[rogeshoe]

I am getting my brakes inspected right now... I was wondering if anyone can tell me how much its gonna cost? They tell me $180 for front pads & labor and rears are $160 pads & labor... This does not include rotor turning... I don't know too much about cars so please someone help... i have a 2000 jetta
Roger

 

[rgGolf4]

Re: Need help quick on brake pads!!! Costs of pads and labor? (rogeshoe)

Not to sure about the price of labor or anything. But I bought brand new from potterman's a OEM rear rotors and Mintex brake pads for +/-$88. I will be doing the install myself which requires buying a special tool, or renting it from pep boys. The fronts are similarly priced maybe a little more and no special tool is needed that I know of. Just letting you know that if you are to buy the parts seperatley it would probably much cheaper. Also if you can do the labor, thats free too! $300 for rear and front brakes seems pricey. Buy the pads from pottermans and go to midas to have the rotors turned and the pads installed. That would probably be the cheapest way to go IMO. Potterman's is http://www.parts4vws.com.

 

[rogeshoe]

Re: Need help quick on brake pads!!! Costs of pads and labor? (rogeshoe)

Another problem is that when i brake now... i hear this nasty grinding sound in the back of my car... which i'm assuming is that my pads are really thin and scraping my rotors... I looked at potterman and saw the pad you are talking about which are about $70 without tax and shipping... which are the front pads that i need... potterman has alot of different mintex red pads...
Roger

 

[sopipari]

Re: Need help quick on brake pads!!! Costs of pads and labor? (rogeshoe)

Roger,
I had the exact same thing (grinding rears) last week and had the car to the dealership. Needed rear rotors and pads. Fronts were fine. DON'T DO IT!!! The dealership is going to cost about $400

for the rears only. They charge $90 per roter, $78 for the set of pads and about $150 in labor. Then theres tax and the misc parts.
Get yourself the parts from potterman or germanautoparts.com and have somone local do it for you. Or, get a bently and DIY. I should have.
When my fronts go, I'm going to get crossdrilled rotors for 1/2 of what the dealership chrages for OEM and some Red Box pads for about 60% less then dealership for OEM. In about 10k, i'm going to change the rears again and probably put on Red Box pads.
BTW, 26k on the car, that's a bit early to me. And not under warranty

opi

 

[rogeshoe]

Re: Need help quick on brake pads!!! Costs of pads and labor? (sopipari)

Yeah that's what i was thinking... the person at the shop told me i needed everything changed... they were gonna charge me $420 for rears and fronts... plus the resurfacing of the rotors... what a rip... i'm gonna change the rears for now... which is $188... o well... thanks for all the info... i'm gonna buy stuff from potterman next time and have someone install it...
Roger

 

[noahlh]

Re: Need help quick on brake pads!!! Costs of pads and labor? (rogeshoe)

Hey guys thanx for the info on this thread -- very useful.
I'm ready for a pad change now (geez sounds kinda bad), and am going to go Mintex all around ... I've heard good things about 'em.
How do I know if I need work done on the rotors / new rotors? 38k on the car, and no scraping sound, but the brakes are whining a bit and the braking performance has dropped off significantly over the past few weeks (i.e. I assume that means I need new pads).
I do _eventually_ want to do a full brake upgrade, but right now I just want to keep costs down so if I don't need new rotors I'll save on that...
Any info would be appreciated...thanks!
--noah

 

[GmanX]

Re: Need help quick on brake pads!!! Costs of pads and labor? (noahlh)

If you change pads it is a good idea to get the rotors turned at a machine shop. I think it is about 12 dollars a rotor.