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Took my car in today for a transmission service. (I use a local indy but my local dealership was having a discount and was cheaper). I got the car report back and this is what they quoted me for front brake pads and rotors...
This price is a complete joke LOL. $745 for front rotors and pads. DOES IT INCLUDE NEW CALIPERS??? Yes, I know my pads are very low and I ordered a complete new set and they just arrived today. They will be going on later this week. DO NOT PAY THESE PRICES!
I bought the complete front kit (rotors and pads) from FCP Euro. Also to mention they give you the sensor, new bolts, and not to forget the LIFETIME REPLACEMENT AND WARRANTY. You can literally beat the living snot out of any of their parts and send them back for brand new ones. This is not a scam or a joke. I know many people on the forums here use the site. All is OEM parts or the equivalent.
I paid $240 for the full set on FCP Euro here: Mercedes Brake Kit - Zimmerman W204FBK3
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Also, does anyone have information on this??
I will probably end up posting a new thread if no one gets to this but please let me know if I should start looking into getting this done.
OEM (Zimmerman) rotors on the front of 550 are known garbage. Go aftermarket. Many threads here. I have Centric premium drilled and coated rotors and their ceramic pads, working very well probably 10k miles now.
OEM (Zimmerman) rotors on the front of 550 are known garbage. Go aftermarket. Many threads here. I have Centric premium drilled and coated rotors and their ceramic pads, working very well probably 10k miles now.
Thanks for the info. I will see how much I can get out of these rotor and pads until I need to get my free replacements.
Considering that MB has brake pad sensors, who depends on driving style still give you few thousands miles before the pads will come to 0, any brake job estimate who does not include actual pads thickness and rotor thickness is a scam.
At least you admit your brakes are low.
I just helped female friend inspecting her Toyota after she got $1600 estimate from indy for steering rack replacement and brakes job. The $1600 for Toyota is comparable to $5000 on Mercedes for the same job.
So I check her brake pads to be 7-8 mm. Not familiar with Toyota, but most of the time that is thickness of new pads and asking friend, she has 10k miles on pads, what mostly is freeway driving.
Check the rack for no leaks. Only passenger side boot is torn - probably from the damage she had few months ago driving over high curb.
So indy mechanic seeing female customer did not hesitate to make $1600 estimate base on $15 boot that actually needs replacement.
I still hold the $5300 estimate from local MB dealer who a year ago -without asking performed "safety inspection" . The only thing I fixed were $5 sway bar link boots.
So for young guys who are still learning the trade >>>>>> BEWARE
The tensioner, pulleys and belts are known to go. I replaced them on both cars. It was bad at the 60k mark on my 2008. While they may last longer, it starts making noise and it doesn't sound right.
As for the brakes, they're always up there in price at the dealer. I did the same, picked up rotors from FCPeuro and Akebono brake pads. I had my local indy throw them in and he did it for $50, total job was under $300.
Someone has to pay for the loaner cars, free coffee, snacks, wifi and other stuff! As expensive as most dealerships are, at least most are fairly honest with what work should be done. Some indie's are utter horror shows, throwing parts at problems they have zero business fixing.
Someone has to pay for the loaner cars, free coffee, snacks, wifi and other stuff! As expensive as most dealerships are, at least most are fairly honest with what work should be done. Some indie's are utter horror shows, throwing parts at problems they have zero business fixing.
While that's true about some indys, it's pretty hard to screw up a brake job, probably one of the easiest things to do after an oil change. I would have done it myself except it was in the winter and I didn't feel like doing it outside in the cold.
My brakes were a little South of $500 including, tax, shipping, four Slotted Rotors, four ceramic pads, wear sensors and hardware kit for my 2011 E350 sport package. I just ordered the Drivebelt/pulley/tensioner kit from FCP Euro for around $150. I agree on not letting them go too long but if your even somewhat mechanically inclined or know someone that is. Brakes themselves are fairly straightforward. Remove tires, jack stands, one side at a time and the other side for reference and your done. First choice is a good mechanically inclined friend/assistant a case of Beer or Dinner.....(After the work of course) is cheaper than probably the independent shops. They are charging $1200 for that money I ordered the Tensioner kit, water pump, thermostat and hoses, Transmission service kit, plugs, for not much more.
If you feel up to it try the brakes yourself. It is fairly straightforward, and as long as you were decent at the jigsaw puzzles as a kid you should be fine. Remember Square Peg Square hole, Round peg, Round hole. One side at a time and use the other side as a reference. Depending on mileage and year I would also consider a fluid flush and get some fresh brake fluid through the system.
Dealers offer FREE inspections because they know they can pretty much fail anything they look at and for the most part people are none the wiser. They forget about forums like this and social media to get the word out both good and bad.
Per my experience, lot of those "FREE inspections" are done from comfort of office chair. Mechanics don't hesitate to write high estimates on flex disks, brake jobs and drive-train leaks, while never removing belly covers.
Now don't get me started what doctors will prescribe you while not even doing x-rays.
^ The truth. every oil change at the dealer (Ford, MB, Honda, Hyundai...…) comes with a free inspection of everything the dealer can make bank on from you. The service department is an integral part to the dealer's financial success. You can walk out of there with a 2 year old car and a rap sheet 3 pages long of things that fail the inspection. It is getting to be a serious racket with all of these guys.
