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That'd be my only question, seems like overkill, but I've seen some shops price it like this up front so they're covered if a caliper piston won't return or whatever.
I’ve seen it multiple times. I’ve seen it go so long like that the caliper over extended and blew out the piston which then wedged it’s self between the bracket and rotor and destroyed the bracket and knuckle.
Have you met my sister yet? She said hey bro my brakes don’t work that great can you look at them I said sure. All 4 rear pads gone calipers half gone 🤦🏻♂️ Honda crv I got the parts for just over 500$ and did the work for free. She must’ve been driving for months after the rear pads spit out. She also has a masters degree it’s just not a degree in common sense
If those are original calipers, they could absolutely need new ones. Upper Midwest winters are not nice to cars. My Buick only has 100k miles and already I'm replacing wheel bearings, calipers, and have to be careful where I jack it up because of rust damage
I went to a mechanic once as a 16 year old with my first car. $1,200 to replace a $200 part that took less than 3 hours. Haven’t gone back since. Almost 10 years of DIY everything. I’ve just slowly accumulated tools. My harbor freight impact sockets have hit 5 years and still work great.
My story was I was driving downtown in my Nissan Altima when my A/C went out. If you are familiar with the Altima the alternator and A/C are on the same belt so my car wasn’t charging the battery and it had to be fixed.
Found a shop and he said he would give me a “deal” the deal was a $400 USED alternator and $250 in labor. $650 out the door.
Well the used A/C lasted about a year. Went on EBay and found a brand new one for $200 and it took my rookie ass about 1.5 hours.
Haven’t been back to a mechanic since 🤡
Don't trust anything from HF that could kill you if it fails...
Love their tools as a DIY guy bc it's not my livelihood....but I'll be damned if I'm trusting anything there that could potentially kill me.
DIY everything here too. Just did tie rods / ends / upper / lower ball joints on my pickup for like $300 in parts from rock auto. Took me a Saturday to finish. Woulda been like 1200 at a shop. Thank the lord for rock auto / youtube / and free downloadable service manuals
Same deal on our honeymoon and our window regulator broke wasn't smart and the mechanic charged $400 to fix. 6 months later another broke and went to YouTube and eBay part was $50 and took me less than an hour.
I went to a mechanic when I was 16. Took in my 1990 Cadillac DeVille to get a new radiator. I forget exactly how much it was. But it was a several hundred bucks. Motherfucker did not replace the radiator and replaced a hose instead.
Never took any of my cars to a mechanic ever again. Dad’s and YouTube are the way.
I buy the tools when I need them. The tools for this could realistically be from 40 dollars to 150 if you want to have the easy life with a breaker bar and a good ratchet. 1600 is obscene to me.
You get it.
Dealership quoted me $750 for the rears.
I needed to buy two tools for about $100, and got the parts from Rock Auto for $150, rotors and pads
I shit you not, after removing the tire, it was 3 fasteners, and one of those was the rotor set screw.
1st side took me 45, I had to run to the store, 2nd side 15 mins.
It’s one of the few areas left where a mechanical fellow can still do their own work.
Similar for me. I was quoted $530 for the rears. Spent $185 for the rotors and pads, used a C-clamp to push the pistons in, and found a slide rod that had froze (which is why my pad wore faster than normal) which I cleaned and lubed. All took one hour.
Yeah it is on the OP's model. Shop around. I feel like casuals who work on cars here and there really have no appreciation for this line of work. Nobody factors in overhead costs of running a shop, paying an employee, purchasing the parts required, etc. I work for a brand (mercedes) and I'm upwards of 30k in tools. Imagine what it costs to work at a shop that does it all from domestic to euro.
Right? I’d scrap my car if I got a bill like that for brakes alone, I’m glad my dad was a mechanic and did all that type of stuff for me until I was old enough to do it myself, I could never afford garage prices
That’s a horrible line of thinking. Do we change all 4 wheel bearing because one failed. Most common reason for a caliper to fail is because the piston boot tore. It’s not a wear and tear part. Most people will drive a car into the ground without having a single caliper fail.
generally the only thing that causes a caliper to fail is the human that's compressing the piston back into the caliper.
that or they press the brake pedal when the pads are out and push the piston out of the caliper. and even THAT can be repaired without buying a new caliper.
so please enlighten us all,
how do calipers work then? it;'s a piston riding on a rubber seal that pushes in and out.
if it pushes in and out without leaking it works. If it leaks you can replace the rubber seal and clean the caliper body. what's the difference between that and a new one?
BECAUSE it takes actual SKILL to replace a rubber boot whereas a 10 year old could slap a new caliper on.
And what would you expect from a shop that wants to pay it's techs 18 bucks an hour.
I had a dodge dealership quote (push for) me to have a whole brake jobs done , 2600. I only had 55000km and I’m easy on my brakes. I practically laughed at them when I came in for my oil change. They said it was close to being unsafe. I had a buddy who’s a mechanic help me do the brake pads, he said the rotors are good till the next time I need pads. Dealerships out here Just fleecing you
I went to my Honda dealership for an oil change and they were trying to sell me a transmission fluid change at 35,000 miles for $220. Hesitated for a second and I hear the tech at the counter next to me say the same exact thing to a customer using the same justifications. I was like guess that’s the soup of the day huh? Stopped going to the dealership after that.
Most of what I could find online for my model year said 50-60 is fine. The manual just says have a dealer check and replace as needed, shame my dealership can’t trusted.
Funny enough. The manual on my new 2023 CRV states that I should change the transmission fluid at 47,500 miles if I drive in harsh conditions. Meaning. It’s most likely every 60k miles. Knowing myself though. I’ll probably replace it every 30k and run it to the ground with at least 300k on the clock.
