what to pay for brakes!

[Robertslowpoke]

good morning!! thanks to ALL of you, i ordered original Caddy DTS front pads and rotors. parts $300. my friend put them on, and wants to charge me parts plus $40.

this is not acceptable. he had to drive to get parts, and we had to grind the rotors, which came painted!!

i thought to give him pats plus $100

what do you think?

best

bob

 

[ahoier]

Parts plus 100 sounds about reasonable...locally "Just Brakes" has been advertising $89 brake service....but not sure exactly what all that includes....if that's labor only? or parts only? And then Midas is advertising "Lifetime Brakes" for $99....can't see how they can do "Lifetime Brakes"...lol. But eh, it's all in the marketing

 

[Lead Shoes]

It's usually like $100 in labor per axle, id say 100 + parts is fair...

 

[SLCraig]

Good friend is what I say..
I usually charge $50 for a brake job.. (pair)

 

[abycat]

Originally Posted By: Robertslowpoke
good morning!! thanks to ALL of you, i ordered original Caddy DTS front pads and rotors. parts $300. my friend put them on, and wants to charge me parts plus $40.

this is not acceptable. he had to drive to get parts, and we had to grind the rotors, which came painted!!

i thought to give him parts plus $100

what do you think?

best

bob


So you mean he had to get a couple other parts that were not included in your origional trip to the parts store? If so i would pay him every cent for the parts. I would ask him for the reciepts so i could put them in my vehicle folder like i do for all my vehicle purchases. 40$ that seems a little low. He must have spent a couple at least hours on it plus the time to get the other parts. I would give him 100$ for sure, 40$ seems like he is really desperate. If he did a good job and needs some $ why not give him 100$ you would have paid more anywhere else and im sure they would have "found" another problem that would cost you even more $. Does he drink? if so and he is a little short of cash give him 75$ and a bottle of some good stuff, or a case of beer im sure he would appreciate anything extra you give him. Make sure you thank him pretty hard. sounds like a cool guy.

 

[EricF]

that's weird.. when rotors are turned.. I've never seen them painted. New AC Delco rotors are painted with a zinc coating to prevent rust and allegedly help with break in.

It sounds like you're getting a pretty good deal.
so OE pads let's say are $130. 2 rotors turned say $50.
you're at $180. IF he bought new AC Delco rotors, assume $90ea so you're at $310. and he wants $40 to install.. it's a bargain if you're getting OE parts. laborwise.. as long as the job is done correctly it's all good.
a dealership job would hit you for $600 AND you don't get to see the shortcuts they take.

 

[Trav]

Quote:
my friend put them on

Good friend.

 

[Robertslowpoke]

Yay!! thanks guys. he IS a good friend. the parts, original new rotors and pads from cadillac were $300. i gave him $400, and i think i got a great deal. i saw them go on, and learned a lot.

best

bob

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: EricF
New AC Delco rotors are painted with a zinc coating to prevent rust and allegedly help with break in.

x2 no reason to remove the coating or turn the coated rotors.

 

[SteveSRT8]

You can always tell a GOOD friend!

While I could care less about the coating, I see no wrong in checking the rotors carefully for runout. Those pieces are in the ballpark, if a little high.

I've seen brand new ones in a factory box that weren't true enough for my car.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
You can always tell a GOOD friend!

While I could care less about the coating, I see no wrong in checking the rotors carefully for runout. Those pieces are in the ballpark, if a little high.

I've seen brand new ones in a factory box that weren't true enough for my car.

Me too. At one job I worked, I was told to machine the brand new rotors before installing them on a car.

They were the kind of rotors where they must have used generic dirt as casting sand.