Are Brake Jobs a Scam?

Do repair shops overcharge for brake jobs? Do they charge you a premium on top of their purchase price for parts? Is it worth doing a brake job yourself? I'll attempt to answer these and other questions as I break down the charges on my recent estimate for Rear brake pads and rotors.

[@pteddie6965]

Good Morning, Tom. I worked in the auto repair industry at a Chevrolet dealership for a few years. When I first started, I was shocked at the prices and at the pressure that I received to sell the customer unneeded service on their vehicles. The emphasis was on getting as much money from each customer by any means necessary. People joke about how dishonest car salesmen are, but I found that there was no shortage of dishonesty in the repair shop. Finding an honest mechanic is difficult. Most people don't understand anything about their cars and this makes them an easy target for unscrupulous repair shops. Thanks for the video, Mr. Goodwrench.

[@AronHsiao]

I do all my own car work. My favorite recent story: I spent a Saturday morning replacing rotors, pads, and calipers w/a full bleed on the system, and then replacing my front control arms and sway bar links. Went to get the car aligned afterward because the one tool I really don't have is an alignment rack. Tire shop guy comes back in a few minutes after taking my keys and starts looking parts up. Then comes over and says I need new control arms and a brake job and starts to show me this sheet on letterhead that just came out of his printer with a total of nearly $2k. 😀😀 I told him hmmm, before I make a decision, I'd like to see the problem, can he please take some pictures of the problems for me with his phone and bring it back and show me. He says sure. A few minutes later he comes back... "Um, did you just have some stuff replaced recently?" "Yes sir, that's why I'm here to get an alignment, because I just replaced the control arms and had to pull the knuckles completely off to do it. I also just replaced the pads, rotors, and calipers on all four wheels, too. I did it all this morning in fact." I was smiling about as big as a person can smile. He paused for a moment and then said, "Ok, I'll go do your alignment." And he did.

[@Andy-im3kj]

​@@AronHsiao yeah they're so shaddy I called out two service employees and especially one who gave me a snarky look. This son of a bitch quoted me 118 dollars to replace a light bulb!!!! I'm like "no thanks" and found a replacement set for 10 bucks online and did it myself. Since then I convinced my loved ones to try to do the work ourselves as much as possible and stay away from shops. I know there are some good shops and mechanics out there but the bad ones really give them a bad name.

[@LarryBinFL]

COMPLETELY agree! Had a girlfriend who last month spent $1300 on front and rear brakes for a Camry...and that was the *cheaper* price than a tire store quoted, because they didn't replace the rotors, just surfaced them!!! I looked into it and it was the same sort of simple repair as you saw on your own vehicle. But let me tell you about a VERY SIMILAR scam: Replacing TPMS sensors! I had one fail; all of the places I called wanted almost $600 to replace all 4. I noticed an ad at a Costco tire center, and had them all replaced for $250.

[@PMichaels]

The high cost of car repairs is why ChrisFix got started and it’s why his channel is so popular. I don’t think the average person realizes that many of these repairs are not all that difficult. If you want to pay, then pay - but many repairs are doable at home. The @ChrisFix channel is awesome for so many things and it is one of my favorites. And your channel too, Tom! 😁

[@AlleyPicked]

Thanks :-) But you do like my channel better, right? lol

[@CHMichael]

Most times it's about getting the car up high enough or some special looking tool that is intimidating

[@wildestcowboy2668]

Chrisfix is definitely a switch hitter.

[@Andy-im3kj]

​@@CHMichael the thing is, if you have some money and especially the time, you CAN do it. The biggest thing people need to be wary of is safety. Just make sure to chock your wheels, have good pairs of jack stands and have a backup for those stands (wheel, wood stacks, etc.).

[@CHMichael]

@@Andy-im3kj I do my breaks and oil mainly because I don't have the time. Getting an appointment, dropping off, ..... there goes a day.

[@harishveeramani2907]

Those brake pads still seems to have a fair bit of material (aka useful life) remaining. Most auto shops are scams these days. Kinda sad.

[@Andy-im3kj]

Agreed. As long as your brakes have more than 1mm of material left there's still life in them.