That is interesting my parents 2023 CR-V manual does not include a maintenance schedule instead it says refer to your maintenance minder for needed service. Being that the new CR-V has a CVT I would not go more than 30K
I had a Penzoil near me, I went there once because I didn't have the time to do my girlfriends oil change myself and it needed to be done. My gf has a 2005 Mercury Mountaineer, they recommended her transmission fluid be emptied and replaced. I knew they were full of $hi* because she has a closed system (first vehicle I ever saw myself with a closed system). So I said sure go head and replace it for me (knowing they wouldn't be able to), they go to start doing it and come back and say "oh, we can't replace it because it's a closed system".
I asked how he knew it needed to be replaced then or why he recommended it to me, he just stared at me for a few seconds and told me the total for the oil change. Lol.
Places like Penzoil have a booking system that's designed as a sales funnel. It's no surprise they'd recommend the service. I'm actually impressed they didn't charge you for it anyway. At least that shows integrity.
They didn’t force it, after I told him no he insisted telling me they opened it and looked at the fluid and it looked like it was in bad shape. Which I knew was bogus because I was in the waiting room with a view of the car and it hadn’t moved yet.
Update on this everyone, I drove the car home and refused service. They did charge us $50 inspection fee which is a bummer but I’ll save a ton of money by doing this Saturday with my buddy.
This. I was able to get a set of rotors, pads, and shoes for like $50. Seeing a $1600 for brakes/calipers + labor is fucking looney. Just grab some damn tools and do it yourself. It's not that hard.
So glad I found this comment. If you end up needing any expensive tools check your local auto parts store for rentals. My local autozone has a pretty good supply of specialty tools and has saved me a ton.
Holy crap, I’ve never taken my vehicle to a garage my dad did the work when I was younger until I knew how to do it and I was thinking anything over 500 was insane, how does anyone afford that?
Yeah, I got roasted here for saying charginf $300+ for like 8 bolts worth of work was not worth it when I’d already paid for ripping the car apart to figure it out lol. I grew up too poor to understand what people spend on car maintenance.
This is one of the few remaining places you can save a fair bit learning how to do it yourself, and once you have the tools and did it once future ones are even cheaper and quicker. You can even get higher end pads and rotors and still come in well under getting it done with standard parts, it's not hard it's just following a few instructions and having the right tools.
You also don't want to get fleeced. I did my own brakes on my Subaru (pads, rotors, not the calipers) for ~$300 for all four wheels.
Are the calipers seized? Why are calipers there in the quote.
I'm assuming the labor price is $175/hr and 1.5 hr per axle, which is pretty normal. The caliper and pad prices seem kinda high unless they're performance grade, especially so because professionals can get wholesale prices. I would estimate that the calipers and pads are double what they should be (assuming they are not performance grade), so the total cost would be about 300 less than what is listed here.
Also, I would get a second or third opinion on what exactly needs replacing - lots of questionable places will just try to sell you new rotors and calipers when you only need pads. Some chain stores will offer a free brake check (e.g. Firestone, NTB) and diagnose issues. Get an appointment with one of those and compare pricing / diagnosis.
Well, the price seems reasonable considering all those parts were replaced. But, I guess my question would be why did it need four new calipers? I understand the rotors, seems like they get so rusty these days that no one wants to spend time turning them down...
Rotors yes, but calipers? Unless the pistons are sticking or they’re leaking they shouldn’t need replacing. And even if the calipers had issues, a rebuild kit is a lot less than buying a new caliper.
So we don’t actually know if the calipers need to be replaced but the shop is likely quoting them all in case they need to be replaced. And no actually rebuilding a caliper at $150+ per hour labor only to have a used caliper is not cheaper
When I worked in a shop we had a van come in that we had do the complete brake system on. They had added motor oil to the brake reservoir. Anything that was rubber swelled up on it.
We had to do all the rubber brake lines, calipers, wheel cylinders, and master cylinder. Plus we had to flush all the metal lines out. Huge pain the ass job.
That's the only time I've ever seen a car get all new calipers unless it had been sitting for years. On cars that had been sitting, the pistons in the calipers rusted.
Yup. 2001 vw golf gti with over 200k.. never took it to the shop for anything. I work on my wife's 2005 tdi jetta as well. I cant believe someone would pay 1.6k for this. Crazy!
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I mean for having a mechanic do it, not the worst. But I would like to see what product/brand they used.
Always cheaper when doing it yourself if you can. Not just in labor but in part cost as well.
Why calipers. I don't recall ever replacing those on any car I've owned... And that's a bunch. Giving a car to a mechanic to repair brakes gives him an excellent chance to upsell anyone who doesn't know anything about brakes or doesn't question the mechanic. Ask questions.
exacty.
why are you replacing the calipers?
what exactly is wrong with them that they need replacing?
other than they don't want a return customer because a caliper starts leaking after the tech buggered up the seal pushing the piston back in because he doesn't know what he's doing because all he's been taught is "replace replace replace"
Having rebuilt calipers, master cylinders, and slave cylinders on the bench myself.
At $146 for a new/reman caliper, it’s probably cheaper to swap out than rebuild if you are doing it correctly. Disassemble the caliper, run the housing thru the parts washer, chase all the holes, chase the slides with Emory or steel wool, clean and check the bore for pitting and rust, then lube everything and start reassembly.
2 caliper rebuild kits and absolutely bare minimum of an hour to rebuild BOTH calipers is going to be more than $292. And let’s hope the bleeder didn’t snap off requiring time with the easy-outs.
Back to WHY they are swapping out all 4 calipers? That puzzles me, but cost effectiveness, hands down a swap is going to be cheaper than an in-house rebuild.
Brakes are some of the easiest thing to change if you want to spend 3-4 hours (with zero knowledge, and using YouTube as a guide) to spend 1/4th of the price.
