Had my Cooper in for its first oil change and service at around 16k miles. Was talking to the service advisor about when the brakes need to be serviced. He said that around 25k is normal. I asked him what the price is for a complete brake job. He told me 1200 dollars. That is absolutely insane. He explained that they replace all the rotors and pads. The rotors are a softer metal than most rotors, so they have to be replaced. Is it just me that thinks this is totally outrageous.

 

That sounds like a dealership.

You might want to look at doing it yourself. There are some great How-to threads thanks to Octane Guy on brake installs and Chad at Detroit Tuned can hook you up with better than OEM parts. It not hard to do and you will save big.

 

Softer metal my @ss!Sounds like typical dealer BS!I'm on my third set of brakepads with the original rotors at 25k.When it comes time to change it's definately a DIY job.

 

A dealership is always going to be insane price wise. Find a mechanic or auto repair shop to do the job if you're not up to it. Also, check the pads frequently. You should not have to replace your rotors if you haven't gone through the pads.

 

You're actually supposed to change rotors when you change pads. BMW/MINI rotors aren't thick enough to be machined. When you resurface them (And if you don't do that you're just crazy) it typically machines them down to below minimum thickness.

A good set of rotors should be about $200 (Brembo OEM Replacements from Tirerack). A decent set of pads should be about $160 for all 4 (Hawk HPS Front and Rear Pads from Tirerack). So parts is about $360, lets say $400 with shipping/tax.

Even if you couldn't find anyone to help you install them and had to pay someone, if it took a ridiculous 4 hours to install everything (should take more like 45 minutes an axel). So at even at 125 an hour, you should still be under 500 for labor. $900 worst case scenerio!

 

hmm... bbk?

 

Last time I read brakes were covered under the 3 year 36,000 mile maintenance plan. It's in writting and it includes rotors as well. By your post I'm assuming you're within that timeframe no? Tire rotation is also included, might want to take advantage of that.

 

Yes, brakes (pads and rotors) are included in the full maintenance.... but tire rotations (and anything related to tires, for that matter) are NOT included.

 

I suggest you re-read the terms. Tire rotations ARE indeed included. Tire replacement obviously NOT.

http://www.miniusa.com/#/learn/FACTS...Top_Features-s

While under Top Features, Go to Maintenance and Roadside Assistance and read for yourself

 

Rotors don't always have to be machined when changing pads. The unevenness of a used rotor on a new pad makes for more surface area once the pads are bedded in. Only when rotors are really uneven do they need to be machined, of course, that is if there's enough metal left.

 

Maybe a NAMer will be willing to help you install the parts for Beer. See it done once, do it once and teach it once, pass it on.
Jay

 

According to who? Why would they need to be machined as a matter of course? I've been riding on disk brakes for a long, long time and have often had the pads replaced without rotors needed to be either machined or replaced.

Based on what Mini dealers and vendors have to say, I am lead to believe Mini's are the biggest (or littlest?) pieces of crap ever built.

 

If you go to MINI2 website, under "maintainance and care" you will see a stickey on "how to change brakepads front and rear"

 

25k miles for new pads is normal?

 

I'm going to add my $0.02.

Brake discs should have a minimum thickness stamped near the hub. Get a micrometer and measure. There should be a new measurement available somewhere to see the rate that you're wearing. Discs need replacement if they are below minimum thickness or are warped. Pads can be replaced without changing the discs.

Materials may be softer now but there's not way you should be changing discs at the same time as pads every time if you're an average driver.

It's an easy DIY.

John.

 

Wow, $1,200.00 sounds high. I did a complete brake job on my X5, and the parts were only $300.00

 

My 2007 MCS is almost 25,000 KM and they want me to change my brakes and rotors- $700 Canadian including labour

In Canada changing brakes arent covered in the service plan- it is considered wear and tear. Oil changes are not included either under 39000 mi (45000 km)

You guys have a nice deal over there!

My car is leased so I have to do it at the dealership? or not?

 

Most BMW mechanics agree that machining rotors past their minimum thickness would be a bad idea.

