$195 for brake pads rotor rotation -- sound fair?

[Bob Wills]

I need to have some pads replaced and the rotors turned on the front brakes of our Honda. That seems kind of high to me, but perhaps it's the labor that's the gotcha on this service.

Keep in mind, I'm in LA -- so I don't think Belton auto shop rates will apply.

Decent price?

 

[mishatx]

It's not outrageous. I've seen one-axle jobs from 89-159, but I don't know if those include the pads or rotor turning.

I have a fairly new car, and front wheel pads and rotor turning I would expect to run in the 150-200 range. And yeah, it's labor. You can probably get pads for around $50. If you can take the rotors off, many places will machine them cheap. Doing brakes isn't too hard, but if you mess it up you could be in a world of trouble

 

[Bob Wills]

Agree about messing up the brakes myself and I'm still kicking myself for not paying enough attention to pops when he was working on our cars as a kid. I remember replacing a water pump on an Olds w/out much help at all back then -- I wouldn't even know where to begin now.

 

[accuratehorn]

Not out of line, especially in the LA area. On several years of Honda Accords, the rotors do not just slip off like they do on many cars. You have to disassemble the hub from the rotor to remove the rotors, and this is a bigger job-you can ruin the wheel bearing if you don't know how to do it (so it would cost more on those models, unless the shop has an on-car brake lathe to turn them.

 

[pevodog]

Rotating rotors is a scam! Pads are cheap for the front
< $ 20.00. Little groves are not going to hurt your breaking or mess up your pads any worse. I have never, never turned any rotors. Heck you can but new ones, I believe, for less than $60.00 or $70.00. Tell them to save that rotating rotors for someone else.

 

[Sip94]

I think that's a pretty decent price. If you do it yourself, count on spending most of the day. You'll need a special tool to separate the ball joints from the steering knuckle. It was still a PIA and I ended up tearing a ball joint boot wo that had to be replaced. The hub has to be pressed out of the knuckle so you'll need to take it somewhere and pay them 20 bucks or so each to have that done. Then take off the rotors and have them turned for another 10 bucks or so each. Then spend at least 25 bucks or so on new pads, then bleed the brakes etc. It's fairly labor intensive even if you have the right tools. If you've got the money, pay to have it done. I've done it before and would pay next time.

 

[Sip94]

BTW new rotors are less than 40 bucks a piece from autozone, but tuning the old ones is OK. If the brake shop is telling you that they want to turn them, it means they are pretty good (and if they are unscrupulous, may not need turning at all). If they were even close to being too thin or warped, they'd tell you that they have to be changed so they could charge you another 150 bucks.

 

[hornhooper]

I think it's fair. I could see lower prices and higher for the same job. I see several people going with its not hard. But if you do not have air tools changing rotors is a betch. I have an Accord and they use phillip heads to hold the rotors in place. Yeah I took my rotors off in about 4 hours. It sucked.

 

[hornhooper]

Right sounds okay.

 

[accuratehorn]

Why don't you just take your brakes to pevodog for a quality repair job?
And buy some $20 Autozone rotors made in China out of reconstituted bean cans. That is, if you don't mind your pedal pulsating and the brakes squeaking every time you use them.
There is a big difference in quality in brake rotors-the metal alloy is different in the cheap ones. Same with brake pads. There are very cheap pads, and better pads, and really good ones. The cheaper rotors warp and make noise more easily, and the fit may not be perfect. We never use the "plain white box" rotors, they are nothing but trouble.
Now if you drive around like Grandma, who only goes to church on Sundays, the inexpensive parts may work fine for you. But the more you use the parts hard, the more you need the better quality parts, even the OE parts. Of course, if you are racing, the OE may not suffice, and you may need something engineered just for racing.

 

[7Titles]

I had my rotors turned at an Autozone for 10$. Good pads for that car will only cost $35ish. EBay or the internet is a great place to buy autoparts, if you know what you are doing. I bought better than stock brake pads for my old BMW off EBay for $35, Autozone wanted $45 for cheaper ****. If the rotors are only slighlty grooved I wouldnt bother with turning them.

Anyways you can save $130 if you do it yourself. Make sure you bleed the brakes, whichever route you take. Brake pads are a pretty straightforward job, the hardest part being loosing tight bolts that may not have much clearance etc, or trying to do the job without the right wrench etc. If that price includes bleeding the brakes its not a bad deal.