[Jmpascual]

So my free maintenance expired and I made the mistake of not extending it. Anyways, my brakes (pads) needed to be changed and I went in to find out the cost. The dealership says it will cost me $1700 dollars. I asked why and they said that they're gonna replace the sensors, pads, and rotors. I highly doubt it costs that much. Is there any other things that they might replace around this time? My car is 3 years old and has about 60000 miles in it. Am I better off replacing only the pads myself or somewhere else? :

[235Dude]

Originally Posted by Jmpascual

So my warranty ran out and I made the mistake of not extending it. Anyways, my brakes (pads) needed to be changed and I went in to find out the cost. The dealership says it will cost me $1700 dollars. I asked why and they said that they're gonna replace the sensors, pads, and rotors. I highly doubt it costs that much. Is there any other things that they might replace around this time? My car is 3 years old and has about 60000 miles in it. Am I better off replacing only the pads myself or somewhere else? :

Buy oem parts from the OE suppliers (same thing without the bmw logo) and have a local indy install for much less than that.

[mbanks21]

For serious dude? Any local indy shop could do the same thing for under a G

[Jmpascual]

Originally Posted by mbanks21

For serious dude? Any local indy shop could do the same thing for under a G

Yea, I was trying to figure out why they were charging so much. I'm definitely not going to pay that money to replace some pads and rotors.

[NotQuickEnough]

DIY brake job on BMW is so easy

[mbanks21]

Originally Posted by Jmpascual

Yea, I was trying to figure out why they were charging so much. I'm definitely not going to pay that money to replace some pads and rotors.

Because it's the dealer. I replaced my pads rotors and sensors on my E90 for $500. Zimmerman pads and akebono rotors. Labor can't be more than $300-400

[floydarogers]

As others have said, don't go to a dealer (stealer) for brakes.

The "warranty" wouldn't have covered this, as brakes are a wear item. They're covered by the "free maintenance".

60K is a good time to change your auto transmission oil, and the diff oils.

[ErkanTR16]

This is how Traditional Dealerships make profit.

They throw our these insane estimates. Like others have said buy the parts your self and have an local trusted shop do it.

getbmwparts
bmwdiscountparts
ecstuning

[rak299]

I try to do bmw breaks before the sensors trip. If the sensors haven't tripped, I reuse them. I replace the rotors every other pad change, unless they feel scored.

[zinner]

Go price out a front/rear Msport brake kit from turner. It's 1400 bux in parts with OEM rotors and pads.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by Jmpascual

Am I better off replacing only the pads myself or somewhere else?

If you can change the pads yourself by all means do so. You might be able to have the rotors turned by a local parts store for $20 or so each. Even if you can't rotors go for around $100 each, assuming you stay with OEM quality.

This is how Traditional Dealerships make profit.

They don't make a profit selling cars. Cars sell for about 10% over cost. That's barely enough to cover overhead. The profit comes from the service department. The markup on parts is more like 80%, and while they may charge you $75 to $100 per hour for labor they pay their mechanics a quarter of that.

[ErkanTR16]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

If you can change the pads yourself by all means do so. You might be able to have the rotors turned by a local parts store for $20 or so each. Even if you can't rotors go for around $100 each, assuming you stay with OEM quality.
They don't make a profit selling cars. Cars sell for about 10% over cost. That's barely enough to cover overhead. The profit comes from the service department. The markup on parts is more like 80%, and while they may charge you $75 to $100 per hour for labor they pay their mechanics a quarter of that.

I agree. This is what i was referring to about Dealerships/Service Departments.

[Beek]

Any Dealer not making money selling cars won't be a Dealer for long.

[Jmpascual]

Originally Posted by floydarogers

As others have said, don't go to a dealer (stealer) for brakes.

The "warranty" wouldn't have covered this, as brakes are a wear item. They're covered by the "free maintenance".

60K is a good time to change your auto transmission oil, and the diff oils.

Sorry about that, the free maintenance was what I had meant. I'll also look into changing these.

[BMWZ4]

Can rotors be replaced w/o replacing pads & sensors?

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by BMWZ4

Can rotors be replaced w/o replacing pads & sensors?

Yes, they can.

However, BMW pads are notoriously soft and it's likely you'll have to replace the pads more often than rotors.

[BMWZ4]

Originally Posted by Polo08816

Yes, they can.

However, BMW pads are notoriously soft and it's likely you'll have to replace the pads more often than rotors.

Understood, thanks for info.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by zinner

Go price out a front/rear Msport brake kit from turner. It's 1400 bux in parts with OEM rotors and pads.

This exactly, Yes, it's expensive, but it's a luxury vehicle and dealership needs to make a profit on their service (whether profit margins are too high is open to debate). It's not just BMW dealerships, I know from experience any other dealership, regardless of the brand still feels "overpriced" when you get that quote. But you are getting OEM parts and (in theory) people who are brand experts working on your car.

Of course you can get it done cheaper yourself or at independent garage with aftermarket parts.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by Jmpascual

So my warranty ran out and I made the mistake of not extending it. Anyways, my brakes (pads) needed to be changed and I went in to find out the cost. The dealership says it will cost me $1700 dollars. I asked why and they said that they're gonna replace the sensors, pads, and rotors. I highly doubt it costs that much. Is there any other things that they might replace around this time? My car is 3 years old and has about 60000 miles in it. Am I better off replacing only the pads myself or somewhere else? :

Your warranty doesn't cover brakes anyway, so extending your warranty would have done you no good here. Go to a local indy shop.

[mbanks21]

Are brakes for the F30 Msport that much more than an E90? Like I said, I bought Zimmerman rotors which are OE with pads and sensors for under $500 and did the install with a buddy.

[GarlicBread]

Why can't you do rotors and pads yourself? Super easy to do and saves a ton of money

[metallicpea]

Is that Front and Rear, or just front? I have never had both wear out at the same time. I do not replace my brakes based on a wear % given to me by a shop. I wait until they make noise and replace pads and rotors in pairs only. Even if the rears are low when fronts get replaced, I will wait until the rears make noise before I replace them. I try to get the most miles out of each set when used for routine driving.