brake pads and where to get service

Hi all,

My 2002 P5 has got about 61000km on it, in mixed city/highway driving. Recently I noticed the hand brake light was on a lot, so I throught the brake fluid might be low, and I also was worried the pads may be wearing out, but I only rarely hear any sqealing noise.

So I take it in to my Mazda dealer for service today, and they come back telling me the front pads have 5% left, and the rear has 15%, and they recommend replacing both, but they also want to grind down the rotors. This is all fine I suppose, but the problem is the price, they want $550 Cdn for it! Ouch!!

I did a little bit of searching around the net, and found pads were around $85 USD (or around $105 Cdn), and new rotors about the same price. But I am not even getting new rotors, so what the f*ck is going on?

I have a feeling that because I am a girl, they suspect (correctly) that I don't know sh*t about cars, so my question for you all is:

1) how long should brake pads last? is 61000 km about right?
2) I trust the Mazda service people as far as I can throw them (and that's not far), but I don't know where else is better for service... is, say, a Canadian Tire better? or Speedy? or ?? PS, I am in Toronto, Canada.
3) are those prices I found on the net about right for brake pads (around $85 USD) and rotors (about $90 USD)??

Thanks bunches!!

if you had 5% left on your brakes, you would hear LOTS of squealing. i got almost 60K miles on my stock pads when i changed them. and they hadn't started sqeaking yet. i just replaced them because i replaceed the rotors and figured i would do the pads since i was down there. my car now has 63K and i havn't even touched the rear brakes at all yet. you might wunna get a 2nd opinion on this. someone you trust.

check out Tirerack.com for pads and rotors. they have pretty good pricing.

i dont know how much you are willing to pay for brake pads but i recently upgraded to endless pads and the price is a little steep but they are worth it. http://endlessusa.com/products/index.php?id=2Better feel, and no squeak.

jared said:

if you had 5% left on your brakes, you would hear LOTS of squealing. i got almost 60K miles on my stock pads when i changed them. and they hadn't started sqeaking yet. i just replaced them because i replaceed the rotors and figured i would do the pads since i was down there. my car now has 63K and i havn't even touched the rear brakes at all yet. you might wunna get a 2nd opinion on this. someone you trust.

check out Tirerack.com for pads and rotors. they have pretty good pricing.

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It isn't even the pricing for parts, they charged me $95 Cdn for front pads, and $100 for rear pads. That's okay.

My problem is with their service charge. They charged me 2 hours to replace brake pads, and 2 hours to 'turn' the rotors. That's 4 hours @ $85 Cdn/hour. That's what I have a problem with. I read an article on the net about how it should take approx 40 minutes to replace brake pads. I don't know how long it takes to grind the rotors, but I seriously doubt it takes 2 hours! They even openly admit that the 4 hours is not necessarily the time it took to complete the service, but it is their "industry standard" allocated time for this type of service, so they charge that "standard" pricing, regardless of how long it actually took. I don't know if such a standard exists, but sure sounds like a load of BS to me, and it is one sure way to f*ck the customer.

Ack... the problem I have is, I don't know who to trust given that I know little about cars. Anyone can say just about anything before my car knowledge limit is reached. So where do you guys take to get your car serviced?

Independant Garage

I use an independant garage that specializes in imported cars for out of warranty work that I can not do myself. These guys should be a bit cheaper than the dealer, but you have to find a good, honest one. Once you do, it's like finding a good doctor. I think 4 hours is a bit much for turning four rotors, and they have to be done right or you end up with vibration. Four hours to replace the pads on four wheels seems about right though.

I just did new pads and new rotors on my Civic and it took me less than two hours to do both front wheels. That was from the time I drove the car into the garage until I had done a test drive of the new brakes and swept out the garage. For what it's worth, I paid $40 (US) for a set of Performance Friction Carbon Metalic front pads (four) and $22 each for a pair of front rotors. The front brake job cost me $75 total for parts and supplies (brake cleaner spray, pad lube, and penetrating oil) from Auto Zone. Rear parts would have been a tad cheaper as they are smaller. For the price of new rotors, I no longer even think about turning old rotors. By the time they get that old, they are full of rust, don't cool properly, and after turning, they are thinner and easier to warp.

Jim

Pads in Canada were about $200 and the turning of the rotors should cost about $18. Get a friend to throw them on. Its not very hard.
By the way I got about 85000 kms before I changed mine and they just started squeeling . Backs are still got about 1/2 life left.
I think they are trying to screw you.

Zoomer said:

Pads in Canada were about $200 and the turning of the rotors should cost about $18. Get a friend to throw them on. Its not very hard.
By the way I got about 85000 kms before I changed mine and they just started squeeling . Backs are still got about 1/2 life left.
I think they are trying to screw you.

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Sorry, do you mean turning EACH rotor should cost $18?

They did charge me about $200 for front & back brakes, but they charged me 2 hours of labour @ $85 ($170) to turn front and back rotors. That seems like a LOT to me, since it is the lathe that does all the work. They also charged me 2 hours of labour @ $85 to install the brakes. Again, all this is because they said they are charging me the "industry standard" rate. So even if it took 10 minutes to change the brakes, they'd still charge me 2 hours. I know this supposed industry standard is suppose to make it so customers wouldn't get overcharged, but I think it ends up just like that. Cause I can't imagine it takes 2 hours for a skilled mechanic to install my brake pads!

$10 a side(so $40 total for turning the rotors) for turning but if they installed the brakes for you , you will pay for their labor. Get someone who knows a little about cars and they can change them for you.

how long pads last depends on the material used in the pad and the driving style you have. if i were you i'd buy aftermarket pads and rotors and find a reputable place to do it for less than what they want to turn the rotors.

I had my front brakes serviced at Scarboro Mazda and they originally quoted me +-480, I laughed and managed to talk them down to about $375. That included the pads,caliper service, rotors being turned and labour.

My fiance just got screwed on brakes also. She has a 2000 corolla and it was going to cost her $400USD for new front pads and rotors and to clean the rear drums.

I told her to wait so I could see if we could find a better deal but the sales rep at the dealership had already got to her claiming that her car was unsafe because it had warped rotors and 10% left on the pads. Because she drives children around every day (she works for a child services out-patient company) she didn't want to risk waiting another week.

I called them back to get more info and managed to talk them down to $375 (not sure how, but I did). I wanted to make sure she really needed new rotors and I wanted to see what the price breakdown was.

From now on I will be doing my own brakes (and hers once we're married and her bills become my bills). There is plenty of info on this forum and the net on how to replace pads and rotors and it can save you a bundle. If you can't do it yourself, do the research and have a relative help you (father, brother, uncle, etc).