I had the rear brake pads, rear rotors and rear calipers changed. The mechanic is very honest, and I trust them. He said he wanted to change the pads and rotors together, because he felt they were very worn and wouldn't last much longer. Then when they were being changed he said that the calipers had been affected by the worn pads and were leaking, thereby needing to be changed.

I live in Canada, what should the total be with labor (before HST). Also, does this sound right that this needed to all be done? If you're in the you can still tell me what it would be in the US.


Also, the car has almost 58,000 miles, and I don't think they were ever changed. It is a 2008 model.

Thanks!

 

That's not out of the ordinary to have to replace calipers if they have been neglected. Most shops will want to replace the caliper in that condition because 1) it's a safety hazard and 2) it will affect any work performed.

I'm in the US and will try to break it down the way I would expect to see it. I just checked these prices from a large online retailer.
$ 76 x2 for Rear Rotors (ATE brand)
$ 56 for Rear Pads (ATE brand)
$126 x2 for Rear Calipers (Delphi brand)
$ 30 for Brake Fluid and Shop Supplies
$100 for Shipping
$ 70 x4 for Labor (whatever the hourly rate; not sure what the book quotes for time)

Keep in mind, these are really cheap prices on pretty good name brand stuff. I wouldn't be surprised to see a shop charge between $800-$1200 for that job depending on parts used. Most shops don't use cheaper name brands because they don't want to have to fix it a second time on their own dime. So parts prices will be the biggest variable. As far as my labor estimate, I tried to guess the longest amount of time possible one might quote. In all honesty, it might take half that time.

Try not to wait too long on having the pads replaced. Don't let them get too thin. The combination thin pad and thin rotor is probably what killed the calipers.

 

Thanks! I ended up paying almost $1,000, but that included over $100 tax (remember I live in Canada). The only thing that concerns me is the fact that the last time I took the car in to the same shop they didn't mention that the brakes were that worn. And that was only about 2-3,000 miles before. It concerns me a little, but maybe it wasn't done intentionally, I don't know.

 

I don't think it was deliberate. I imagine the last time you brought your car in they did a visual inspection and saw some brake pad left and felt it was okay. When you brought your car in this time specifically for the rear brakes, that is when they do a more thorough inspection and check thicknesses and inspect the caliper condition.

On a similar note, I had my truck at the dealership for servicing and basically "anything else it needs". Nothing too serious. Though 2 months later I bring it in for a suspension check and the ball joints are trash. People sometimes miss things. Probably happens quite often.

 

I just changed the rotors on our S70 because they were worn and I didn't want the pads to get worn on those rotors, didn't want to damage the calipers. When both are worn (pads and rotors) the pistons in the calipers can extend to far out and get damaged.

 

It wouldn't be a bad idea if you learned how to check your brakes yourself.

 

+1

Hudini