[@davidnadeau9460]

sorry but no! they will heat up and the friction material will fall off the backing of the pads. the lowest and critical replacement for pads are 3-4mm. and yes I've done much of break jobs that the friction would fall off on dissassembly. Other thing, often the pads are ok but the rotor have so much rust that they doesn't provide braking surface anymore, or way reduced braking performance. Don't mess with brakes.@@Andy-im3kj

[@rideroftheforce5245]

Almost all repair shop stuff is a scam in my opinion. The only exceptions are major repairs (that require advanced skills/tools) and maybe tire changes since those are so cheap. When I was 18 I went to a repair shop to get my rear brakes changed, just like you. They charged me $450 or something. A few months later I had to change the front brakes. Not wanting to pay another $450, I did a bit of research (literally youtube videos,) found that I could change my own brakes for less then $100, and never went back to a repair shop again. The markup on everything is insane.

[@mattdudley3789]

Shops have generally a 100% markup on parts. I work at a GM dealership and brakes are usually around $700 either front or rear. Some are less, some are more. I buy my own parts from Rock Auto as it’s so much cheaper than anywhere in town. Thing to remember is Rock Auto sells a lot of white box junk. Stay away from the economy section

[@larrywigmore1243]

Glad you saved yourself that extra money. But your old pads and rotor looked absolutely fine in the video. No gouges on the old rotor and your pads had plenty of beef still on them. That little cut in your pads determines how much you have left. Not only that,there is a little metal tab on one side of the pads that let's you know when they need changing. You'll hear a little squeaking noise when you're driving.

[@AlleyPicked]

One pad was the worst and that's the one they showed me. I could have gotten a few more months out of them at least.

[@stevecausey545]

Another great video! My Murano is coming up on her time for brakes...I used to be able to slap new pads on my 280Z in 15 mins a side....well it's been a few decades...we will see. Thank you again! P

[@Willppyro]

bro just do it. Its hard the first time then after you do it once you'll have it memorized again

[@readthebible1958]

Years ago I took my Cadillac to the dealership to get an oil change. The service advisor called me and said my brakes needed replacing. I told him your dealership just replaced the brakes 2 weeks ago. I then told him that if your brakes wear out after only 2 weeks I don’t want them.

[@AlleyPicked]

Wow...what a scam!

[@SA-mr4br]

I'll give you a brakes game horror story! For the past 3 years I went to the Ford dealership and for the past 3 years my break pads only lasted me 10 months! Now that's a major scam and lawsuit!

[@stonerville8315]

Future tip you should pinch the brakeline crack the bleeder screw and let all that old brake fluid out inside of forcing it back through

[@davidnguyen8265]

It is not a scam. Let me tell you why 1. The shop has to pay for insurance, rent, labour and equipment. If you want to DIY to save money, that's fair, but your cost is no where near their cost. 2. The price they get from the wholesale is different from when you get from retail. Retail will sometimes offer better discount. For wholesale, they don't have much choice, they get slight discount on bulk buy, but not always they can get retail discount because the manufacturer wants to get rid of their stuff. 3. Warranty: They have to warrant their workmanship. If someone diy and forget to put in a nut, causing the brake to loose, the result will be catastrophy. 4. They are operating as business. A business is meant to make money. If they don't make money, they can't survive. It's not up to you to tell them making money is a scam. Scam is when they take the money but didn't deliver a service. i'm not on the dealer's side. I do my own maintenance because I know what i'm doing. But I'm telling you the other side of the story so you can understand better and avoiding any defamation may go against you. Cheers

[@davidnguyen8265]