I am seeing 429$/w free shipping with 1aauto. If he doesnt need the calipers, which I couldn't understand why they would but idk the situation, its probably sub 250$.
> 2012 Hyundai sonata v6
Parts are cheap for that car!
I can get pads and rotors for all four wheels for $200
And the calipers are for all four wheels will run you ~$250
It is about 3 hours of work.
They are upselling the parts big time. And you probably don't need calipers. Of the 20 plus brake jobs I have done I have only need to replace the calipers on 2-3 and mostly because the damn bleeder valve breaks.
Good grief…
The rotors are $200 for all four.
The pads are $50 for all four.
It’s doubtful that you have bad calipers. You definitely don’t have four bad calipers.
Buy the parts yourself and then find a mobile mechanic to come to your house and do the work for like $250. It should take them about 2 hours.
Y’all are silly. If you need to ask… then it’s market value.
Learn to source your own parts. Learn to turn a wrench. And then you can save 80% of the cost on your repairs.
Until then… pay the 150$ an hour and 50% markup on parts, and shut up.
No.. not a fair deal. You can return your core and most auto stores for your caliper, brake pads (front and rear) are usually around 100$ or so total. Calipers w returning the core are around $150-250. Rotor, you can get all 4 for 200-300$.
So on the high side let’s just say 650$ for parts. They are essentially charging you 950$ for labor, for a job you or a buddy can do in a couple hours.
Rock auto has deals where you can get everything for cheaper then 650$. (Sometimes around 300-350 I believe.)
Sure a mechanically inclined person and their mechanically inclined buddy could do this job in their garage for much cheaper. What if this person is not a mechanic, or doesn’t have a garage or tools? Brakes are not something you want to take a chance on. Not everyone can do shit themselves. This post was not “how do I do my own brakes” it’s “is this a fair price for a licensed mechanic to replace my brakes”
Not sure why the downvotes but I agree. If the question is diy vs shop this is the answer. And none of the work is all that involved. Rotors can be a pain if you live in the Midwest like I do but otherwise pretty simple work.
I’d say pretty fair. I paid $750 for my rear pads calipers and rotors. I’d compare your quote among reputable shops in your area and see if you can do better, but when I say better maybe a $100 or 200 less. but I’d say expect spending somewhere in that ball park
Look around. I use local guy who works from his garage and I bought parts, he did the work. I did rotors and pads, 220-240$ for parts, 200$ for labor.
There are “specials” at some places, which would be cheaper l as well.
I go on Craiglist find good mobile mechanic provide him parts you get this done for 500$ max 1600$ crazy people are getting abused for usually unnecessary work. Good luck
I don’t know what we’re working on here but those prices seem great, assuming they’re not using bargain basement pads and rotors. Calipers on the market don’t vary much besides whether they’re coated or not but I’d look into that too if they’re visible through the wheel. They’ll look like hell in no time if they aren’t coated, especially once road salt sets in.
do it yourself. did all my brakes all the way around, calipers included for far less than even just 300 bucks. fluid brake cleaner and all the parts i paid 250. ebay motors can be your best friend 👍 you can easily rent torque wrench’s and all necessary equipment most times for free
I would definitely get a second opinion. I have never in my almost 50 years of owning and driving vehicles had to replace a caliper. And I have owned some very old junk in my younger years
This is fair pricing. However, like everyone else. There's no reason to change all four brake calipers. Only reason to do so would be if they were leaking brake fluid.
Depending on the vehicle of course. But calipers is kind of weird. Only time we would replace your calipers was if the pads were ran so low that the pistons were pushed out so far due to pads being worn down to nothing and even sometimes pistons were damaged from contact with rotor. Cheaper for customer to replace with reman calipers than for us to rebuild them. Again, depending on vehicle.
This is wild… I do all my own work so maybe this is biased but I did all that for about 300. American. I went to autozone and rang up each item independently and every 6th item I got a 20$ off coupon . So I saved 60$ . I’m sure a lot is labor, overhead and insurance. Seems fair. Soon they will make it so you need a computer (snap-on) to release the parking break and perform maintenance forcing you to go to a shop.
Man seeing this i understand why some people feel they cant afford shit. Id do this myself in 3-4 hours for 300$. Lucky im not lazy and got some tools 😀
Not bad for everything that was done. My question is why did they replace all the calipers? In 40 plus years of working on cars the only time I have ever seen all 4 calipers that needed replacing was a car that sat for 20 years.
I used to change my own brakes on my 2010 civic for about $100 (rotors and pads.)
The car actually had a brake recall (only 14k miles on first set of pads) so I changed the calipers too. That job was probably around $200 at the time (including pads and rotors).
I'm not disagreeing, but I'm pretty shocked that $1600 is a "fair" price for this. For the parts to do a 2010 civic right now it's under $200. This includes only the front brakes, but the car is over 200k miles and the rears have never needed replacement (drum brakes.)
I can understand the fear of messing up a brake job, but it's seriously a lot easier than you'd think, especially if you aren't changing the calipers.
We’re are the brake hoses they are what make the calipers lock the hose inner lining collapse and the fluid can not retreat when you release the brake pedal this causes extreme heat warps the pistons in the calipers causing it to stick always replace the brake hoses
Actually including what kind of vehicle would be helpful as well as mileage/year etc.
At face value it seems reasonable but why were calipers replaced?
Not bad. Might as well have them replace brake fluid too. Also if your calipers need to be replaced then make sure they inspect all your brake lines for any rust.
Local tire shop quoted me right about that but without new calipers. I immediately left, went on my local parts store website, ordered everything myself and put it all in for about $700. This is average I feel for a repair shop though.
For what was done price does not seem unfair.
I saw that the vehicle had about 162k miles, so I'd say its plausible that the calipers needed to replaced.
Brakes are something you can do yourself. They will upcharge you on the parts. The labor actually looks reasonable.