It's true you can replace pads without rotors, but generally you want to resurface the rotors to properly bed the pads in (For maximum braking). You don't ALWAYS have to, but I've never seen any reason not to. For what it's worth on every german car I've owned (On my 4th now) not replacing the rotors has caused rotor warping down the road. On both of my MINI's and my M3 the rotors from the factory weren't thick enough to machine after I needed to replace the pads, so I swapped out the rotors with the pads. Perhaps Todd from TCE could chime in with his .02?

 

Depends on your driving style. I'm on my 3rd set of pads and 2nd set of rotors with 30k miles.

 

Doh, I completely forgot about that. I've never actually used the dealer for brakes.

Definitely, if you plan on going with the stock brakes, go to the dealership and have them replace them under warranty.

 

I'm of the "replace the rotors with the pads" frame of mind, but if you're not going to do that I think you should at least scuff the old rotors to remove the glaze so the new pads will beak in properly and give you maximum braking ability. Don't forget to do the back side of the rotor too!

 

I don't think it is way out of line with the way the world has become.

You'll get nearly the same quote from many indy shops from
what I've seen. There could be many reasons. I think one of
them is they are liable so they go exactly by the manufacturer's
recommendations. They also usually have a semi-warranty or
even a real warranty they might honor assuming it is a reputable shop.
So in their mind if they do it "half right" to save you money, they
could very well be in it for their labor again when somebody comes
back with 'you said it would work but now my steering wheel shimmys'.
So they lose money on that job and if not, on the job they could
be working on while they mess with that person.

A guy at a reputable trustworthy shop here quoted me like
$800 for a '99 3 series brakes (I was in for an inspection).
Now, I had already examined them before and figured I could
just change the pads. Excluding the mini I have found on
German cars you can get 2 pads per 1 rotor, possibly 3 pads
before you have to replace.

Talk about rip off factors. I was having an O2 sensor changed
at precision tune. The guy starts on my brakes how he wouldn't
drive another mile if it was his car, then comes out with an
$800 quote for brakes. That was 10 years ago. It was ridiculous
high, more to resurface the rotors than it costs to go to
advance and buy new ones.

In short, $1200 might be a little high but I think not way way
high in the new world order. It's just how it is now and I
don't think it is limited to the mini dealer or the bmw dealer.

Thanks to sites like this many if not most of us get other options.
And of course counting down the minutes until the bentley manual
comes out......

 

If a rotor is thin or grooved, I'll replace it when I mount new pads. If it is flat and thick enough, I'll just put on new pads, clean up the rotor if necessary and call it a day for normal street driving. I would expect to replace the rotors with every other pad change, though.

$200 for new rotors, $150-ish for new pads... maybe $30 for fresh brake fluid. It's a 2 hour job for me, working with hand tools in my garage (not optimum setup). For a skilled mechanic in a professional garage, it should be much faster than that... especially for someone who has done hundreds of 'em.

IMHO, anything over $800 is just gouging the customer.

 

I'm the same way. The mini doesn't count being under warranty.
But for the rest of my fleet or previous ones it is normal it takes
me longer to find/get out tools/jack up stuff than it does to actually
do a small job like brakes. Assuming nothing goes wrong of course
ha ha.

Here is how a friend of mine (not a mechanic but knows stuff)
explained it to me.

The charge has nothing to do with how long it actually takes
a mechanic to do something. They go by the book charge.
But here is the important part - the book charge has nothing to
do with how long it takes to do a job.

Basically what happens is The Man (not sure who the man is, maybe
it is a mechanic association or some such group) decides how much
people will be willing to pay for X [brakes] on Y car. They then
take the current per hour rate and work backwards to get the
'labor hours'.

In short, it is a made up number. There might be a loose
correlation sure, but it is not the expected amount of time
to do the job. It's the amount of money they want for the job.

 

If I'm doing my own brake job and I have yet to do it on the Mini, I just go ahead and replace the rotors while I'm at it. I prefer to give everything a fresh start. Just my .02