At my service appointment, the brake wear was checked and found to be "low". In round numbers, new pads front and rear, sensors and 4 discs plus labor is about $1100. As I understand, MINI does not recommend resurfacing the rotors as the material is "soft". Quotes are the words used by the service writer. My Clubman has about 35,000 miles and I've owned it since new.

Anyway, what are the experiences of other fJCW owners? I'm really surprised at the policy of not resurfacing the rotors.

I know of a couple of independent mechanics who could do the work, but even with factory parts, does that void the warranty (extended warranty with about another 3 years to go)?

 

No it won't void the warranty and honestly you can do it yourself. I just did the brakes on a Clubman over the weekend and was damn proud to save myself over $600 from the dealer quote. All factory parts except the brake pads were used.

 

$1100 Holy-Crapoly

that is insane. The tech that does the work will get it done in under an hour. So there is $100 to $150 for labor. The rest is parts?

 

Yep I'd believe they would charge probably 800 in parts for pads, rotors, and sensors.

 

No, not an option. No garage and a gravel driveway...

 

Friend? Neighbor? In-law????

 

No, arthritis raises the degree of difficulty...

 

 

I've looked at several parts sites and, in rough numbers, the prices for factory parts look about the same. I'm planning an doing a more accurate total in another day or so.

However, key to the whole thing is the MINI/BMW policy of not recommending the resurfacing of the rotors. I noticed this was also mentioned on the MiniMania site. That's a big chunk of the cost...

 

JCW brakes:

Here is all the parts in are kit , plus comes with new brake rotor screws, one for each rotor. This kit comes with NON cross drilled / slotted OEM MINI front rotors, Crossed drilled / slotted was an optional upgrade.

2009 MINI Clubman JCW

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2009-Cooper-R55-John_Cooper_Works_Clubman-Coupe-L4_1.6L_N14B16C/Braking/Service_Kits/ES2804299/


Other Options : That use or ECS Geomet rotors.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2009-Cooper-R55-John_Cooper_Works_Clubman-Coupe-L4_1.6L_N14B16C/Braking/Service_Kits/




Thanks

 

Your best bet is trying to find the parts from other retailers and then just taking it in to get done if not able to do it yourself and get exactly what you want. It's always cheaper showing up with your own parts and will not void anything with them putting it on.

 

I don't think the issue is one of soft rotors. I think the issue is more related to rotors that are already cast pretty thin. Therefore there isn't a lot of material to wear off before you get to the minimum recommended thickness and they have to be replaced. It's pretty common with newer cars to have to replace pads/rotors together.

What prices are you seeing for OEM parts. $1100 doesn't actually sound that bad for all new OEM brake stuff including labor. It's a JCW. It's got bigger brakes. Bigger brakes are more expensive. Sucks sometimes but that's the way it is.

 

Yes, I thought the use of "soft" by the service guy was a bit odd. I agree with the possibility of the rotors not being designed with additional thickness for resurfacing. That would help with reducing the weight of the car slightly, but the larger effect would be reducing unsprung weight for better handling. The only other thing that came to mind would be if there was a particular surface finish on the rotors for pad break-in.

I realize that we're talking about parts that are either manufactured by Brembo or by whomever under license, so I did expect things to be somewhat more expensive. However, I wasn't prepared for the rotor requirement. At the moment, I don't know the specific breakdown between parts and labor for the dealership as I was quoted a finished price for the fronts and for the rears. I don't have the paper with me, but it was $6xx for the fronts and $4yy for the rears.

Before the message from ECS above, I had looked at their site, MiniMania, OutMotoring and one or two others to get an idea of what the marketplace looks like. Next step is to have the dealer detail the costs out so that I can make an good comparison.

The comment about newer cars requiring both pad and rotor replacement is new to my experience. My previous vehicle was a 1994 Isuzu Trooper that I owned since new. Obviously that predated the change in design philosophy.

 

I think its more common on German cars.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using NAMotoring

 

There's a shop in town that used to do the work on Trooper for the last 8-9 years that I had it. I talked with one of the owners today and he said that he hasn't had rotors turned in maybe 5 years. Guess I've been a little out of the loop!

Anyway, the dealer's price for the job (pads, rotors, sensors, labor):

Front = $671
Rear = $453

I now know that the labor is $170 for each end. So, parts are:

Front = $501
Rear = $283

 

You don't need to go with the OEM parts. They aren't bad, but our aftermarket parts are better as they will be more cost effective, lower dust, and handle more heat.
We use our EBC redstuff pads on that
http://www.waymotorworks.com/jcw-bre...tuff-pads.html

Then our WMW rotors
http://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-joh...-cooper-s.html

Manufactures now make the rotors thinner to save weight, and cost as replacing them later only makes profitable for them to sell more later.

 

Well, the job is done with all factory parts except for EBC Redstuff pads on both ends. Total difference over dealership price was a savings of about $290.

So far the Redstuff pads feel stronger without being grabby, but there's a ways to go before they are completely broken in...

 

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Update:

The EBC Red Stuff pads are VERY good. They stop well, don't grab if hot or cold and hardly any dust. What's not to like?

 

Thanks for the update.

 

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If you're getting front and rear brakes done from a dealer, for a grand, that's pretty darn good. I was quoted over a grand just for the fronts on my 2009 S, and close to $2K for the whole job, fronts and rears. I do my own, so I wasn't going to pay to have them done in any case.
Unless you go crazy, OEM, or after market, parts will run you about $500-$700.00.

It's not cost effective to "turn rotors" for the most part any longer. Rotors, and drums for that matter, have just gotten to inexpensive. It's quicker and easier to just swap them out.

As an aside to the OP.
Your brakes needed replacing at 35K? That seems pretty early to me. I have a 2013, R56, JCW at about the same mileage and the brakes aren't near ready for replacement yet.( I want to yank 'em anyway just because of the dust mess, but it's my wife's car and she likes the way they feel. I have Brembo's and Akebono ceramics, front and rear, on my 2009 S. No dust!!! )

 

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Come by my house and I'll do it for 650 cash