From the technical standpoint, why do they have to replace both pads and rotors, I would say it is needed but not necessarily required in all case. Explain: The rotors after contact with the pads, will leave some residual metal on the pads, those metals will be embedded on the pads and cause scratching on the rotor surface. Those scratches, while not impacting the braking power, can cause the irritating sound even with the new pads installed. It will make it look like they haven't got the new pads. Also, even with the gauge to measure the rotor thickness, they can't actually tell the residual life of the rotor. Rotor as metal has a fatigue life. Even with the thickness, it can be heated up and cooled down multiple times, causing the metal to crack at any time. We don't know when. That's why it's always recommended to replace the rotor along with the pads. Or at least 2 pads per rotor. Another reason is the rotor surface is not even, causing excessive pad wear. If you have old rotors on new pads, you will wear down your pads much quicker than new on new. If you don't want this, you have to reface the rotor and you will need to have a lathe machine to do this. Furthermore, the shop don't have the service history of the vehicle, as a rule of thump, they will need to replace both to warrant their job. Though I know what to do, I will never touch anyone's car if he says "don't replace the rotors, just the pads", I will tell him to do it himself. Last thing I want is when the insurance company call saying his car blow up because of the broken rotor and I'm the last person servicing the car. I know the probability is low but it only needs to happen once to be enough to send me to jail or pay a heafy fine.

[@davidnguyen8265]

Your video also doesn't mention bleeding the brake. If you don't bleed your brake, the dirty fluid will go back to the system. You don't want dirty fluid back into the brake system, ever. Also, depending on the brake wear, when you install new pads, you have to push back the pistons. If you don't have the right equipment or don't know how to do it properly, you will push air into the system. New car also has ABS, if you are not careful when doing brake works, you can damage the ABS system and it's going to very expensive to replace. May be i'm too picky but this is never a good practice, maybe it's good for an old car and you want to minimise maintenance. It's fine if it's your own car and you take responsibility for the workmanship. But please accept my feedback and update your video, at least put a disclaimer to your video.

[@AlleyPicked]

Thanks David for the thoughtful reply. I understand all of your valid points. You obviously have more experience that I do in this area. I don't claim to be an expert but as I said, I think it's good for people to understand what they are paying for. Scam is a strong word indeed. I agree that they are providing a service at a cost. A business has insurance, overhead, employees...etc. I get that. The biggest problem I have with this is that they are marking up cost of the brakes significantly! The dealer told me they are using Napa parts. I went on Napa's website and the top of the line brake supplies were half of what the repair shop was charging me. There is NO way that they are not inflating the cost of the parts. That part of the process is disingenuous at best. This markup practice is pretty typical in the business (as others have commented). I personally provide handyman services for people. I always provide a price for my labor. I don't hide other costs behind a fake price for the parts. That is not the way I could run a business and feel good about myself. Thanks again for your feedback!

[@davidnguyen8265]

​@@AlleyPicked Sorry if you feel like you are scammed. But a shop has more expenses than a backyard mechanic. It's hard to convince you if you think of it that way since you might not pay for priority orders, delivery of bulk orders, inventory, stocking fees, and insurance. Those are the costs associated with the order only. I don't like the store charging me too much and trying to do everything by myself if possible, but I don't go online and telling the shop scams me for that since it's no longer an individual opinion. People may believe you and go to the store saying "hey.. you saw this guy video from youtube and found out scammed me for the brake job you did last week . I want my money back, blah blah". Trust me, people are stupid enough to listen to single sided stories these days and it has happened to my friends shop on various occasions. If you think a shop is charging too much, better tell people to get a few quotes and see which one suits them best. Same with plumbing/ gas / sparky work. Everything can DIY if you have the knowledge, tools and experience.

[@TomsLife9]

I've always felt like brake jobs fell into the perfect sweet spot for most shops: it's several steps up in complexity/tools from an oil change and it's something that every car will absolutely need throughout its life. That jump up from an oil change is a leap that most garden variety car owners aren't willing to make. Unlike some "failure" such as a head gasket, CV axle, you name it, ALL cars will need brakes and you have a captive audience in that regard. So I'm venturing that shops are trying to make the most money possible on this guaranteed work.

[@AlleyPicked]

Yep. I agree. I just wish they would be honest and charge a fair rate.

[@Andy-im3kj]

​@@AlleyPicked and that's where the problem begins. These shops don't want to pay their mechanics well and they want to maximize their profits along with being able to keep the lights on and paying their land costs. There are good mechanics that work for bad shops and that's why mechanics have wheels on their tool boxes.

