E55AMGZ

I was shopping around a few different shops since my 05 c230 needs new brakes and rotors and i was quoted $400 for labor/parts for the front rotors and new brake pads. Does this price seems legit or am i getting over charged?

samaritrey

check parts on here http://www.rmeuropean.com/

e1000

$400 for new pads + rotors + labor seems very fair

Vlad-II

Got all four rotors and brakes replaced for about $650 it was done through a private independent worker who actually works at a Mercedes Benz dealer. The dealer would've charged 1400 for all four rotors and brakes, luckilly I found the independent worker and did it for a little over half the cost. Not to mention he installed the ceramic styled pads as well so those emit low brake dust. Try getting it done independently rather than going to a dealer.

pawe

I paid 650 for akebono ceramic pads and rotors including labor 7 months ago to an ex mb tech with an independent shop.
Dont forget to tell your indy to bleed the brakes properly so your pedal wont feel mushy.

tay3526

That price seems very fair considering I went to the dealership and they charged me over $1,000.00 for parts/labor. I take it as a hard lesson learned. But now my front brake pads has to be changed. Does anyone know where I can get some front brake pads from and for a decent price? Also I have the part number for the brake pads but many different types pop up. How do I know which ones to get? I have a 05 c230 Kompressor

samaritrey

http://www.rmeuropean.com/
you don't need to post twice.

tay3526

So I ordered my brake pads and brake sensors. Is it easy or difficult to change out brake pads and sensors? Also how do you know when it is time to change out the rotors? And once I changed the pads is there anything special I need to do?

W203E35

400 is a good price. Are they using OE parts?

I believe rotors are 115 each and pads are 80 so 400 including labor is pretty good (if it's OE)

tay3526

Is this the cheapest place (http://www.rmeuropean.com/) to get OEM parts?

LILBENZ230

If you want OEM brakes, and you pay more than $400, you're wasting your money. OEM parts and labor and tax for my car is $350 for front brakes. I can't believe some people are paying 4 digit prices for this stuff!

ncmudbug

I was looking for front rotors for my '05 C230. I checked out front brake rotors at rmeuropean.com. Their GENUINE MERCEDES front rotors (drilled and vented, for cars with 203.040 Sport Package) were $123.28 (I assume that is per rotor). They had a pretty wide selection with pictures and online help which is nice. Over at mbonlineparts.com, they list a rotor for a C230 for $50.25. They didn't have any selection, pictures, or online help, but at less than half the price for what I would guess are OEM parts, I'm willing to forgo all that.

What am I missing? Might those be for 05 C230s without the Sport Package and they don't sell rotors for 05 C230s without the Sport Package? Is there such a thing in the US?

LILBENZ230

No there is not a such thing as an 05 C230K without the Sport package in the USA, but they still sell rotors for them here. Do NOT buy the $50 ones - they are the plain rotors of a non-sport car and will not fit.

Buy the $80 BALO rotors from RMEuropean. I replaced my OEM rotors with BALO ones at 53,000 miles and am at ~98,000 now and 2 sets of pads later and they're fine. If there was a difference, I couldn't tell it.

Whatever you do, I repeat, do NOT buy the $50 ones - they are incorrect.

W203E35

+1

BALO rotors are the closest to OE (genuine Mercedes) rotors that you're going to get.

ncmudbug

Thanks Matt & Karo! That explains a lot!

tay3526

So I have been told that my front brake pads need to be change. I brought the OEM front brake pads and sensors. How do I know when my rotors need to be changed? A guy at a repair shop said that I should just go ahead and replace them. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Would I have to buy the OEM rotors or could I buy another style? I have a 05 c230 kompressor

cpbeasley

you dont have to buy OEM at all. good bang for the buck though. theyre certainly not overpriced.
the rotors are soft enough that they'll IDEALLY need to be resurfaced, a shop can measure the width of rotors to tell if if this can be done and stay within MB's "healthy" range. usually this isnt the case as they are pretty soft, so just as your tech said, best to just replace them.... ie warped and worn enough that any resurfacing to eliminate the warpage will take away too much material to be deemed safe.
as you've started to do, finish purchasing the rest of teh parts yourself and have your indy repair guy do it.

ncmudbug

What Beasley said.

Everything I've heard is that you can't turn the drilled discs. Another place to get them at a small savings is http://www.rmeuropean.com/Part-Numbe..._BD45149C.aspx.

Good luck!

LILBENZ230

You should be able to turn the drilled discs as long as they stay within spec.

Glyn M Ruck

Some places don't want to turn drilled discs because it messes up their tools. Frequently the difference between cost of refacing and a new disc/rotor is small.

torquewrench

Searched the site, and discovered that the Wiki for discs and pads replacement for a W203 is no longer there. I apologise beforehand if this is in the wrong forum.

When replacing discs/pads on the front axle, is there a need to pull out the caliper slider pins and grease them with high temp grease? Mercedes WIS does not seem to say so, and most of the DIY tips here in this site don't seem to cover that as well.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

tjts1

LOL I bought new front rotors for my c320 on rockauto for $17 a pop. Rotors and pads are by far one of the easiest jobs to diy. $400 for the job seems crazy to me but I'm not paying $150/hr labor rate.