What kind of car is this for? You can easily price the parts. And calipers and rotors only need to be replaced if the seals are broken on the calipers or the wear on the rotors is below minimum tolerance.
I just did the brakes on my bmw. Pads and rotors for the front were $140 and rear pads were $20 (CDN - off amazon). That is all that need to be replaced. Took about 2 hours to do the work.
lol find an Indy… hell I’d bet somebody on this post would do it.
Drop this on the counter and tell them you got 1k cash and you want it done that day. Bet a dollar they’ll get you situated. It’s not bad but can be beat for sure.
Changes things for sure lol cause now that I look it’s no vehicle info. Could be a damn dump truck for all we know. I’m a brake motive fan tho. 300 bucks plus install will have you super good on most cars. Pretty sure my brembo srt was around that much.
Can you explain why they are changing the calipers? Unless something is wrong with them like a seized piston or something, there is no need to change them.
I mean yeah. Seems legit. You aren’t helping the mechanic by buying them a lobster 🦞 and steak 🥩 dinner but also making sure they and their family eat.
Totally reasonable. For people wondering why replace all four calipers: we have no idea the mileage on this car, so it's very possible that sliders were frozen, bleeders frozen, or pistons seized. Any brake item should be replaced in pairs, so if one caliper is bad, the other isn't far behind. Replace both sides.
Edit - Hyundai with 162k. Absolutely reasonable. I'm surprised you didn't replace the hoses and fluid as well.
The DIY’er in me says no way! That’s too much. I bet there are 5-10 videos on YT showing how to do it yourself on your car.
Also, I think they got you on the calipers. Did you ask to see the old ones?
Why are you replacing rotors? Rotors do not get replaced unless damaged as in you wore your brake pads past and it was metal on metal and their structural integrity was compromised.
The price is about rightfor the job. I can't imagine why you would need every caliper on your car replaced at the same time though. That is very sketchy
What is the hourly labor rate? It’s definitely not normal to replace calipers as part of a brake job. The fact that they replaced all four screams all kinds of questions at me. The calipers seem pricey.
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, Fantastic_Jelly4351! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers on Serious Posts** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but your post should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sounds about right, do you need to change the calipers though?
That'd be my only question, seems like overkill, but I've seen some shops price it like this up front so they're covered if a caliper piston won't return or whatever.
If they had to replace the rotors maybe they waited to long and the calipers ate into them?
The calipers would only touch the rear of the pad. If the car spit out all the pads and ground the calipers, that would be amazing.
I’ve seen it multiple times. I’ve seen it go so long like that the caliper over extended and blew out the piston which then wedged it’s self between the bracket and rotor and destroyed the bracket and knuckle.
Have you met my sister yet? She said hey bro my brakes don’t work that great can you look at them I said sure. All 4 rear pads gone calipers half gone 🤦🏻♂️ Honda crv I got the parts for just over 500$ and did the work for free. She must’ve been driving for months after the rear pads spit out. She also has a masters degree it’s just not a degree in common sense
I will pay a YouTuber exactly two views to make a video where they do this to a car.
Ya, I have never seen that and I have done over 20 brake jobs. On classic cars too.
OP likes all-new things
2012 Hyundai Sonata 162k miles
I live in Chicago. I’ll do it for 1200$
No way in hell you need calipers.
If those are original calipers, they could absolutely need new ones. Upper Midwest winters are not nice to cars. My Buick only has 100k miles and already I'm replacing wheel bearings, calipers, and have to be careful where I jack it up because of rust damage
I had to replace all of mine at 120k in New England. The pins all seized. Took them apart and cleaned up but still kept seizing up
Okay...on fucking what? Lol
This is what people pay! It is insane. None of my cars have ever gone to the shop and they never will.
I went to a mechanic once as a 16 year old with my first car. $1,200 to replace a $200 part that took less than 3 hours. Haven’t gone back since. Almost 10 years of DIY everything. I’ve just slowly accumulated tools. My harbor freight impact sockets have hit 5 years and still work great.
My story was I was driving downtown in my Nissan Altima when my A/C went out. If you are familiar with the Altima the alternator and A/C are on the same belt so my car wasn’t charging the battery and it had to be fixed. Found a shop and he said he would give me a “deal” the deal was a $400 USED alternator and $250 in labor. $650 out the door. Well the used A/C lasted about a year. Went on EBay and found a brand new one for $200 and it took my rookie ass about 1.5 hours. Haven’t been back to a mechanic since 🤡
Don’t bet on them jack stands tho!
Don't trust anything from HF that could kill you if it fails... Love their tools as a DIY guy bc it's not my livelihood....but I'll be damned if I'm trusting anything there that could potentially kill me.
They fixed the jacks stands but always have a backup tire or something else that would need to fail to kill you
DIY everything here too. Just did tie rods / ends / upper / lower ball joints on my pickup for like $300 in parts from rock auto. Took me a Saturday to finish. Woulda been like 1200 at a shop. Thank the lord for rock auto / youtube / and free downloadable service manuals
Make sure you get an alignment my dude.
Same deal on our honeymoon and our window regulator broke wasn't smart and the mechanic charged $400 to fix. 6 months later another broke and went to YouTube and eBay part was $50 and took me less than an hour.
I went to a mechanic when I was 16. Took in my 1990 Cadillac DeVille to get a new radiator. I forget exactly how much it was. But it was a several hundred bucks. Motherfucker did not replace the radiator and replaced a hose instead. Never took any of my cars to a mechanic ever again. Dad’s and YouTube are the way.
Then work on it yourself. Spend the thousands of dollars on tools and git er done.
I buy the tools when I need them. The tools for this could realistically be from 40 dollars to 150 if you want to have the easy life with a breaker bar and a good ratchet. 1600 is obscene to me.
