do it spending 15 mins per wheel, someone who does it every day.
No broken/seized bolts, no rusty lines, nothing special at all. I said I am picking up the car with no repairs and they acted shocked.

I get it that 98+% of the auto drivers out there don't do their own work, thus auto repair shops can exploit them. Because brake work sounds scary and most drivers out there can't tell a caliper from a you know what. I think I would have paid them $500, probably, parts plus labor. Or more if it needed the entire brake system rebuilt, like brake lines, power brake booster, master cylinder... etc. etc. What happened to these shops which did brakes only for low prices like $200 or such? I used to see them years ago, apparently not anymore.

Yep. Not surprised by that price at all. I had 3-4 friends over the years who worked in auto dealerships. One was a top salesman , two were Service Department managers and the other was a shop floor technician supervisor. They ALL told me over ten years ago it was going to get super expensive to bring ANY job into delaership shops for repair work. Reason was : they are having so much trouble these days n really since around 2010 just simply getting young folks interseted enough to take those service tech jobs. This is even with them offering sign up bonus monies, extensive shop technician school training, benefits etc....

 

[Skippy722]

Shop rate is just a convenience fee/tax you pay to not do the work yourself. Don’t like it do it yourself… and I am firmly in the “$1,000+ for brakes is ridiculous” camp, hence I do my own brakes.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Shop rate is just a convenience fee/tax you pay to not do the work yourself. Don’t like it do it yourself… and I am firmly in the “$1,000+ for brakes is ridiculous” camp, hence I do my own brakes.

YES, $1000+ for almost anything like a brake job is outrageous! Just taking advantage of folks who have no alternative. Sad.....

 

[SC Maintenance]

The parts discounts for shops is starting to be less while the parts cost more but still decent room for profit. For example just did front brakes on Range Rover and the pads list for $68.58 and I get them for $38.75 but the customer pays $64.99 over the counter so I make a good profit there....but the same vehicle needed an alternator last month and the difference between my cost and the over the counter price was just $16. It all depends on the parts to determine what profit I will see on parts.

Do you track overall margin on parts? How much has it gone down over the last while? I have no reason to care other than I am nosy. Not in that industry, and I don't use it much - I have taken my car to the shop 5 times in 30 years - outside tires and warranty, so it really doesn't affect me, just find it interesting.

 

[Skippy722]

YES, $1000+ for almost anything like a brake job is outrageous! Just taking advantage of folks who have no alternative. Sad.....

On the flip side, $1,100 to pay someone else to replace the oil pan on my Durango? Money well spent!

 

[VersatileGuy]

Yep. Not surprised by that price at all. I had 3-4 friends over the years who worked in auto dealerships. One was a top salesman , two were Service Department managers and the other was a shop floor technician supervisor. They ALL told me over ten years ago it was going to get super expensive to bring ANY job into delaership shops for repair work. Reason was : they are having so much trouble these days n really since around 2010 just simply getting young folks interseted enough to take those service tech jobs. This is even with them offering sign up bonus monies, extensive shop technician school training, benefits etc....

Well, the job is more like computer science with grease and spark rather than a last legit recourse for the lazy schoolboys who are tad more "aggressive" and not committed to schooling. Then when EVs become the norm, the job might be like an electrician with the ability to change brakes.

I mean, the simplest car might be a Toyota Corolla. But if you want to be a full time tech, you gotta be able to tackle American or German complexity.

 

[2010Civic]

4 coated element 3 rotors and EHT pads all the way around for my Xterra, shipped to my house for under $200 - all in tax included not that long ago. - for the Xterra in my sig. Reman calipers are 80 bucks or so had I needed them. So close.

Shops get heavy discounts from the local parts stores. There costs are probably pretty close. Shops usually bill parts at retail, which depending on the part is double or more.

Was that from rockauto? A brick and mortar parts store is usually several times more expensive.

 

[JohnnyG]

We grew up in a different time.
Just be thankful that you can still do it. There will come a time when you cannot.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Was that from rockauto? A brick and mortar parts store is usually several times more expensive.

Yes, sorry - I didn't see where the OP said he got his - I assumed RA also.

FWIW - AAP using their 20% off online is a lot closer to RA than they ever have been. Of course you have to plan ahead and order online. You can pick them up in store if you wish but they do ship to home for free if you spend enough.

 

[andrew_j]

….

 

[andrew_j]

Most shops don’t buy the $300 parts which are variable in quality because they are stuck on call backs if an issue.

They buy parts likely costing double at least because they go for ones they don’t have call backs on. My daughter’s Acura ILX cost $380/axle with premium NAPA parts($280) and $50/hr labor from buddy. A quality rebuilt caliper was $175 and he charged $25 to install.

 

[mbres2000]

If you did all that work at home in 2 hours without air tools or specialty tools, congratulations. you're Superman! And all those parts for $300?

I watched a YouTube video a while back where a pro at an independent shop started a 4-wheel brake job on a customer's Dodge (maybe a Durango?) at 4PM and finished at 5PM. While I don't remember everything he did, it was a very complete job -- not just new pads. I was very impressed with his time-saving tricks and the specialized tools he used. Probably would have taken the average home mechanic a full morning or afternoon. I say that because I've been there, done that!

On the other end of the spectrum, I've changed Girling pads with retainer pins on all 4 wheels in 45 minutes or less! Who remembers those?

 

[Donald]

I saw some interesting pricing in RA. You could get their cheapest reman caliper with bracket for a lot less than a plain bracket. That cheap reman caliper might be junky but the bracket should be OK. Rather than spending the time to clean up an old rusty bracket you order the cheap reman caliper with bracket, return cheap reman caliper and old rusty bracket and you got a new bracket pretty cheap.

At $100 or $150 per hour, if a rusty caliper bracket needs a lot of cleanup its probably cheaper to get new.

Shipping costs could be the down fall here

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

We grew up in a different time.
Just be thankful that you can still do it. There will come a time when you cannot.

 

[GMBoy]

Do you track overall margin on parts? How much has it gone down over the last while? I have no reason to care other than I am nosy. Not in that industry, and I don't use it much - I have taken my car to the shop 5 times in 30 years - outside tires and warranty, so it really doesn't affect me, just find it interesting.

I don't track it. We often times don't even markup for regular loyal customers so that alone would skew the data. I also don't know the actual data to prove how much "less" of a discount we get because parts vary widely in cost to discount ratio- I just notice it when I order known stuff and see it costing a little more.