My local indy shop says new pads and rotors will be around $1900.00 for my 2010 E70 with 44,000 miles. Seems outrageous to me since you can get the parts for well under $1000.00. What must a dealer get? Does this sound right?
Sounds a little high to me should be around 900 with labor at the most for the front. Is this for front and rear?
Geez, that starts to sound like a lotta moola to me - Bavauto.com right now is selling a front brake kit of Meyle rotors, pagid pads, set screws, sensor wire & some anti-squeal compound for '10 X5 w/ 4.8 for just under $253, similarly priced parts for the rears (Meyle rotors, Brembo pads, sensor wire, set screws) a bit over $200 - shipping, kinda looks like you could have all parts for about $500. I don't know book time, but I'd think any competent mechanic ought to be able to swap pads/rotors all corners in an hour, barring having to fight rusted/stuck set screws and drill them out or whatever it takes, or there being something more time consuming on X5 brakes I wouldn't be aware of. But, let's say 1-2 hrs. labor, taxes, shop, EPA, materials and disposal fees, etc, yadda-yadda-yadda, seems like an Indy shop sourcing quality aftermarket parts, I woulda been thinking not even $1k parts/labor for pads/rotors all 4 corners. Dealers would be more, higher on parts for BMW O.E. and would expect somewhat higher on labor, but still, all things considered, I'd figure a dealer at all 4 corners, Bavauto O.E. is $1.1k on parts, 1-2 hrs labor at $130-200/hr there, would kinda figure something under $1.5k dealer for all 4 corners. If you're due to have the brakes bled, of course that's more time and $$$. Note that I'm in Ohio, and Charlson is even more smack-dab in the real mid-west, we're less likely to have the uber-high costs of just about everything, comparatively, on the coasts. I wouldn't even want to think about whatever dealer rates are in California or northern east coast states. X5///M would be a different story, ///M=///More///Money Brake work is, relatively speaking, not all that challenging to do yourself, if you're inclined. There are plenty of safety caveats, but it's relatively straightforward - however, cost of necessary tools might preclude making it worthwhile for what is a relatively occasional task, especially if that's your only vehicle - An X5 is big & heavy, so you need an appropriate jack, plus jack stands, 1/2" breaker bar, torque wrench, & sockets, ratchet, sockets & hex sockets, to name some of the necessary items - all that stuff requires storage, plus you have to have a place to work on the car, ideally a flat & level well-made concrete floor. I don't have a good way to tell anyone how to make their own risk assessment for tackling such auto-related tasks, but if, say, one is not particularly mechanically inclined, it's easy to see that spending a few hundred extra dollars on a repair could far outweigh suffering any personal injury. However, common-sense, patience, & due caution go a long way towards avoiding hurting oneself in a big or small way with vehicle-related tasks. Unrelated, but noticed your avatar - I suspect what primarily spiked diesel prices was the gov't.-forced imposition of ultra-low sulfur diesel in 2007. Prior to that, diesel was always substantially lower than gas. Since then, it's mostly been the same or a bit higher than gas. I got a diesel pickup in '08, a couple fill-ups a month or so ago were easily the lowest /gal seen since I've had the truck, was mot destined to last.
Just to complete this thread. I got quotes from various sources and ended up at dealer who offered the lowest quote, pads and rotors ended up around $700.00. Also had the oil changed and diesel fluid replaced for just over $100.00. Main lesson from this episode, incredible variation in quotes, the local independent service was the highest! Shop around.