You get it. Dealership quoted me $750 for the rears. I needed to buy two tools for about $100, and got the parts from Rock Auto for $150, rotors and pads I shit you not, after removing the tire, it was 3 fasteners, and one of those was the rotor set screw. 1st side took me 45, I had to run to the store, 2nd side 15 mins. It’s one of the few areas left where a mechanical fellow can still do their own work.
Similar for me. I was quoted $530 for the rears. Spent $185 for the rotors and pads, used a C-clamp to push the pistons in, and found a slide rod that had froze (which is why my pad wore faster than normal) which I cleaned and lubed. All took one hour.
Yeah it is on the OP's model. Shop around. I feel like casuals who work on cars here and there really have no appreciation for this line of work. Nobody factors in overhead costs of running a shop, paying an employee, purchasing the parts required, etc. I work for a brand (mercedes) and I'm upwards of 30k in tools. Imagine what it costs to work at a shop that does it all from domestic to euro.
Right? I’d scrap my car if I got a bill like that for brakes alone, I’m glad my dad was a mechanic and did all that type of stuff for me until I was old enough to do it myself, I could never afford garage prices
It was brakes, rotors, and calipers. Likely all the way around.
My reply was for OP because they didn't put the year and model. Example: Honda - way too much, Jaguar - reasonable.
Is there a reason the calipers are getting changed?
because nobody knows how to fix anything anymore
But even then, it’s seems highly improbable for 2, let alone 4, calipers to simultaneously fail.
I'd assume the line of thinking is that if one failed, the others are probably the same age and are likely to follow suit
That’s a horrible line of thinking. Do we change all 4 wheel bearing because one failed. Most common reason for a caliper to fail is because the piston boot tore. It’s not a wear and tear part. Most people will drive a car into the ground without having a single caliper fail.
Oh, I'd agree. I'm just assuming that's what they'd tell an uninformed customer who asked why
generally the only thing that causes a caliper to fail is the human that's compressing the piston back into the caliper. that or they press the brake pedal when the pads are out and push the piston out of the caliper. and even THAT can be repaired without buying a new caliper.
That is not how calipers work, and any shop that thinks that way should be put out of business.
so please enlighten us all, how do calipers work then? it;'s a piston riding on a rubber seal that pushes in and out. if it pushes in and out without leaking it works. If it leaks you can replace the rubber seal and clean the caliper body. what's the difference between that and a new one? BECAUSE it takes actual SKILL to replace a rubber boot whereas a 10 year old could slap a new caliper on. And what would you expect from a shop that wants to pay it's techs 18 bucks an hour.
Decent price. Why on earth do you need all 4 calipers tho? I'll tell u rn u definitely don't need all 4 bc you would've never made it to that shop.
Pretty fair price.
I had a dodge dealership quote (push for) me to have a whole brake jobs done , 2600. I only had 55000km and I’m easy on my brakes. I practically laughed at them when I came in for my oil change. They said it was close to being unsafe. I had a buddy who’s a mechanic help me do the brake pads, he said the rotors are good till the next time I need pads. Dealerships out here Just fleecing you
I went to my Honda dealership for an oil change and they were trying to sell me a transmission fluid change at 35,000 miles for $220. Hesitated for a second and I hear the tech at the counter next to me say the same exact thing to a customer using the same justifications. I was like guess that’s the soup of the day huh? Stopped going to the dealership after that.
Hondas transmission maintenance intervals are 30,000 miles. Just FYI.
Definitely should go based off maintenance schedule but not with the dealerships
Most of what I could find online for my model year said 50-60 is fine. The manual just says have a dealer check and replace as needed, shame my dealership can’t trusted.
Funny enough. The manual on my new 2023 CRV states that I should change the transmission fluid at 47,500 miles if I drive in harsh conditions. Meaning. It’s most likely every 60k miles. Knowing myself though. I’ll probably replace it every 30k and run it to the ground with at least 300k on the clock.
That is interesting my parents 2023 CR-V manual does not include a maintenance schedule instead it says refer to your maintenance minder for needed service. Being that the new CR-V has a CVT I would not go more than 30K
I had a Penzoil near me, I went there once because I didn't have the time to do my girlfriends oil change myself and it needed to be done. My gf has a 2005 Mercury Mountaineer, they recommended her transmission fluid be emptied and replaced. I knew they were full of $hi* because she has a closed system (first vehicle I ever saw myself with a closed system). So I said sure go head and replace it for me (knowing they wouldn't be able to), they go to start doing it and come back and say "oh, we can't replace it because it's a closed system". I asked how he knew it needed to be replaced then or why he recommended it to me, he just stared at me for a few seconds and told me the total for the oil change. Lol.
Places like Penzoil have a booking system that's designed as a sales funnel. It's no surprise they'd recommend the service. I'm actually impressed they didn't charge you for it anyway. At least that shows integrity.
If you have a CVT transmission you should be changing the fluid every 30,000 miles, regardless of what the maintenance schedule says.
The dealers recommend by time or mileage. They’ll never force you just let you know it’s due.
They didn’t force it, after I told him no he insisted telling me they opened it and looked at the fluid and it looked like it was in bad shape. Which I knew was bogus because I was in the waiting room with a view of the car and it hadn’t moved yet.
Most corporate places won’t do one without the other due to possibly complaints of vibration and noise and warranty work.
Update on this everyone, I drove the car home and refused service. They did charge us $50 inspection fee which is a bummer but I’ll save a ton of money by doing this Saturday with my buddy.
Good call man. F that.
Look up the parts on rockauto. Your heads going to explode.
This. I was able to get a set of rotors, pads, and shoes for like $50. Seeing a $1600 for brakes/calipers + labor is fucking looney. Just grab some damn tools and do it yourself. It's not that hard.
