is 956 dollars an insane amount to pay for that work on this car? Should I even have the brake fluid changed?|||well depends where you went, but for dealership prices thats pretty normal, at dealership prices youve got nearly $300 in parts with tax alone, bleeding brakes and changing fluid isnt as easy as it used to be with older cars, now a computer must be hooked up to the car to cycle the ABS components to totally bleed the system, dooing all of this is very time consuming and requires two people, resurfacing rotors isnt so bad, it just takes time. At a dealership you pay for the amount of time a job takes.|||How come?? Don%26#039;t you know enough to check brakes till they are %26quot;metal eating metal%26quot;??**** If no major physical damage is done to brakes right now, you are getting sold a %26quot;bill of goods!%26quot;
First of all rear brakes wear out only about 1/3 - 1/2 as fast as front brakes, as only about 30% of braking is done by rears! Second, if rotors (discs) aren%26#039;t worn down to metal to metal from bad pads, they can probably be %26quot;resurfaced%26quot;!
And if the most expensive parts known to man are not used,- it shouldn%26#039;t cost anywhere near this amount!
So rear brakes may be ok yet, as for replacing brake fluid, -- it is nice, -- but not manditory, -- generally I don%26#039;t replace brake fluid, unless I have master cylinder changed, or need to replace one of wheel cylinders, -- so bleed out old fluid while system is %26quot;open%26quot;! And even that only happens about 100K- (+) miles!
New is nice!! But for a little more you can repalce the whole car and have it ALL new!
Maybe you better have somebody else check them out for you!!|||Well, let%26#039;s see. Just call the auto parts store and ask for prices. Or call two. Phone calls are cheap. Saving $600 is cheap, too. Four sets of pads should cost about $30-$50. Two rotors for my %26#039;87 Honda Civic cost about $30 in %26#039;90. Turning them cost about $30 in 1990. and replacing the rotors was so fast and easy I always did it myself, needing only a $10 impact screwdriver to loosen the screws and an hour and a half for just the front brakes. And I am not a mechanic. Yes, that%26#039;s pretty high. You can expect a dealer to be very high. Anyplace else--I certainly wouldn%26#039;t let them change the brake fluid. Why in the world would you change the brake fluid, anyway? I put 240,000 DELIVERY miles, with 700 deliveries a DAY, all requiring high speed stops, for six YEARS, and NEVER had to change the brake fluid on my %26#039;87 Honda. Or Hyundai. Or Kia. Or Chevy.
At many auto parts stores you can buy a Haynes do-it-yourself manual for your model car, with step-by-step instructions, and basic explanations at the beginning of each chapter. If it is not in stock, you can order it online by searching on %26quot;auto repair manuals%26quot; on Yahoo search. In the front is a section on %26quot;Troubleshooting%26quot; that guides you step-by-step to find causes of most engine malfunctions based on the car%26#039;s symptoms, also a %26quot;Maintenance%26quot; section that details exactly what maintenance is needed, and when. Whether you do the work yourself or not, it helps you make informed decisions and not be taken advantage of, and to not feel so %26quot;in the dark.%26quot; Looks like it%26#039;s going to be required reading (the maintenance section is not long) nowadays to survive.
Another survival skill may need to be the ability to pick up the phone book (the library has a copy if you don%26#039;t), look up %26quot;Automobiles--Repairs%26quot; in the Yellow pages (or use the internet), pick three small advertisements close by, and ask, %26quot;About how much would it be to change brake pads and rotors on a 2005 Altima (or your year and model car)? Thank you very much.%26quot; And if something ELSE goes wrong with the car soon after the work is done, take it someplace else, otherwise, reward good work with a recommendation to friends, a tip, repeat business, whatever you can think of!
db667089 says: you can check http://www.alldatadiy.com. For about the same price as a Haynes or Chilton%26#039;s repair manual, you can have online access (for a whole year) to model specific info for your particular vehicle. This is the same info that repair shops use. They have great wiring schematics/diagrams.
Also, for about $15 for a one-month subscription, you can get the factory manual, downloadable (careful! Mine was about 500 pages!) or viewable, at http://eAutoRepair.com.
Also, many people recommend autozone.com%26#039;s free online manuals.
Best regards,
Mike|||Ummm, hello, how about year/make/model of vehicle. Without that information your question is useless. For a Cavalier the price would be outrageous. For a Corvette maybe not so much.|||I don%26#039;t know if I would flush the hydraulic system, but the brake work can be done for that price. If in doubt, get more estimates.|||lol the brake pads itself are like 60 bucks lol holy crap|||sounds like rape to me.|||yes- check around- 500 is more than enough
