mdfreem

Hi All,

Recently purchased a 2001 W210 E55 and I'm loving it. It is needing all new rotors, pads, and sensors. Looking for some advice on how I can get this done at the lowest cost without doing it myself (parts prices are high as to be expected). I've looked at some Zimmerman fronts with pads (Akebono) as well as a rear textar kit for about $640 together. Are there any cheaper way to get these high quality parts. Anyone have recommendations on some lower priced parts as well? The parts I'm looking at are from FCP Euro (mainly attracted to their warranty on parts) but I am open to other ways to keep the cost down. After all these cars aren't marketing for much and I have to mitigate the financial losses here.

Thanks,
Matt

Strigoi

AMG = All Money Gone

These were expensive cars when new. Just because they're old now doesn't mean that parts cost have gone down. Honestly, not the best car to own if you don't DIY and are worried about maintenance cost.

I had a W210 E55 that was a money pit and I lost my *** on that car. So did the guy that I sold it to. The guy that he sold it to got a 100% mechanically sold E55 that had **** paint. I would have bought it back but just couldn't justify having a 3rd car for myself.

bbirdwell

The price you quote is reasonable. My maintenance logs show I spent $608.14 for front and rear rotors plus front and rear pads (not including shipping). Front pads at minimum and front rotors were above minimum measurement but under the minimum for maintenance (in other words, replace them, don't turn them). Rear pads were at 50% and rear rotors were still above minimum maintenance but I decided to replace it all as a set.

Centric 125.35048 rear rotors. 2 @ $50.79 each
Centric 125.35047 right front rotor. $223.99
Centric 125.35048 left front rotor. $223.99
Centrex 104.06820 front pads. $37.79
Centrex 104.06030 rear pads. $20.79

FWIW:
Front rotors thickness: New 32mm, Minimum 29.4mm, Minimum maintenance 30mm
Rear rotors thickness: New 22mm, Minimum 19.4mm, Minimum maintenance 20mm

SeanDaugherty

It's like my grandfather use to say, you can have cheap or you can have good, but you may not have both. One does not buy a Mercedes-Benz because we are looking for cheap cars, you buy a Mercedes because you ant a great built car and with that comes a higher expense. The thing people don't figure out is that a Mercedes was built to last 1,000,000 miles. It was suppose to be the last car you ever bought. I bought my S600 for $1000 and put $3k in paint and $6k in parts to restore it to like new OEM. I'm in that car $10k. I have a luxury built car that went for $100k+ for $10k. And I don't have to make any payments, I own it, I drive it everyday 60 miles a day. It's at 400k miles and nothing is wrong with it ( knock on wood) I have had that car for 8 years. I have made no payments. The higher cost of maintenance is negated when you consider the longevity of the car if taken care of by someone who loves it. Learning to do repairs yourself will save you a fortune. But once restored even if a few years down the road you got to throw a tranny or a used engine, your still saving money.

Remember " The best, or nothing"

NAFT1

Don't cheap out on brakes; I did and I regret it. While the rotors I purchased don't seem to be of inferior performance, the fitment was ****. I ended up having to cut shims out of paper-thin stainless to get the caliper to line up properly on the NAPA-branded Atlrom rotors. You can find my thread on it if you want more info. Alternatively, these cars have such beefy rotors that you can often turn them once or twice before they reach their minimum thickness.

fabbrisd1

If it was me - for front rotors I would go with MB OE thru parts.com or whoever shows OE front most affordably - that's the major expense and frankly OE for the front rotors is the BEST way to go - "should" be about $420 for the pair - they are "directionally ground" - meaning separate/different part for ea side - and double sided rotors to boot

Rear rotors - current updated OE is Zimmerman Z-Coat - but there are very decent brand choices like $$120 for the pair - generic decent replacements can be $80 a pair or less.

Brake pads - are your choice .

I ALWAYS use MB brake "goo" for both front and rear pad install - get a tube at the MB dealer under part# A 001 989 8751 for like $10-$12 - and understand you use this on to "bead line" the "edges" of the pad and I choose to "schmear" a light coat on the back of the pads (if the pads you choose do not have vinyl film already).

bbirdwell

65,000 kilometers and no rust; they came painted on any non-friction surface. I'm happy with them.

NAFT1

Think that Centric may have been the mfg for my front rotors. I have seen several CLK55 (I think same as C55/C32) front brake upgrades and had the chance to compare one to my setup back-to-back. I was considering it myself and I can say that based on my limited experience there is no significant difference in everyday use, emergency stopping power, or fade under spirited use. Other people have posted opinions contrary to this, but I could not detect an appreciable difference in the feel of braking, either. The 4-piston calipers with drilled rotors look cool in the front and pads and rotors are MUCH cheaper with more aftermarket options available. You need hubcentric spacers (7 or 10mm, I think I was told) to clear the stock Mono II wheels but otherwise the fronts bolt right up. Still considering it if I find a dirty cheap pair of front calipers; wear is slow on my fronts and I'll turn my current rotors once and put new pads on which will probably take me up another 75000 miles or so from now.

E55 KEV

I never used them but Auto Zone has Brembo front and rear pads and rear rotor:

https://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-...ont/786036_0_0

https://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-...09779_744253_0

https://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-...rotor/495082_0

SeanDaugherty

Rock auto also has some good prices if you get the kits.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...+pad+kit,13824

Tall Giraffe

I went with the CLK 500 Centric reman caliper set up and they bolted right up. Oddly at the time when I was shopping around, the AMG branded set was more expensive and after all my research, there was no difference other than the model number. I sprayed mine and they are holding up still nicely. As far as Rotor, I went OEM C32 from Mercedes because the price difference was minor compared to ZImmermann, which is what I would have gone with as an alternative. Next round Ill go with a different pad. I went Akebono Ceramic and really have no complaints aside from cold squeaks from the rear in the a.m. but I read that there is more bite with some like Porterfield for example. For the rear rotor I went with a Zinc dipped aftermarket drilled rotor to match the front, although they are not identically drilled, no one can tell while they are spinning nor Im sure anyone would notice but me.

My OEM brakes were wearing down at the time so its hard to say which bit harder or performed better after replacement. Obviously the new set up with stainless lines and fresh fluid flush seem to be doing great.

kyle210

Get pads and rotors from fcp euro and after that you get free brakes for life. You will not find anything cheaper than that if you plan on keeping the car