I brought in my 21 G63 for its 60K-mile service yesterday, and I just received the multi-point inspection report link from my dealer. They are recommending replacing the front brake pads and rotors at a total cost of $5,978.86! Lol that's insane. I still have 6MM of thickness on the front brake pads. They say they just went into the yellow. I declined the recommended work, as I can probably still get another year out of the brake pads before they go into the blue. The pricing for front brake pads and rotors plus labor is INSANE.

 

Typical dealer insane up charge - search the forum there are many many posts like this

An Indy can knock it out for $1200-1500 fronts and maybe $400-500 rears

or cheaper! Most guys that can wrench can knock this out for $1200 out the door or so. A brake job is straightforward.

diy brake job:

https://mbworld.org/forums/gls-class...diy-video.html

INSANE COSTS FOR DEALER BRAKE JOB:

https://mbworld.org/forums/g-class-w...ip-ripoff.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/gle63s-gl...mb-dealer.html

 

Is this the first pad/rotor replacement? If so, wow!

 

Good call saying no. Six millimeters is a lot of pad left. That price is a complete rip-off. You did the right thing.

 

It's very common for people to buy the high performance spec of a luxury European car and give no thought to the cost of replacing those brakes. Range Rover supercharged, Audi RS6, GT3, the list goes on. They are often several thousand dollars. One of the reasons for long term ownership I prefer the G550. Regular brakes.

 

I just brought in my 2021 G63 for a software update at the dealer yesterday, and they said I need new front brake pads and rotors at a cost of $6,159.77! They say my front brake pads are at 3mm and need to be replaced right away. I just passed 63K miles recently. My rear brake pads are at 5mm, and they say I can wait on those at a cost of $912.20 to replace them. I've never replaced the front rotors since owning the car brand new.

Should I ask them anything specific about the rotors? What is a fair price for the front brake pads and rotors? I am going to look for a good independent Mercedes repair shop in Miami and get a second opinion since that price is insane! I do not understand car mechanic work-related stuff, so I don't want to get raped and will make sure. Appreciate anyone's opinions/experiences here, thanks!

 

Those AMG brakes are expensive, much more than the G550 brakes. Something many owners don't consider, maybe because they dip in and out of leases before it's needed.

 

Doing a brake job is one of the most basic mechanical things done on a vehicle. Just about any independent shop would be more than capable of doing the job, and at a fair price. I don't like to throw shop business to my dealer; I know they have to support the dealer but please not on my back.
And I would ride those pads to the end of the road because you usually need new rotors anyway. Back in the day we used to turn rotors all the time because they were thicker when new. Not usually the case now.

 

Update: Found a highly reviewed independent Mercedes repair shop in Miami called Gold Wing Motors. The total with Brembo rotors, front brake pads, brake pad wear sensors, labor, and taxes will be $3,174.92, all in. A $3K savings from what Mercedes-Benz of Coral Gables quoted me!

 

I promise you that our GLS brakes are NO less costly than the brakes on the AMG. Heck, the rear brakes are a bit more work due to the parking brake systems. The only lower TCO of the 550 from the 63 is fuel...that can be chalked up to driving style.

 

Chat GPT...

Replacing brakes on a Mercedes-AMG G 63 is significantly more expensive than on a Mercedes-Benz G 550, with full brake jobs often costing between $5,000 and $12,000 for the AMG compared to roughly $1,500 to $2,500 for the G 550. This disparity is primarily driven by the G 63's high-performance hardware, which includes larger rotors and specialized AMG-branded components.

Also, insurance. Chat GPT...

Insuring a Mercedes-AMG G 63 typically costs between $5,300 and $6,400 per year, which is roughly 10–20% higher than the $4,400 to $5,100 average for a Mercedes-Benz G 550.
The price gap is primarily driven by the G 63's significantly higher replacement value, specialized performance parts, and higher horsepower, which insurers correlate with increased risk.

Also, tires. Chat GPT...

Replacing tires on a Mercedes-AMG G 63 is generally more expensive than on a Mercedes-Benz G 550, primarily due to the G 63's larger wheel sizes and high-performance rubber compounds. While a set for a G 550 typically costs between $800 and $1,500, outfitting a G 63 with premium 22-inch tires can easily exceed $2,400

They're both expensive enough vehicles that these differences probably are not the deciding factor, and the G63 historically has depreciated less, although again Chat GPT puts that difference at 2%.

 

@eye.surgeon

It is close enough...I have done both (on my cars). Really the TCO on the GLS is no lower than the AMG. The engines are pretty much identical in most ways. The brakes are very close in price, the fuel efficiency is what you make of it (knowing you are in a TTV8).

Owning a G63 is not a far cry from a G550 (or 580). It is not like comparing a E450 to an E63s - that is a MASSIVE variance of TCO. As for the pads, I do not know anyone who gets another set of OEM DustMasters. I have EBC on my cars...tried PowerStop for one cycle, EBC stops better.



.

 

Im looking to refresh my pads, Did you do the red stuff?

 

For those of you who have simply done a pad slap instead of new rotors, did you have the rotors turned or just just left them as is and popped the new pads on?

 

Depends on if there are any ridges or warping. For me, warping is a replacement 100% of the time. Last time I did my fronts I took off the EBC Reds, pressed the pistons back and slid in new ones. All in all 20 minutes and away you go.

 

OEM front pads and rotors will run you about $1,500.00 at a discounted price. I could have gone with cheaper non-OEM rotors and saved another $800, but I decided against it. It should take no more than two hours to install. The longest part is probably jacking up the car and removing the wheels. The rest involves removing five bolts on each side to take off the calipers and rotors. It’s crazy how much the dealer and independent shops charge for such a simple job—part of the “G tax,” I suppose.

 

Meh, that is any car with disk brakes...any brand, any dollar figure....the G is special (like a Jeep) in getting such a tall vehicle off of the ground...

 

Not sure if I would agree, a Nissan maxima has disc brakes, the OEM rotors do not cost $600 each and the labor cost to replacement (same exact procedures) is certainty no more than $500.00.

 

I went through this last year. Local dealer quoted $3200 for new front brakes and rotors at 63k miles on my 2019 G550. They also recommended new front tires at $1300 and a new battery for $713 even though I never had an issue starting the car. I took it my indy shop. They replaced the front rotors and brakes for $2000, front new tires for $1100 and said the battery was fine.

I feel like when you take your gwagon to the dealer, they just think you'll pay whatever to maintain your car. I was really busy at the time but that $713 battery quote was the red flag. I just don't trust that dealer anymore with this car.