As already mentioned, if the shop is using good pads and rotors along with a 2 quart brake flush, that is a reasonable price in todays market. A dealer would be at least $300 to $400 higher.

 

brakes are the biggest ripoff ever

The worst that can happen on these is the discs being stuck to the hub. in few rare cases they really get stuck on there. torch needed.

i love it how these places have a 89$ an hour general labor fee or something stupid like that. non rover related, but after checking 5 places around here they all wanted 150-180$ to change a strut. 1 strut. and thats labor only, me providing materials.

what happens is they all use alldata which bills it as 2.8 hours of labor. its the cartel software for grease monkeys

 

if its that big of a rippoff, why arent you doing it yourself then?

 

agreed. IF he is using high quality parts and add in labor then yes it is a reasonable price. if he is using the autopart store specials then its $200 high.

 

you do realize that the strut fee in the computer is a general and broad overview. they are designed to give a high ball park. not an exact quote and figure.

if it is less time to do the job they will adjust down on the bill if they are a good and honest shop.

if you cant do it yourself then you are paying for other peoples time and knowledge.

 

My god im not even going to respond to that idiocy

 

This tells me you haven't actually been in a shop in a long time. No. What alldata tells them is what they charge you. They adjust it up, but never down.

It is a 30 minute job in reality. What happened is all the small shops got pushed out and all these chains moved in, so they basically all use the same method and prices.

I love it how people assume what i can do and what can't do vs what i want to do. Ive pulled engines brother. Does this mean i WANT to do it if somebody else can do it for a reasonable cost? Of course not. My garage is not climate controlled. It gets 140 inside ok... i dont WANT to do squat in this weather if i can avoid it.

I know there's a lot of housewives on LR forums but for ****s sake, stop assuming. Struts been rebuilt, going to do the other one which blew the rod through the mount yesterday. THEN, im going to do the rovers brakes. But guess what, if i can find somebody else to do it for a normal price, they will get the labor. Hard to understand, i know.

 

I have run a few shops in my time, and if it alldata says 1.6 hours and it takes 30 min, we charged 1.6 hours. Can the job get done faster than book time? Yes. If you do the same job multiple time you should get faster, and hopefully better, at it. Does that mean the tech should get paid less because he can do it faster than the book says? No. Because then they will just make it take 1.6 hours. Some places charge a flat rate for a job, but always add more when dealing with certain makes and models, even if it does not take any longer to do the job. You pay for the knowledge and experience of the tech, if you cannot do the job yourself, or do not have the proper equipment, you will have to pay.

 

Most brake jobs take more or less then book time. If the stuff is frozen on then yes it takes alot longer. and yes you pay for our experience. Although, if you guys really like bitching about brake times, try getting a 06 Passat rear brakes done yourself. You can't push the caliper back in cause its electric. You need VW equipment to back it out. that job pays 3.0 hours.

 

With respect to females (or any one else) taking something to a shop - if you are armed with more background info, you are in a more powerful negotiating position. And a soccer mom who can quote the RAVE will certainly put a service writer on his toes. Shops have to make a profit, so they can be there the next time you need them. Best bet is to find a place you are comfortable with, and stick with them. In most cases they will take care of you as a valued customer. Not enough of those these days.