[@mph5896]

Yeah, your quote was WAY to high at the tire shop. $400-450 for rotors/pads per axle is reasonable from a shop for a standard car. Plus those pads didn't even need to be replaced. I would have suggested higher quality brake parts though. I use coated rotors since I am in the rust belt and I dont want the rotor hats looking rusty in a week. Pads, Akebono, or some other high quality pads. Still under $150 from Rock auto for the upgraded parts shipped. Also with Rockauto, see if you can find a 5% discount code from somewhere. That usually covers most of my shipping cost.

[@bigaaron]

Cool channel concept

[@amadafaka]

Best way to determine pad thickness is to use colored brake pad gauges. Green will be good yellow is midway and red us replace. It keeps the guessing out of the equation.

[@Andy-im3kj]

And whatever amount of thickness the front pads are the rear ones will have less thickness left.

[@broncpal4244]

Hi...I had a similar experience some years ago when I got some new tyres put on my car. I was told that the rear brake pads were worn out and needed to be replaced. I asked the mechanic if he was sure, and he said that he was. I replied that it seemed strange.....because I had only just fitted new rear brake pads myself about a week prior. If he had even looked, .... he would have seen that they were new.

[@AlleyPicked]

Wow!

[@eldoradocanyonro]

That sounds like the shop that wanted to replace my serpentine belt.... If they'd looked at anything besides their computer screen, they might have noticed that my car had a different engine than the one they had entered it as, so it had 4 v-belts, not a serpentine. Chevy transitioned from carburetors to throttle body injection on the mid-level camaros in 87, and I had a carburetor. Strangely, I declined the repair.

[@GPz84]

Tire shop quoted me $ 600 to replace brake pads. Got pads from Napa for $100, and an hour and a half of my time, done. Absolutely stupid easy job to do. Best of all $500 stays in your pocket. The mark up on parts you can buy yourself, plus made up fees is how they get you, plus tax of course and that always cheap labor rate. Cheers.

[@NoName-gv6nm]

I did the same thing and was positive I did a good job. But my pads seized up on me. I lubriated them good I thought. Never had that problem again with a good shop I go to. Apparently, professionals do much better than us DIYers. Who thought? Lol. I just swallow the pill and pay up now. It's worth it if you keep your car a long time and want it operating nicely. Plus, getting older makes it really hard to crouch under a car for hours. I got over that quickly.

[@wejaith3]

Lol. Dude you are a rock auto customer, this says it all.

[@dereke6408]

Similar story. Tire place wanted to charge me $169.57 parts, labor and tax to replace my serpentine belt. I went to Amazon and bought the most expensive one for my car. Goodyear brand, $25.83 delivered to my door the next day. Took me less than 5 minutes to swap out the old one for a new one. Part of that is because all I needed was a 10mm wrench to pivot a pulley out of the way, and I didn’t need to actually remove anything. Regardless, c’mon, man!!

[@wejaith3]

So is the 3 cents of material in a cup of coffee that sells for 1000% more a scam? It’s all relative.

[@lucasalves-sq6iz]

its usually good to replace the idlers and ensioners also

[@kaywrench]

good thing u did it right or it could have cost u more

[@WilliamBrown-vf9ou]

As others have said, I don't think those brakes didn't need to be replaced, although I guess it made for a good video (thank you). I service my brakes regularly to ensure nothing gets seized, as that'll prematurely wear out parts.

[@konstantinkostakiev7808]

Should check the caliper bracket pins, clean and regrease, aometimes they get stuck and seaze.

[@ejv8242]

Only replace your brakes if it makes noise or if they giving you problems. Don’t just replace them because the mechanic said so.

