I think I have warped rotors as the brakes pulse when I make long stops. Any ideas how much they cost to fix / replace?
2000 Grand Am.
I just had both front rotors replaced on my 1994 Villager. $282, of which way more than half was labor.
Rotors are easy, but if your pads are jacked up you should do them at the same time, and those are not quite so easy (but still not too horribly difficult). If you want to save the labor costs go down to the local auto parts store, find a friend who has done brakes before, and buy a case of beer for when you’re done. Hell, get the manual and do it yourself. Just be careful because if you screw it up you’re in for a world of hurt when you can’t stop.
Rotors and brake pads are completely and utterly easy to DIY. Talk to friends.
ETA: Parts should be no more than $200 for all four wheels.
Too much, way to much. My mechanic won’t turn rotors anymore because they are way too cheap now. $30 a piece, and it doesn’t take more than an hour to hoist the car, strip the wheel, pull the pads ,calipers and rotors and reinstall.
I just had my mechanic go over the brakes for the 94 Dodge Colt my wife and I are turning over toi the daughter. He replaced the drums for the rear wheels and the rotors for the front wheels and charged me ! hour at $82.00.I don’t know how long it takes to replace drums, but I know that I didn’t pay more than $142.00 to replace my rotors and thats half of what you paid. I smell rip off.
Yep. As The Flying Dutchman says. If it was just rotors the cost should have been about $30 X 2 for parts, and at the most a half hour labour = ~ $100.
You folks who chat here about what x should cost on y vehicle are often clueless.
Just because you can buy a part at Pep Boys for $40 and it only takes a half hour to R&R said part doesn’t mean you can get that part professionally installed for under a C note, and if you can’t, doesn’t mean you’ve been hosed.
Let’s look at a list of other costs:
Rent of shop/mortgage payment on shop
Business use inspection/permit
Utility bills
Hazardous waste disposal
Building insurance
Fire and theft insurance
Alarm monitoring
Online data subscription
Set aside for repair of major goods: lifts, compressors, tire changers, brake lathes
Employee wages
Employee insurance
Employee uniform/tool allowance
Employee continuing education credit/incentive
I’m sure I’ve forgotten stuff.
Once you’ve run a business, you’ll see how much the owner takes home after it’s all paid. Hint-it’s much less than you think.
Just this afternoon I estimated a front brake job (pads and rotors)
front pads $101.
Rotors $85 each or $170 for two.
Labor $150.00
Misc $20.
total $441 Which is a competitive price for this work on that particular car with quality parts.
Just because some brake rotors from some company in China for some car can be had for $30 that does not mean that a quality rotor for any/every car can be had for that price.
I don’t know about Chinese rotors but I warped 2 sets of Honda factory rotors until I changed out the full metallic pads to semi-metallic. Wasn’t hugely impressed with their parts. Add master cylinder to the list. Didn’t make it to 100K. Or the plastic radiator tank. Not all factory parts are worthy of praise or the money spent on them.
I understand you didn’t specifically endorse factory parts in your response but I wanted to forward the premise that there are alternatives to crappy parts and they aren’t always the factory original.
I just did the pads/rotors/bearings on my car’s front end. Parts cost was probably $100-150, but paying for labor and overhead (presumably contained within the labor cost as quoted) would have really jacked the price. I had to use a hydraulic press for the bearings, but, fortunately, I had access to one for free. Ditto the impact wrench needed for the rotor change. And double ditto for the actual garage space with a nice, clean concrete floor*, floor jack, etc. needed for the job.
One of the pistons somehow got cocked in the bore, and it took for freaking ever to get it compressed. The pads wouldn’t cooperate on installation, and that’s usually the easiest part of a brake job. That part of it took me maybe two hours total.
I am a pretty good shade tree mechanic, so $282 doesn’t seem out of line if the mechanic allowed extra for contingencies like I had. Or maybe my working on 25 year old cars is a case of diminishing returns, or futility, or something else entirely.
*In my early mechanicing days, dirt was the norm.
You’re right of course, but how do you ensure quality? I’ve been unable to pay for premium stuff most of my life until the relatively recent past (last 9 years or so). I’ve always gotten things fixed where ever I could afford it. I’ve had too many substandard experiences with generic brake parts that I won’t use non-OEM parts again. Unless I get another Honda. With the Honda rotors – same thing happened with me. The factory originals kept warping, and it wasn’t until I replaced them with some pricey ones from Western Auto that they stopped warping.
I’m not talking safety-related things. I’m sure they’re fine. They stop the car. I mean things like the new, cheap brakes create too much dust. Or wear to fast. Or the rotors are manufactured to already be on the brink of the low tolerance for size. Or they warp too fast. Once you start driving nice machinery, you want to keep it nice in addition to merely functional.
Are those cross-drilled rotors any better than the standard stuff? They cost 3 x the price, and I haven’t seen any evidence that they provide better longevity.
I had the same problem with my 2002 Grand Prix a few months ago. Instead of replacing the rotors, they just resurfaced them. The total cost was $126, with $78 of that being labor.
They’re better for race cars that have to deal with the heat generated by vigorous braking at 100+ mph speeds. For normal driving, there’s probably little real benefit, and it’s certainly not cost-effective.
If you have a track-day car you’ll get a noticeable reduction in fade. If you have a road-only car, you’ll get a noticeable reduction in your wallet, and not much else.
If you want them because they look cool, be my guest.
Your rotors can be turned down on a brake lathe if they are within thickness specs.If they are too thin new ones are not very expensive for a Gran Am and a DIY person could get it done with minimal tools.
I have been driving manual transmission cars for the past 25 years, and have never experienced warped/pulsing rotors. I think this because I use the brakes so rarely-the engine does most of the braking. My wife (on the other hand) has had several sets of rotors warp. Is this because she rides the brakes? Also, I understand that a lot of rotors are made with cheap (remelted) cast iron, and they are thinner now (to save weight)-which makes them suscpetible to warping.
My BIL has an AUDI A4, and had to have the rotors replaced (the factory rotors are too thin to re-machine them).
I’ll be sure to tell my mechanic and his dozen or so employees that they aren’t charging enough to cover their costs.
Going back to my Honda Accord example, I believe the original rotor was solid (versus a vented center core). Can’t remember. Seems to me there was something visually obvious to their construction that lent them to warping. they could not stand up to the heat generated by metal pads.
I can’t personally vouch for cross-drilled rotors but they certainly look as if they would dissipate heat faster. Not sure if they’re worth the money. I’ve seen racers install water injection systems on their rotors as a cheap way around it. All you would need is a junkyard windshield washer unit and some hose.
I had brakes fade out completely on a 76 Rustang at such speeds. Yah I know, so many things wrong with that statememt.