Fair price for brake pads ?

[chowtime]

Hi all,

I have a Polo 2010, barely gets used. Only about 40,000 kms on it in the 5 years. I was told today at its service that the brakes pads need replacing and that it costs $870 for front and back.

Never had to change them before so I have no idea. The dealer is Denlo.

Can someone help me understand if that is cheap, just right or I am being ripped off silly?

Thanks
J

[h100vw]

Barely getting used has nothing much to do with brake wear. If you spend all your life in traffic the brakes will do a lot less kms than mime where I commute 40km each way on the highway outside of peak hours.

$870 probably isn't that bad tbh at VW prices.

Take a picture through the front and back wheels. Make sure you get the brake pads in focus, so we can see how much material is left on them.

Gavin

[nat225]

that'd be for pads and discs. not just the pads.

they may still have some pads meat and disc thickness left but not enough to survive for the next 15,000km, that's prob why they recommend you to change them now (they must have assumed 99% of car owners never check their brake pads thickness, oil level, coolant level, etc.. on a regular basis).

[brad]

Hi all,

I have a Polo 2010, barely gets used. Only about 40,000 kms on it in the 5 years. I was told today at its service that the brakes pads need replacing and that it costs $870 for front and back.

Never had to change them before so I have no idea. The dealer is Denlo.

Can someone help me understand if that is cheap, just right or I am being ripped off silly?

Thanks
J

$870 would be top of the range for both pads & rotors - they might possibly be doing a brake fluid flush as well.

Exactly how many millimetres of pad is left? Keep in mind that the dealer is looking at whether the pads will last until the next service in 12 months time as most customers just want it all done without having to come back.

This probably sounds a bit irresponsible but because the rotors usually need replacing, I've decided to drive mine until the pads go metal-on-metal (but I can get mine replaced straight away).

If you go with aftermarket (OEM spec) pads & rotors it will be (significantly) less than $500 for parts. Count on 2 hours labour at your local independent specialist (there's a few on the North Shore).

[alexaescht]

Just the other week I DIY'ed (is that a word?) the front and rear pads and rotors (discs) on the Polo.
I bought my parts from micksgarage.com and the total cost was $227 for all required parts shipped to my door (from Ireland to Australia).
I used Mintex pads and rotors, nothing to shout about but they're owned by TMD friction who make the Textar/Pagid brakes which are held in high regard.
It was the first time I'd ever done a brake job on any car, and I only bought the cheap piston wind back tool (for the rear) which slowed me down a heck of a lot, but still the job took me a bit over 4 hours, and yes, they do work properly and were checked over by a mechanic two days after the install just to make sure I didn't miss something.


*note the water pump on the picture above – that was purchased as the car had its timing belt and water pump replaced around the same time as the brakes and I didn't want to pay dealer prices! Also, the "Brake pads fitting kit" is not required. They're shims for where the edges of the pad slide along the caliper, but with them installed the pads did not fit, and they weren't there when I pulled the old pads off, so I didn't use them.

[chowtime]

Thank you all for responding, really appreciate it. Every response had some useful insight.

I got the 'visual health check report' now so have a more complete picture. Discs for the front and pads for both the front and back. 2MM left on the front and 3MM left on the back. They say it is enough for 1000 more kms before they need changing.

The cost breakdown is;

Discs for front $180 and $160 labour. Part # 6R0615301
Pads for front $122 and $80 labour. Part # 6R0698151A
Pads for back $85 and $160 labour. Part # 1K0698451J

Now that I know this I might shop around. I don't have the skill to do this myself and I am not after the cheapest make. Simply trying to not pay any more than is actually required so I will see what the local garages and even the kmart's, ultratunes etc can do.

[brad]

I got the 'visual health check report' now so have a more complete picture. Discs for the front and pads for both the front and back. 2MM left on the front and 3MM left on the back. They say it is enough for 1000 more kms before they need changing.

The front pads are about 16mm new; the rears about 9mm. You've done 40,000km so you are getting around 3000km per mm. The dealer is trying to scare you into booking in before Christmas.

And $240 labour (even if their labour rate is $160/hr) to do front pads & rotors is simply gouging.

Now that I know this I might shop around. I don't have the skill to do this myself and I am not after the cheapest make. Simply trying to not pay any more than is actually required so I will see what the local garages and even the kmart's, ultratunes etc can do

The Mintex above are a good pad. Otherwise, try Brakes Direct as a local seller.

If you just want the mechanic to supply the parts & labour then have a look in the "Recommended Repairers" sub-forum for someone near you - there are a few. Keep in mind the mechanic will add at least 20% markup on his parts

Get the whole lot done - don't faff about trying to re-use the rear rotors.

Having worked at K-Mart Auto for a brief period many years ago, I wouldn't use them - nor Ultratune.

[chowtime]

Brad,

Thanks very much for your post, especially the calculation you did also for your other feedback as well. I did have that gut feel on both parts and labour but as I openly say my knowledge of cars is very poor.

J

The front pads are about 16mm new; the rears about 9mm. You've done 40,000km so you are getting around 3000km per mm. The dealer is trying to scare you into booking in before Christmas.

And $240 labour (even if their labour rate is $160/hr) to do front pads & rotors is simply gouging.

The Mintex above are a good pad. Otherwise, try Brakes Direct as a local seller.

If you just want the mechanic to supply the parts & labour then have a look in the "Recommended Repairers" sub-forum for someone near you - there are a few. Keep in mind the mechanic will add at least 20% markup on his parts

Get the whole lot done - don't faff about trying to re-use the rear rotors.

Having worked at K-Mart Auto for a brief period many years ago, I wouldn't use them - nor Ultratune.

[alexaescht]

.The cost breakdown is;

Discs for front $180 and $160 labour. Part # 6R0615301
Pads for front $122 and $80 labour. Part # 6R0698151A
Pads for back $85 and $160 labour. Part # 1K0698451J

Wowsers, $160 labour for front discs? Once the caliper is removed (two bolts) the disc comes off after removing a single retaining screw and the new one slides straight on. I feel like they're trying to rip you off – honestly, of the entire brake job, the front rotors were the easiest bit to replace.
$160 for the rears is still expensive, but makes sense as that is the hardest bit of the job.
$122 for fronts... Hmm too expensive. They're pretty quick to do too.

[Umai Naa!!]

Looks like they're charging 1.5hrs to do the fronts, and 1 hour for the rear.

In the real world, it's more like 1hr for the fronts, and .5hrs for the rear. That's the whole job, including jacking the car up, and removing wheels, etc.