[@crautoguy8384]

So unfortunately unless you are an automotive professional and run or work in a shop you may not understand. As in this case. Most shops do not spend the time to resurface rotors because the cost is just as much and takes more time for the shop then it does just to replace them with brand new ones. So on average if the shop is charging a $100 to 4:41 150 an hour in labor it's going to take them 1 hour to reserve us your old rotors if they are in spec. Most passenger car and light truck rotors are only about 50 to $75 each for brand new ones.Also when you're putting new brake pads on an old rotor the surface is glazed and the rotor is probably Warped. Which is that feeling you feel when you get on a freeway exit And apply the brakes At 55 to 65 Miles an hour and you feel a vibration in the steering wheel or on your brake Pedal. And people do not understandautomotive shops having extremely high overhead. This is coming from a 27 year veteran of the Automotive business. Plus you are correct in your statement any professional shop will give a 1 year parts and labor guarantee on a break job. And they know tips and tricks to install them correctly whereas Di guys do not. Sorry just the way it is. But you can waste your whole weekend. Doing your own breaks and have issues and then have to do them over yourself. Forgive up and take them to a professional. I do agree at some places are over priced. But if you have a good quality professional mechanicpay the price for the job To be done right and have a guarantee of the work. And if you buy parts off rock auto it's gonna take a week for them to Show Up And if you have to return something you have to pay for the return shipping and it's gonna take another week. As reason shops do what they do unfortunately some shops give most shops. A bad reputation. And if you can do it yourself go ahead and do it save yourself some of money. But when I have to redo a customer's work. It's full price to get all apart but it's all back the way it's supposed to be. The brake flush is kind of a scam add-on most of the time unnecessary to change the fluid. Unless the manufacturer schedule maintenance calls for it at that mileage.

[@papabits5721]

They want to do a full warranty repair. It's good work if you can get it for shops.

[@davidsommerfeldt9588]

Just need to put my two cents in, I'm an old man now, but I've always thought brake jobs are one of the biggest scams, pound for pound dollar for dollar one of the biggest out there

[@jaydee9005]

if you get oem parts for that toyota it will last longer , buy your own parts and have your mechanic that u trust do the service if u have no time doing it urself ull save plenty i bought my own brake pads and rotors for all front and back axles and it was $358 for parts $390 for labor its all oem and in total was $748 for all 4 wheels

[@Willppyro]

lol you can do all 4 brakes and rotors in your driveway with a socket set for 200$ and 2 hrs

[@williammorken7484]

jack stand goes on the lip of thick metal that runs with your car. called the pinch weld. That jack stand wouldn't have helped much.

[@scottturner3831]

The only issue with break jobs we have ever had is that a 93 lumina required a special tool for the break calipers. So it was pay 15 for the tool or twice the cost for every brake job.

[@thereefaholic]

While I do all my own brake jobs because it relatively easy, the doubling of the cost of the parts is standard. One hour of labor for two weeks is more than fair. But typically in NY I would pay about $400 to get the rear brakes done. So I think that $700+ is priced

[@LM77va]

1:10 as someone who does my own car work i find those types of explanations as a red flag of ignorance or deception. You ask why & they say that's just the way we do them. That remark ranks up there with it'll be ready when it gets done. They could at least say it'll eliminate vibration & improve brake wear.

[@CHMichael]

I do my own oil change - I don't understand what's so difficult about it. People now have their cars towed to the shop for a flat tire. I just don't get it. Brakes always intimidated me - new adventure.

[@AlleyPicked]

Change them once and you will be a believer 😉

[@howgamer365]

Almost all auto shops major upcharge the parts in comparison to RockAuto

[@FlashBack7777]

Based on look of your rotors they were still perfectly fine (unless you measured and confirmed them to be out of specs)... And yea, total ripoff. Why they do that ? Because why not, some people will pay. I had similar experience with Ford dealership, where I got list of services I don't need and double to quadruple prices on everything. Like pouring injector cleaner to tank - 56 bucks... Or tire sealer replacement - 74$. I went out of service, entered their own part store in 30 feet and bought same sealer for 35$. And if they double because of warranty - I would avoid them as much as possible as if you double price for that means they assume failure rate to be 50% ? Insane...

[@AlleyPicked]

I changed rotors and brakes since they were so cheap.

[@rodpotts2666]

I just purchased a new set of tires for my f-150 cheapest ones I could get and still cost over a grand.

