Every time I search for this question I get a lot of OP asking, "whats the average cost" to which everyone responds, "why dont you just do it yourself?". Then the thread goes into great detail about the cost of doing it yourself.. parts... process... etc..

How much is the average (non dealership) price for a brake job. Please include if you got ceramic or metallic pads, front / rear / both, new rotors, wear sensor, and the out the door cost.

I dont have time this month to do my own brakes, so I just need to get them done. I've called a few places (most shops just say they need to see the car in person - lame) but I've gotten ceramic pads, wear sensors, new rotors, front and rear for $604 out the door. Good price?

 

Dealer quoted me $550 for rears, pads + rotors.

 

I wouldn't pay more than $250 for parts & labor if I were you. I've had Chevrolet's, Audi's, Subaru's, VW's, and Coopers and none of them cost over that. Subaru was the most expensive and VW was the least expensive. Its just a standard brake job for crying out loud. The Chevy, Scoobie, and Audi all had wear sensors, non-ceramic pads, new rotors and new pads and new fluid.

 

Forgot to mention that it was $604 for both front and rear. The cheapest I've found was $536 for metallic pads, rotors, for front and rear, but I opted for ceramic.

 

My dealer quoted me $880 for all four corners pads and rotors (I assume sensors and fluid included, but I didn't pursue it).

 

$280 parts and labor.








I was the labor.

 

About a month ago had both the front & rear brakes replaced on our 03 Cooper. Opted for Ceramic pads. Rotors & Shoes etc were replaced plus an alignment. Cost $ 526.00.. Had it done @ Pepboys. They also had a mail in rebate special going on. I recieved a rebate Check for $60.00 . Very happy with the service & the price.

 

When getting new rotors on the front, $$$ can vary due to quality levels by as much as 50%, and same for the pads....
Rotors are sold in pro/premium grade...oem equivalent or better, fine, and consumer/economy grade, junk. The cheap ones are lighter in weight, have less wearthinckness by the vanes...and with rotors you are buying mass to absorb heat...and a good machineing. Some shops will install crap consumer rotors on the economy level jobs, so beware...ask for pro level rotors....
Pads vary to, even more. Just getting "ceramic" does not mean much...there is big variations in price+performance...

 

Hi i did mine whit Ebay part and it cost me 235$cnd for the parts 4 corner and metalick pads crosdriiled disk. and they work just fine ..

 

I just had the fronts done, bought the brake kit from fastmini.net (hps hawk pads with centric rotors) for $149.00 cost me $100.00 install from local brake shop.

 

Looks like I may be over paying, but there are only 7-8 shops in town since I live in Dubuque, Iowa. I won $100 at the casino last night, so now the cost is down to $504

 

You can price the parts out and see what kind of mark-up they are taking...just call NAPA or some other auto place, and get the price for the parts (since the parts are gonna be bought local, price them locally) (since you are getting the retail, and the shops are buying wholesale, then charging a mark-up, then adding labor it not quite the same, but a good guess).
Centric premium rotors on MINI's seem to be good quality, low cost rotors (we have folks who auto-x on them, no warp-age, good wear) (many use Brembo blanks too)...good pads are what you want but 35-100$ for the fronts...maybe $35-80 for the rears...lower end is for OEM equivalent, higher for ceramic...usually less dust...
One tip....many "brake" places draw you in with low advertised prices, then find "other" stuff that must be done.....so a good estimate from a good shop, might turn out to be higher than the actual cost....good shops include stuff that typical need to be done, but sometimes, but not always can be skipped. Ask them what it includes....MINI brakes are pretty typical, but some shops kits for the rear calipers don't include a tool small enough for twisting the puck as it is depressed.....Harbor-Freight does, but not all the $$$ kits from the tool trucks include it!!
At your cars age, get the brakes flushed, not just bleed....DOT4 fluid is not as long lived as the more common DOT3....DOT4 should be changed out after about 2 years...MINI even says so....if the resiviour looks like it has Maple Syrup colored brake fluid in it, it is overdue....it should be very clear in color, with just a very light hint of color.

 

Dealer quoted me $1,200 for all four brakes, rotors, and sensors btw... Rip off.

 

I made sure the Rotors were Pro/Premium grade &the Ceramic were of a good quality Some small independant shops charge more for installing Pro/Premium grade parts just because they do not get the Discount a large chain recieves for the same items.

 

$550-600 sounds about right. You can figure ~$50 for a set of ceramic OE-type pads, please ~$45 each for the rotors. Resurfacing is not an option; they are designed to wear out during the life of one set of pads. That's about $280 for parts. Most shops are charging $75-100 per hour of labor, with many leaning toward the latter part of that scale. That's about three quoted hours. If you are an avid mechanic yourself, you can do all the brakes yourself in that time frame without having a lift at your disposal.

If you decide to do your brakes yourself, a couple of notes. The guide bolt that holds the rotors in place may require an air wrench to break them loose. All the heat buildup of braking over time causes it to sieze. You can put some anti-sieze on it afterward to help prevent that in the future. You will need alan head and torx head sockets at your disposal to loosen the calipers and rotors.

The other part that takes a bit of time is screwing in the rear caliper pistons. You will need a disk brake caliper tool set. You can get one from Autozone for ~$50 (if you rent it, you get your deposit back).

 

I was just quoted $650 for pads and rotors - front only. Seems high to me..

I have a local shop that I trust but what is the consensus on what pads and rotors to run? I used to use EBC pads on my cars and liked them.

Is there a particular vendor with good deals on good gear?

Our car is an '06 MCSa with 37,000 miles. She was in the shop for scheduled service as well as the (what seems very common) failed wheel sensor which sets off the ABS and DSTC lights. That work is being covered by warranty... nice!

Thanks!

 

EBC pads are well known and used in the MINI community, so if you know you like them.....

I've taken to putting on Carbotechs with the hopes of stretching out the mileage of the pads.

BMW reccomends that rotors are replaced frequently, you can search to find specific numbers for mileage and thicknesses, but I think that alone often increases the price quote for brakes.

 

You might consider doing the fronts yourself, yes i read you dont have time but can easily be done in half an hour. The rears are a pain unless you have the "magic" tool have the local shop do those.

 

How are Monroe pads? They're the ceramic type. The breakdown was:

Monroe ceramic pads (with wood additive?!) + sensor - $159.95 (x2)
rotors - $60 (x2)
shop fee ($5)

No labor charge... Im sure it was added to the pads.

 

Honestly id spend a little bit more money and get the EBC's or Hawks. Good brake pads can make a giant difference. I personally use EBC greens on all my cars except the miata.

 

I would have, but most shops dont let you use your own pads, they say its a liability issue. Im guessing its a profit issue.

And... I know I know. I should be changing my own brake pads because its really easy. I know. Thats what everyone says, and I get it. I just don't have time this month. Just moved... new job... no time.

 

What "magic tool" do you speak of? I have done a brake change on an r53 and r56 with basic hand tools. Both of which took me about 3hr each. The brake calipers are similar on both genrations. The guid pins are different. On the r53 you use an allen wrench to get them off and on the r56 you need to use a box wrench and a ratchet. I did not change the fluid either time I did brakes not that it didn't need it it was because I plan on putting SS brake lines on my r56 and it is going to need fluid then and I didn't have time or money to do it at the time of the brake change. Also don't forget that you need sensors if your light is on. These are about $20 each and most likely you will only need 1. There is nothing hard about brakes. Once you muttle throught the first side the second side will take you half the time becuase you will know what needs to be done. Oh and BTW brake service and parts are expensive not because this is some high tech one off part, it is because u need them and can't pass on brakes.