AMGAffalterbach

Hello again!

Well I was at Mercedes-Benz of Littleton a few weeks ago when I had my lights replaced, the technician offered to do it for free so I decided it's better than getting my hands dirty. They did the normal check and multi-point vehicle inspection as well at my request and I was told I have about 2mm of braking surface left on my front rotors. My service adviser said I have about 4-6 months left on those brakes depending on my driving...

I've noticed squealing so I know it's about time to replace the front pads and rotors. However just for the front I was quoted $600 dollars at the stealer... this seems high but I just wanted to know if, with labor, that seems about right. How would this compare to high-quality rotors and pads somewhere else do you think? I really don't like to mess with critical systems like brakes due to lack of experience so regardless of price whatever is safest is best. Thanks.

otto6457

That's high.

Not sure why you want to replace the rotors. Unless they have been resurfaced before or your pads wore down to metal to metal, just resurfacing a rotor is in accordance with OEM warranty policy. There is a minimum thickness but one resurface for normal wear will not exceed that thickness.

The Jurid pads which are OEM are $60.70 retail.

The ATE Rotors (if you decide to change them) are $89.02 each retail.

Parts source: http://www.autohausaz.com

At my dealership a front brake service with pad replacement and rotor resurface is 1.8 hours of labor. Our labor rate is $109.00 an hour.

Total bill with rotor replacement on both front wheels should be around $440.00 plus tax and shop supplies. Without rotors, considerably less.

I realize that dealerships will mark up parts considerably, but a mark-up that high should be a cause for concern. Do you have any reputable MB independents near you?

vettdvr

At 30,000 miles I got the same story and paid $450+ tax for new pads and they DID NOT change rotors. The next time I needed pads I bought Jurid and did it myself in about 3 hrs total for under $100.

Is the + in front of the service on the FSS. If not the pads aren't worn to the wear sensor yet. My driving experience is then the + comes on I still have about 10000 miles left.

Now at 120,000 miles origional rotors I also have the + and my rotors ARE worn below minimum thickness and I have two new rotors in my shop to install. I also plan to do my rear brakes as they have about 80,000 miles on them also and down to the sensor.

BTW I got new sensors with new pads this time around. Some of the mfg are starting to include them with pads.

AMGAffalterbach

I don't know of any independents, I might ask Ronnie however since he lives a minute down the road. That was just a rough quote from the previous time I was with my service adviser so I can see it working out to around $450 or so in the end. I will check and thanks for the advice. Basically I am waiting - as per the advice of my MB dealer - to wait for the Brake See Workshop warning on the car before I do anything, and I can tell that the rotors will need replacing soon looking at service records from the previous owner.

As for vett, I know the pads aren't worn to the wear sensor yet but as I have been told they are close and I should expect that in the next 6 months or so that the sensor will trigger. Rotors are also wearing close to minimum thickness.

vettdvr

I did some measurements on my brakes and with my driving style the wear sensor trips before the minimum thickness is reached. The actual MB spec to replace the pads is about 1/2 of what is there when the sensor trips. This gives you a safety margin of about 10,000 miles so it will be caught on your next service. If yours isn't tripped my guess is you have probably 12,000 miles left and that might not even get you down to the replace limit.

My + is on is the FSS and I pulled and calipered the pads on my car and it is good for probably 10,000 miles left. However I also measured my front rotor with a big lip on it. The front rotors have 120,000 miles and are the origional rotors. They just now went below the wear limits. I have new rotors and pads in my shop and when my MB DOT 4+ fluid arrives I will replace all my brake and pressure flush.

Remember my wear is based on my driving and yours may vary if you have heavy food last minute braking.

ozusa

I priced genuine Mercedes front discs and pads for my 2004 E320 4Matic on Saturday, from a local dealer.

$109 per disk
$150 or so for the pads (yes, $150!)
$10 per sensor

+ tax

So, parts-only, close to $400

Therefore, to get the job done incl. labor for $600 is about right.

But only if you think $150 for a set of pads is reasonable and I don't!

Parts for the rear are significantly cheaper.

AMGAffalterbach

Yeah factoring in labor cost it is no surprise. Thanks for doing the research ozusa, puts me a little more at ease.

vettdvr

$150 for pads,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,NO I bought Jurid pads for my E500 in a close out for $35 inc sensors.