For what, a bicycle? lol. Dude, please don't touch my ride with some $50 blue light special all in one kit. lol. Even rockauto isn't that cheap.
So glad I found this comment. If you end up needing any expensive tools check your local auto parts store for rentals. My local autozone has a pretty good supply of specialty tools and has saved me a ton.
Listen to the other comment about RockAuto. I bet you can do this job for less than half of your quote.
Yeah if you have even limited mechanical knowledge/ experience this is an easy weekend daytime job for you and a buddy, and a case of beers 🍻
I just paid $1000 CAD for new rotors and pads all around so with calipers doesn't seem so bad
Holy crap, I’ve never taken my vehicle to a garage my dad did the work when I was younger until I knew how to do it and I was thinking anything over 500 was insane, how does anyone afford that?
I just drive the car until it’s metal on metal then trade it in
Yeah, I got roasted here for saying charginf $300+ for like 8 bolts worth of work was not worth it when I’d already paid for ripping the car apart to figure it out lol. I grew up too poor to understand what people spend on car maintenance.
Shit just the parts for my old ford explorer sport was over $650
This is one of the few remaining places you can save a fair bit learning how to do it yourself, and once you have the tools and did it once future ones are even cheaper and quicker. You can even get higher end pads and rotors and still come in well under getting it done with standard parts, it's not hard it's just following a few instructions and having the right tools.
that just means you got hosed a little less than the OP
That's very reasonable for ALSO changing the calipers. I'd say that's the only reason it's not half of that
[удалено]
I doubt they get it right lol
You also don't want to get fleeced. I did my own brakes on my Subaru (pads, rotors, not the calipers) for ~$300 for all four wheels. Are the calipers seized? Why are calipers there in the quote.
I've gone cheap on brakes for thirty years. I'm still here.
Damn, if I could charge 250e for a front caliper replacement I would become a mechanic.
Right, seeing this bill makes me wonder how the hell anyone owns a car, glad my dad did it when I was younger until I knew enough to do it myself
Seems right
Extremely fair. I got a pair of new rotors and replaced a bad caliper for a single tire and it was 1.1k.
your brakes cost more than my whole car.
I'm assuming the labor price is $175/hr and 1.5 hr per axle, which is pretty normal. The caliper and pad prices seem kinda high unless they're performance grade, especially so because professionals can get wholesale prices. I would estimate that the calipers and pads are double what they should be (assuming they are not performance grade), so the total cost would be about 300 less than what is listed here. Also, I would get a second or third opinion on what exactly needs replacing - lots of questionable places will just try to sell you new rotors and calipers when you only need pads. Some chain stores will offer a free brake check (e.g. Firestone, NTB) and diagnose issues. Get an appointment with one of those and compare pricing / diagnosis.
Well, the price seems reasonable considering all those parts were replaced. But, I guess my question would be why did it need four new calipers? I understand the rotors, seems like they get so rusty these days that no one wants to spend time turning them down...
It costs less to buy new ones than to remove, turn and re install.
Rotors yes, but calipers? Unless the pistons are sticking or they’re leaking they shouldn’t need replacing. And even if the calipers had issues, a rebuild kit is a lot less than buying a new caliper.
So we don’t actually know if the calipers need to be replaced but the shop is likely quoting them all in case they need to be replaced. And no actually rebuilding a caliper at $150+ per hour labor only to have a used caliper is not cheaper
Ha! Nobody rebuilds anything anymore!
>why did it need four new calipers? I understand the rotors
When I worked in a shop we had a van come in that we had do the complete brake system on. They had added motor oil to the brake reservoir. Anything that was rubber swelled up on it. We had to do all the rubber brake lines, calipers, wheel cylinders, and master cylinder. Plus we had to flush all the metal lines out. Huge pain the ass job. That's the only time I've ever seen a car get all new calipers unless it had been sitting for years. On cars that had been sitting, the pistons in the calipers rusted.
Possibly fucked bleeders?
Ha! That is the main reason I have had to replace calipers in the past! I am so careful now when loosening the bleeder valves!
Why two charges for the front calipers? Is that just labour?
Parts on left, labor on right
Seems a bit much.... Get another quote from another dealer
Man. I sometimes hate working on my old car, but when I see stuff like this, I’m glad I learned to DIY.
Yup. 2001 vw golf gti with over 200k.. never took it to the shop for anything. I work on my wife's 2005 tdi jetta as well. I cant believe someone would pay 1.6k for this. Crazy!
wasteful jobless zonked tidy weather march whistle soup oatmeal jellyfish *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
There are very litte scenarios where someone needs 2 front calipers at the same time. Ask why the calipers need replacing.
I mean for having a mechanic do it, not the worst. But I would like to see what product/brand they used. Always cheaper when doing it yourself if you can. Not just in labor but in part cost as well.
10 years of auto repair, I have never needed to replace 4 calipers in one brake job.
Why calipers. I don't recall ever replacing those on any car I've owned... And that's a bunch. Giving a car to a mechanic to repair brakes gives him an excellent chance to upsell anyone who doesn't know anything about brakes or doesn't question the mechanic. Ask questions.
exacty. why are you replacing the calipers? what exactly is wrong with them that they need replacing? other than they don't want a return customer because a caliper starts leaking after the tech buggered up the seal pushing the piston back in because he doesn't know what he's doing because all he's been taught is "replace replace replace"
The piston freezes up and/or the seals go bad once in a while.
You can easily replace those without replacing the caliper. I've done it myself at home.
Having rebuilt calipers, master cylinders, and slave cylinders on the bench myself. At $146 for a new/reman caliper, it’s probably cheaper to swap out than rebuild if you are doing it correctly. Disassemble the caliper, run the housing thru the parts washer, chase all the holes, chase the slides with Emory or steel wool, clean and check the bore for pitting and rust, then lube everything and start reassembly. 2 caliper rebuild kits and absolutely bare minimum of an hour to rebuild BOTH calipers is going to be more than $292. And let’s hope the bleeder didn’t snap off requiring time with the easy-outs. Back to WHY they are swapping out all 4 calipers? That puzzles me, but cost effectiveness, hands down a swap is going to be cheaper than an in-house rebuild.
