is it ME or does that seem like a lot of money?

but if your master cylinder was bad it could add up fast..Do you have a private mechanic

Kisses Haley

If it was for your car, depends on the make and model, and the details of the brake job.


But I am not sure if this is on topic.

lol  yes  an SUV actually

And how bad the brakes were, it sounds like a reasonable deal.

If you needed new rotors, then that adds a bunch of money also.  

Without seeing the bill though we cannot guess though.

But the bottom line we all want to know though.   How many hours did it take?   So what is the hourly rate?

... Was it  a "full-service" brake job?

... Did they get the fluid adjusted correctly?

There are million of them..

I have had two brake jobs on 2 different cars in the last 3 years.  One was approx. $450 and the other was approx. $700 (that included the rotors).

I would think that's a fair price.

Re: Since it equals a couple of hours of heaven with you, I'd say, that there

are definitely better ways to spend it than a brake job.

I always look at the price of things relative to how many hobby hours I'm giving up when I pay.  I recently had my house painted, and became very depressed at the thought of losing those hobby hours.

for a front end alignment...or maybe an even trade for a ball joint inspection.

grade inflation.

only iff thay throew in anal

It DOES depend on the vehicle.  

An oil change alone for my vehicle runs around $100.  The parts for a full brake job are $230.17, and 397.40 for the rotors.  These are online prices, from a decent place.  So, I'd be out over $700, if I did the work myself.  Good thing that I like my car.

Was it at least a Bare Back Brake Job???

I've never been a paid auto mechanic...  but I was a boat mechanic for many years.  

IMHO, since newer autos require fewer tune ups, the shops have to earn a lining on brake jobs.  I can't get outta there for less than $200-$250.  No longer to mechanics "repair" brakes.  They rebuild them with all new parts including rotors which adds $100 to the bill.  New auto rotors don't have enough thickness to be resurfaced (turned in a brake lathe).  In the old days, we'd check the rotors put on news pads & away we go.
Independant shops are now charging labor rates as high as dealerships...  it's nuts.  I'm not physically able to work under cars...  currently shopping for a new mechanic myself.
That's a lot of money.  Did they replace your oil with KY?

skb

I haven't had the chance to use it yet but I found this in the Monthly AARP bulletin recently:
http://repairpal.com

According to both AARP and the RepairPal website "RepairPal gives you independent and unbiased repair estimates, user
ratings and reviews, plus advice you can't get anywhere else.
It's easy, accurate, and FREE!"

Kinda like a TER review - but for your Auto repairs!

And go ahead, give me grief about being an AARP member - now if I could just find a Lady who gives an AARP discount! LOL

C_K

You Old Buzzard.

In my area that would be a little less.  Ever thought of bartering?

I did it myself in about 1 1/2 H.

TER should have a barter section, that could get real interesting.

3H of fun for a brake job?

I have a neighbor that works on cars.  I paid him $30 and gave him a hug and he was happy to do my breaks.  All I had to do was flatter him, flash a smile or two, hand him $30 (which he didn't want to take at first) and give him a hug!

I would NEVER pay that kind of money for anything to be fixed on my car.  Shoot, I've gotten 2 brand new tires for free before.  Still had the stickers on them when I drove away.  
The tire guy said, "I couldn't in good conscience put a pretty lady like you back on the road with those tires!"  So, I paid for 2 and got the other 2 for free.  

A little flirtin' goes a lonnnnnggggg wayyyyyy!!!

The you women get for "flirting".

Oh Well.

Don't hate us 'cuz we got what you want!!!

The mechanic punched me in the face, and charged me double.

I picked up brake pads and rotors from AutoZone (older car with 180,000 miles on her so expensive quality parts are not a priority at this point....newer car, probably would have went to NAPA)  but the guy put them on for $30 !!

I'm thinking they must have done all 4 wheels...  That's not so bad a price if they really needed it...  still not a bargain.  

In my experience, shops pull more BS with women & guys who have no clue about what they're talking about.  
skb

i hate going to the shop with my car.

the last time i went, i just needed my brake pads replaced.. either the front or the back, i cant remember but it wasnt both.

they quoted me almost 200 bux.

i went to napa, bought the pads for 40 bux, went to circle k and got a case of beer and tossed the job to my neighbor who was happy to do it.

i saved $400 last summer by paying a homeless guy to replace all the somethings in my car.. oh they were hoses.... 5 radiator hoses  

i knew something was fishy when the mechanic was quoting me 8 hours of labor.. then said they had to order all of the hoses from volkswagon and then assured me the car would be ready by the end of the day... LOL.. oh really ?

so then i find out that they quote you the time involved to replace each hose as if they are going to replace a hose, then put the car back together then take it apart and replace another hose.... instead of quoting you labor charges for the actual amount of time its going to take them.

he told me it was a pretty easy job if i knew someone relatively handy... the homeless guy did a pretty good job until the test drive... i guess he took my lil red convertible for a spin around the park and ran into some of his homeless buddies.

well the police got suspicious cuz my car was waaay too cute for a bunch of homeless dudes to be tooling around in and so pulled him over and he had a suspended license.

the police called me and asked me if i aware that a homeless guy was driving my car around the park...

i was like yeah.. (where do you think i found him duh)

LOL. thankfully, they let me come get my car as i was unaware that my "mechanic's" license was suspended.

part are very expensive because many garages have to buy retail .  I learned to spend the money for the schedule maintenance.  Now, I have a Lexus, so the dealer gave me a loaner - so its easier but my kid drive a Toyota and I make sure she get the schedule.

Just think it's funny if the same thread was started by a man and titled "$500 for a GFE? ... is it ME or does that seem like a lot of money?", it would get lambasted.

Two sides to the coin.

I work in a sales/service industry. Most of my accounts are dealerships. I'm tight with the techs at these dealerships and they would probably charge you, maybe, $100 plus parts, to do the job on their time.

Then again, they might just do it in trade!

I have techs I service that live in my area, and as long as I have plenty of beer, they'll come over and work on my car all day long.

What I'm trying to say is, DO NOT pay $500+ for this job.

They're screwing you. Plain and simple.

I KNOW you have a way to get around this!

Mike

and I would have prefered the punch in the face. Mine tried to kiss me and check my dip stick! LOL

like Midas or Merlin then buy some stock in the company.

I would say that is a pretty steep price for a "standard" brake service. By "standard" I mean brake pad replacement and rotor machining (if needed).

I own a repair shop. At my shop, that service would run typically $120-150. Labor ranges between $70-100 depending on what is involved in removing the rotors. If your SUV is 4 wheel drive and the hubs have to be disassembled to remove the rotors, the labor will be higher.

A quality set of brake pads will range between $70-80.

If they replaced the brake calipers and hoses, the $522 price would be about right. If not, I would say you got bent over and "greeked" without the KY.

I'm on my way...