[@bartlewis2578]

Good Video. I worked with a mechanic that would always rip off the customers for brake jobs. We ganged up on him and called him out on him directly and to mgmt to get him to stop. We were always busy and made good money without having to resort to deception. However, I looked closely at your pads and it lloks like there is still plenty of life left in them. Depending on your driving habits, they do not need to be replaced until they are within 2-4 32nds of thickness left. The rotors can be turned. I used to do it all the time on the brake lathe. The only time they should be replaced is due to being below minimum thickness. So the shop was clearly trying to rip you off. There are test strips you can buy to test the brake fluid. These tell you if it is time to replace the fluid. Also, some manufacturers have scheduled replacement interval for brake fluid. It is easy to change the brake fluid, but it does take some time. I am a retired ASE Master Tech and have a college degree in Automotive Technology. Keep posting the good videos.

[@AlleyPicked]

I appreciate your feedback and experience. If you approve of this video, then I guess I'm spot on :-) Thank you!

[@billj5645]

Is it a scam? Well brake jobs do exist so in that regards they are not a scam. If someone charged you to replace blinker fluid then that would be a scam. After you removed your old parts it was obvious from the video that those parts were not worn out and did not need to be replaced, so that part is definitely a scam. In most vehicles today, front brakes do most of the work and wear out long before rear brakes do so that should throw up a red flag. My father owned a garage for over 60 years and his advice would be to go to a tire store to buy tires, go to a garage to fix your brakes. Don't go to a tire store to fix your brakes. I don't recall that his prices were too high, or too low, but we never tried to sell someone something they didn't need. The parts prices you were quoted were very high. If you check auto parts stores you can find a variety of products and prices so it is not uncommon to find the "best" quality parts for twice the price of the lowest prices. The prices you were quoted might be more in line with what the Toyota dealer would charge you for new Toyota parts. The labor charge actually seems low. Consider that the shop has to pay the employee for his time, the shop has to pay rent and utilities, insurance which is probably pretty high to cover the building, cover the tools and parts, cover the employees, cover the customers. They have to buy tools and maintain them. There are an unbelievable amount of fees that they have to pay the government. They have to order the parts from somewhere and wait for them to arrive which takes time, or they have to go get them. If it is a shop that keeps parts in inventory then they have to pay for that too- more space to pay rent on, they have to cover the cost of some parts that might not be used as frequently as others. The person running the shop has to schedule the jobs, write up the estimates, write up the bills, talk to the customers, collect the payment. All of that takes time. Consider the total time it took you to do the work on this video- you had to order parts online, that took time. You had to open the box, get the tools out, jack up the car and do the work, throw away the old boxes and parts. That takes time. You have to clean up the parts on the car before you reassemble it, then clean up and put away your tools. From the time you put the jack under there until the time the tire is back on the ground is a short period of time but there is a lot more time involved than that. If you had to take an afternoon off of your day job to do this then you would be losing 4 hours of salary. You didn't do that brake flush yourself and that probably wouldn't be needed for most normal vehicles. In my experience very few cars get their fluid replaced over the life of the car. You're in the DIY business, and I'm in the DIY business too, so we can do the work ourselves and save the money. People who can't or won't do the work themselves have to pay to have it done and there is markup and profit involved. It is not different from the painter that charged me $2000 to put on $200 worth of paint, or the plumber, or any number of other people I have paid to have work done because I couldn't do it. I would expect $300-400 to have pads and rotors replaced on 2 wheels, maybe I'm out of touch. In my case there are a lot of projects I can do in 4 hours and save myself a lot more money than 4 hours of my salary so I do them. I think the key is that some business sectors can charge more money due to supply and demand, and consumers don't shop around as much. Supply and demand is why I get paid a lot less than some other types of business.

[@williambranham6249]

I don’t know if it’s a scam. Perhaps you could buy the parts and take to an independent mechanic. Warranty or not? Not sure about the flush. Obviously I’m not a mechanic just a fan of your videos.