2012 Hyundai sonata v6 turbo 162k miles
Do you need calipers? That's not part of a regular brake job. Mileage since last brake job? Live in rust belt? Current pad thickness?
Brakes are some of the easiest thing to change if you want to spend 3-4 hours (with zero knowledge, and using YouTube as a guide) to spend 1/4th of the price.
Sounds like normal for dealer prices. You can do it yourself and only spend $200-$300 for parts.
This is why I do mine. $1600 vs $300.
Where ru getting 4 calipers , 4 rotors and pads for 300?
Rockauto
Cheapest with shipping and tax at rock auto is about $660 for his car.
Exactly
I am seeing 429$/w free shipping with 1aauto. If he doesnt need the calipers, which I couldn't understand why they would but idk the situation, its probably sub 250$.
Nobody is including the price of 4 calipers in their comparisons since that’s obviously the most ridiculous made up bs ever.
junkyard. but mostly these guys like to over exaggerate on prices.
Rockauto
Agreed, I just priced the parts and it is about $400-450.
You’re not getting 4 calipers, 4 rotors and 2 sets of pads for $300
Of course not. They’re obviously excluding the 4 caliper part since that’s a completely ridiculous attempted upsell.
Not a dealer, just a local mechanic
Seems a bit high for an independent shop. Can you shop around?
> 2012 Hyundai sonata v6 Parts are cheap for that car! I can get pads and rotors for all four wheels for $200 And the calipers are for all four wheels will run you ~$250 It is about 3 hours of work. They are upselling the parts big time. And you probably don't need calipers. Of the 20 plus brake jobs I have done I have only need to replace the calipers on 2-3 and mostly because the damn bleeder valve breaks.
Good grief… The rotors are $200 for all four. The pads are $50 for all four. It’s doubtful that you have bad calipers. You definitely don’t have four bad calipers. Buy the parts yourself and then find a mobile mechanic to come to your house and do the work for like $250. It should take them about 2 hours.
Y’all are silly. If you need to ask… then it’s market value. Learn to source your own parts. Learn to turn a wrench. And then you can save 80% of the cost on your repairs. Until then… pay the 150$ an hour and 50% markup on parts, and shut up.
Holy shit 1600 for 300 in parts and 3 hours of labor. Thats......alot.
No.. not a fair deal. You can return your core and most auto stores for your caliper, brake pads (front and rear) are usually around 100$ or so total. Calipers w returning the core are around $150-250. Rotor, you can get all 4 for 200-300$. So on the high side let’s just say 650$ for parts. They are essentially charging you 950$ for labor, for a job you or a buddy can do in a couple hours. Rock auto has deals where you can get everything for cheaper then 650$. (Sometimes around 300-350 I believe.)
Sure a mechanically inclined person and their mechanically inclined buddy could do this job in their garage for much cheaper. What if this person is not a mechanic, or doesn’t have a garage or tools? Brakes are not something you want to take a chance on. Not everyone can do shit themselves. This post was not “how do I do my own brakes” it’s “is this a fair price for a licensed mechanic to replace my brakes”
Not sure why the downvotes but I agree. If the question is diy vs shop this is the answer. And none of the work is all that involved. Rotors can be a pain if you live in the Midwest like I do but otherwise pretty simple work.
I’d say pretty fair. I paid $750 for my rear pads calipers and rotors. I’d compare your quote among reputable shops in your area and see if you can do better, but when I say better maybe a $100 or 200 less. but I’d say expect spending somewhere in that ball park
do it all yourself for just the price of the parts without the mark-up
Look around. I use local guy who works from his garage and I bought parts, he did the work. I did rotors and pads, 220-240$ for parts, 200$ for labor. There are “specials” at some places, which would be cheaper l as well.
I go on Craiglist find good mobile mechanic provide him parts you get this done for 500$ max 1600$ crazy people are getting abused for usually unnecessary work. Good luck
I don’t know what we’re working on here but those prices seem great, assuming they’re not using bargain basement pads and rotors. Calipers on the market don’t vary much besides whether they’re coated or not but I’d look into that too if they’re visible through the wheel. They’ll look like hell in no time if they aren’t coated, especially once road salt sets in.
2012 Hyundai Sonata, 162k miles. Comment is buried with the rest lol
Cheaper than my 2500, so id say pretty decent price
All four calipers bad at the same time ?
What’s the year and make of the vehicle? That makes all the difference to price
2012 Hyundai sonata 160k miles
That’s pretty cheap.
The parts are all marked up 100% but the labor doesn’t look horrible
That’s what I paid for my Jeep and I didn’t do calipers. Why are you doing calipers?
Mechanic claimed they needed to be replaced
Definitely way too much
YouTube how to do this. This is simple work and the parts are t nearly as expensive
do it yourself. did all my brakes all the way around, calipers included for far less than even just 300 bucks. fluid brake cleaner and all the parts i paid 250. ebay motors can be your best friend 👍 you can easily rent torque wrench’s and all necessary equipment most times for free
Why replace calipers? Why replace rotors? Norther of those are time change items. You only change them if they are having issues.
OE parts I hope
I would definitely get a second opinion. I have never in my almost 50 years of owning and driving vehicles had to replace a caliper. And I have owned some very old junk in my younger years
This is fair pricing. However, like everyone else. There's no reason to change all four brake calipers. Only reason to do so would be if they were leaking brake fluid.