AMGAffalterbach

Online or in store?

Flash Gordon

Go to Rockauto online. They are a big internet store with excellent prices. They are a sponsor of Speed Channel. I have bought rotors, pads, plugs, etc from them.

ozusa

The prices I stated earlier in the thread ($400) were at my local dealer, so in-store.

I just finished the job half and hour ago, btw, and yes, I went with the dealer parts.

There are many ways to get cheaper pads and disks, and you may get an excellent solution or a poor one.

Mike_W

Be sure to look at parts.com. The parts they sell are MB OEM, and are usually shipped from a MB dealer in their network. For example, they list an OEM disk (rotor) for the 2004 E320 4Matic at $74.40. You do pay shipping ($11 min, 15% of order max), but no sales tax (7.75% here in So Cal).
Mike

AMGAffalterbach

Previous three comments, thank you for your input I will explore those options.

vettdvr

On line and I think it was Rock Auto.

braizedtofu

op, i think you answered your own question. Since it seems like youre not planning on doing the labor yourself, paying slightly higher for reputable work that will be trustworthy is worth every penny in my opinion. Its hard to find a good, fair priced, in your favor service provider for anything expecially a mechanic, so until you do, i dont think a few extra dollars will hurt anyone. Peace of mind is priceless. on another note, somtimes i like going to the stealership because they always let you have a loaner. which still lets you take care of your obligations in a mercedes and plus you can have a little fun if you know waht i mean

AMGAffalterbach

Yeah I have I just wanted to get an idea about what is a reasonable price, I know what I am going to do an within the last few days I have noticed the brakes have degraded a bit more so as per the advice of my service adviser I am going to bring it in right as the Brake Workshop light comes on, which I have a feeling will be very soon.

As far as having someone else do the work, going to the dealer, and paying a few more dollars for peace of mind - you hit the nail on the head in regards to my philosophy since I am not a mechanic by any means. Thanks.

btv94

I'm looking for to buy oem front rotors, pads and 2 sensors from parts.com for my 2007 E350 with sport package (no 4matics).
Parts.com website is not really show the item photos and I'm afraid that I will order the wrong items.
Does anyone know the part number of the rotors, pad for my car?
I did email to customer service, but no help at all and was told to go to online catalog.

AMGAffalterbach

If you can call them up and verify the part number you should be okay. If not try rockauto.com or something similar, there are several reputable sites with pads and rotors.

I wouldn't go OEM though, too much money for no extra benefit. I'm looking into StopTech or EBC rotors right now for my 4-Matic as it's about time for the system to be replaced.

btv94

Just go email back from FJ Mercedes dealer, $107 each for rotor $80 for pads set and $13 each for sensor. I may have just go with OEM not much saving aftermarket parts.

chaza

Hi all,just had an independent shop do my 100,000 kms service ,wanted him to change the transmission oil and filter,technician said there was no need according to one of his mates that works(30 years) for the local MB dealership, vehicle has had the valve body on the auto replaced at 55,000 kms in 2008.
The other item was the charcoal filter which wasn,t replaced,can this be done by myself?
Any commentary on these topics by anyone would be appreciated.

Cheers from down under

AMGAffalterbach

Hey Chaza, if you could please start another thread about that topic as it's unrelated to brakes. Thanks man.

realeric

MB Genuine front brake rotor : $198 ($99 x 2 for E550 4-matic)
Akebono EURO ceramic pads : $70 (EUR1123, sensors included)
--------
Total $267. Replacing pads and roters is an easy DIY item. Ceramic pads are far better than oem semi-metalic pads. It's quiet, no dust, extremely rotor friendly while providing reasonable braking power.

AMGAffalterbach

What do you think about Red Stuff or Yellow Stuff from EBC? Any good? Or should I go ceramic?

mac911

Buying OEM brake parts from get mercedes parts is actually quite reasonable. I like to stay with OEM parts.

Of course, you will need to install them or have them installed.

Not sure if the $600 is realistic. It sounds like 2 hours of labor plus parts. For a dealer, not completely out there. See if they offer any discounts for club memberships (MBCA, AAA, etc.) or some dealers have their own 10 percent discount club.

vettdvr

I sold my car and have a new set of front pads w/ sensors. I thnk Wagner permium pads. I'll sell for $35.00 + shipping.

USE PM if you are interested.