Now don't get me started what doctors will prescribe you while not even doing x-rays.
That's silly. I can't think of the last time I had an X-Ray (maybe 25 years ago?) but why would I need one for a pulled muscle or conjunctivitis or... whatever else...?
That's silly. I can't think of the last time I had an X-Ray (maybe 25 years ago?) but why would I need one for a pulled muscle or conjunctivitis or... whatever else...?
Read his past posts, they don't always make sense. Now that I think of it, there aren't too many medications that I'm taking that require a x-ray. I'm not sure you'd want one for everything too, causes cancer and all that...
Wow, where did my emails go? I did not think this thread would pick up at all. My Indy is a trusted guy. 20+ years from the MB Dealership and now to his own shop sticking to MB only. Cars have been serviced there that are way more expensive than my E with great reviews (S, AMGs, CLs, etc.).
Originally Posted by P0234
Someone has to pay for the loaner cars, free coffee, snacks, wifi and other stuff! As expensive as most dealerships are, at least most are fairly honest with what work should be done. Some indie's are utter horror shows, throwing parts at problems they have zero business fixing.
While this is true, I don't drink coffee and I pay for my own unlimited cellular plan. But I still understand with the loaner car. With that being said, I trust my local dealer very much and I have an open checkbook for any needs on my S-Class.
That's silly. I can't think of the last time I had an X-Ray (maybe 25 years ago?) but why would I need one for a pulled muscle or conjunctivitis or... whatever else...?
OK, maybe my sample doesn't apply well to you, but the point is that nobody would agree on broken knee surgery without X-rays, yet lot are paying big thousands for under the car repairs, where estimate was given without shield removal.
OK, maybe my sample doesn't apply well to you, but the point is that nobody would agree on broken knee surgery without X-rays, yet lot are paying big thousands for under the car repairs, where estimate was given without shield removal.
True, no one in their right mind would. But the way you presented it was as if that sort of thing is commonplace within healthcare which just isn't the case. It is, however, common for car repairs and not enough people understand the amount of effort that goes into truly diagnosing some issues.
You guys are lucky to have indy's that are reliable and don't charge near dealer rates. All the reliable indies within a 45 minute drive all charge rates within 15% of the local dealer. But the dealer provides loaner cars and will wash my car after service. And with the dealer accepting a 15% service/parts coupon from costco, their prices end up being about the same as the local indies.
For a brake job on my 2013 E350, dealer quoted $800 per axle, take 15% off that and it comes out to about $680+tx (dealer tends to quote a little bit on high side to give them some wiggle room). Local reliable MB indie quoted $650 using OEM parts or $600 with after market parts.
Jump on YouTube and you'll be a brake changing expert in about 15 minutes. I can do them in about an hour per axle easy. And that's taking my time to clean and prep everything above and beyond what any shop would ever do.
Also bare in mind that rotor replacement is justify only when it has deep groves, or is close to min thickness (stamped on it, so easy to find).
Last time I check my high -mileage MB at 260,000 miles, I still had more than 50% of thickness left. Due to MB design -rotors develop lips on rotor edges, but I just grind them off.
So each time you see estimate for rotor replacement, ask where are the measurements.
I replace the rotors every time I do brakes, on most cars, the cost of the rotors is not much more than having them turned, and saving the hassle of the whole process makes it worth it to me to just buy new and replace. The front on the E550 are a little pricey, but I only did the brake job due to wobble / warped rotors, so that was my main objective to replace the rotors. Seems very common for stock rotors to warp, so I went to Centric Premium rotors, around $100 each.
You guys are lucky to have indy's that are reliable and don't charge near dealer rates. All the reliable indies within a 45 minute drive all charge rates within 15% of the local dealer. But the dealer provides loaner cars and will wash my car after service. And with the dealer accepting a 15% service/parts coupon from costco, their prices end up being about the same as the local indies.
For a brake job on my 2013 E350, dealer quoted $800 per axle, take 15% off that and it comes out to about $680+tx (dealer tends to quote a little bit on high side to give them some wiggle room). Local reliable MB indie quoted $650 using OEM parts or $600 with after market parts.
sounds about right. I paid about $1,400 for all 4 brakes and rotors at the MB dealer.
Thenew3 and all others. Elbe carefulmof the dealer washes. I personally try to avoid them. Here is the logic.
Some and probably most dealer use a automated wash system similar to the ones at the local car wash/auto spa. Here is the problem. That automated system has brushes or cloths that are 1 Most likely not changed or even cleaned as much as they should be. 2. All the dirt, micro contaminants from previous washes are probably embedded in the brushes and have a very high probability of being brushed across your car. They are called automated scratch installers for a reason. If you have a dealer or shop that uses a hand wash as in human hand wash with proper drying techniques then fine, other wise I stay away. Same deal for rental vehicles. Have you ever noticed that they don’t dry and in most cases look worse than not washing at all? Add the local fund raiser car washes to that list. They are the worst, they use terry cloth towels and again add swirls and scratches.
I decline the wash about 99 percent of the time for this very reason.
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