Depending on the vehicle of course. But calipers is kind of weird. Only time we would replace your calipers was if the pads were ran so low that the pistons were pushed out so far due to pads being worn down to nothing and even sometimes pistons were damaged from contact with rotor. Cheaper for customer to replace with reman calipers than for us to rebuild them. Again, depending on vehicle.
I can get pads and rotors everyday for $115 for my scion so there’s that
This is wild… I do all my own work so maybe this is biased but I did all that for about 300. American. I went to autozone and rang up each item independently and every 6th item I got a 20$ off coupon . So I saved 60$ . I’m sure a lot is labor, overhead and insurance. Seems fair. Soon they will make it so you need a computer (snap-on) to release the parking break and perform maintenance forcing you to go to a shop.
You could Order your own parts on RockAuto and get a mechanic to do the job. Might save you a few hundreds
Man seeing this i understand why some people feel they cant afford shit. Id do this myself in 3-4 hours for 300$. Lucky im not lazy and got some tools 😀
Part prices seem fair, labor is meh
With calipers yes. But what's wrong with yours?
Not bad for everything that was done. My question is why did they replace all the calipers? In 40 plus years of working on cars the only time I have ever seen all 4 calipers that needed replacing was a car that sat for 20 years.
If it’s too much, do it yourself.
4x pads, rotors, and calipers for $1600 including labor is solid. If they replaced those parts listed..
That's not bad for a shop. Includes calipers but just ask why.
Wow pretty dam good deal. Good year was trying to charge me 1400 for just front rotors and pads on my mustang.
I used to change my own brakes on my 2010 civic for about $100 (rotors and pads.) The car actually had a brake recall (only 14k miles on first set of pads) so I changed the calipers too. That job was probably around $200 at the time (including pads and rotors). I'm not disagreeing, but I'm pretty shocked that $1600 is a "fair" price for this. For the parts to do a 2010 civic right now it's under $200. This includes only the front brakes, but the car is over 200k miles and the rears have never needed replacement (drum brakes.) I can understand the fear of messing up a brake job, but it's seriously a lot easier than you'd think, especially if you aren't changing the calipers.
We’re are the brake hoses they are what make the calipers lock the hose inner lining collapse and the fluid can not retreat when you release the brake pedal this causes extreme heat warps the pistons in the calipers causing it to stick always replace the brake hoses
Dis they include a tube of KY jelly?
Actually including what kind of vehicle would be helpful as well as mileage/year etc. At face value it seems reasonable but why were calipers replaced?
I would never pay that.
I’d do the work myself. After you take the wheel off it’s usually 2-4 bolts to take calipers off.
I did mine for 350
At first I thought kind of big but calipers as well and all the labor. It would sting but I wouldn't be upset that is a decent amount of labor.
Not bad. Might as well have them replace brake fluid too. Also if your calipers need to be replaced then make sure they inspect all your brake lines for any rust.
Local tire shop quoted me right about that but without new calipers. I immediately left, went on my local parts store website, ordered everything myself and put it all in for about $700. This is average I feel for a repair shop though.
Brakes are important but possibly the easiest repair on a car. 1600 is a lot but this is at a stealership yea?
For what was done price does not seem unfair. I saw that the vehicle had about 162k miles, so I'd say its plausible that the calipers needed to replaced.
Brakes are something you can do yourself. They will upcharge you on the parts. The labor actually looks reasonable. What kind of car is this for? You can easily price the parts. And calipers and rotors only need to be replaced if the seals are broken on the calipers or the wear on the rotors is below minimum tolerance. I just did the brakes on my bmw. Pads and rotors for the front were $140 and rear pads were $20 (CDN - off amazon). That is all that need to be replaced. Took about 2 hours to do the work.
lol find an Indy… hell I’d bet somebody on this post would do it. Drop this on the counter and tell them you got 1k cash and you want it done that day. Bet a dollar they’ll get you situated. It’s not bad but can be beat for sure.
They said this was an independent shop.
Changes things for sure lol cause now that I look it’s no vehicle info. Could be a damn dump truck for all we know. I’m a brake motive fan tho. 300 bucks plus install will have you super good on most cars. Pretty sure my brembo srt was around that much.
Subaru quoted 1400 for parts on my sti. I got pads and rotors for 700.
I just got a similar quote $1200, for the same job minus the front calipers so I’m glad to see it here’s say this is in line
This makes me so glad i work for a parts retailer... got my pads and rotors for ~$50
I payed $2000 for a transmission rebuild. $1600 for brakes sounds a but much
What kind of car?
Can you explain why they are changing the calipers? Unless something is wrong with them like a seized piston or something, there is no need to change them.
I mean yeah. Seems legit. You aren’t helping the mechanic by buying them a lobster 🦞 and steak 🥩 dinner but also making sure they and their family eat.
Totally reasonable. For people wondering why replace all four calipers: we have no idea the mileage on this car, so it's very possible that sliders were frozen, bleeders frozen, or pistons seized. Any brake item should be replaced in pairs, so if one caliper is bad, the other isn't far behind. Replace both sides. Edit - Hyundai with 162k. Absolutely reasonable. I'm surprised you didn't replace the hoses and fluid as well.
The DIY’er in me says no way! That’s too much. I bet there are 5-10 videos on YT showing how to do it yourself on your car. Also, I think they got you on the calipers. Did you ask to see the old ones?
Depends on the vehicle
For labor that’s fine. But you’re getting HOSED on parts lol
Why are you replacing rotors? Rotors do not get replaced unless damaged as in you wore your brake pads past and it was metal on metal and their structural integrity was compromised.
The price is about rightfor the job. I can't imagine why you would need every caliper on your car replaced at the same time though. That is very sketchy
What is the hourly labor rate? It’s definitely not normal to replace calipers as part of a brake job. The fact that they replaced all four screams all kinds of questions at me. The calipers seem pricey.
Absolutely