[@eldoradocanyonro]

Rock Auto DOES sell the closeout parts.... IN ADDITION to all the other levels of parts, ranging from economy to severe duty. They even email me when they have some closeout parts for sale at a discount price, which I have taken advantage of on a few occasions. So that argument is misleading at best and basically a falsehood to try to get you to buy their overpriced stuff. With some exceptions, like NAPA, you can get the exact same parts at Rockauto as they are selling you. In fact, you can usually get BETTER quality parts from Rockauto for less than the shop is charging for the low quality parts. Sorry, not trying to advertise for them. Just been a satisfied customer for a long time and wanted to comment on the lies from the shop.

[@connieehresman1171]

This happened to me years ago .they had my car for a week. Ford motor company local shop.

[@wejaith3]

So a shop making a 50% GP on parts is a scam?? That’s business. You know the prices you see online are basically cost.. thus; yes, they have to mark it up. But you can always stick to your KZbin mechanic certificate and do it yourself

[@AlleyPicked]

Spoken like a true mechanic.

[@wejaith3]

@@AlleyPicked replied like a person that doesn’t own a business and shops at harbor freight 😂

[@GPz84]

@@wejaith3 Replied like a person that owns a dishonest business and whom is also butthurt that a simple job can be performed by a non mechanic or a slightly intelligent seagull. It's a brake job, not a full engine rebuild including an increase in bore and stroke you clown. Thank for the laugh.

[@mph5896]

That shop has under $150 into that brake job including labor. Maybe $100 for the parts and the rest labor with benefits taken into consideration for the mechanic only getting paid 1 hour for that job. 😉

[@FranksDIY]

a lot of crooks out there.

[@whoolph]

I agree :)

[@jf8461]

I took the Mazda to Pep Boys to have some work done on it. And then they said that my brake rotors were cracked, and it was very dangerous and needed to be replaced. I decided to do it myself, but as I am checking them out I don't see any cracks! , I’m I only checked one wheel so far, but it looks great and the brake pad still have about 3/8 of inches of lining. I feel like I am being scammed. Also, I don’t race it 😅

[@AlleyPicked]

They should have brought you to the vehicle and showed it to you. Always ask to see it. It's not easy to crack a rotor.

[@jf8461]

@@AlleyPicked Good idea! I should have done that. And considering the fact that we hardly even drive that vehicle.

[@PMichaels]

SSHM = Shop Supplies / Hazardous Material disposal. Almost all dealers/shops charge this at some rate. Supposedly to pay for random supplies (wipes, gloves, etc.) they used for your job and any cost of properly disposing of hazmat from your job. On one hand, I get it - but I’ve always felt this item is inflated and more than what it really costs.

[@AlleyPicked]

Ah, that makes sense. I remember that now from a previous repair with them. Personally, I think that's a cost of doing business...

[@toolman9573]

Shop supplies means they charge you for the shop towels they use. Since most shops use cloth towels they charge you for them then wash them so they can charge the next customer for them

[@darkwinter6028]

The supplies component of that is not very large… it’s the hazmat fees coming from both the government and the hazmat waste handler that is the majority of that.

[@jamilgotcher5456]

Did the rotar need replacing because it was rusted? Do they rust more in the Northern states?

[@NoName-gv6nm]

Is the sky blue? Just kidding haha but yes. It's common place. It's from road salts during winter months. Eats away at car parts like no tomorrow.

[@jamilgotcher5456]

@@NoName-gv6nm Sorry for the woman question lol

[@tundras4ever552]

Ive never understood making money on parts.... i always felt that was such a huge scam.... you charge labor... thats how you make your money... but to charge 2x or even 3x for parts to me seems totally unfair. and idgaf what they have to say or what excuses they make to justify this....

[@NoName-gv6nm]

I doubt many shops charge triple for parts. But they do upcharge for profit because you're paying them for their time. Every industry works this way. You gotta pay people for their time. Some contractors will charge you for their commutes even. That's life.

[@GarenP]

@@NoName-gv6nm The problem isn't paying for people's time, it's lying about the cost of the parts.

[@cindyeva7454]

The shops get the parts at wholesale and apply standard retail markup of 50 percent margin like all other businesses,when you buy a t shirt in the store you are paying that for instance. In this case they are way over that. If automotive shops didn’t get the parts markup they would be out of business,it pays the huge overhead of equipment,insurance ect.

[@karrackhalcyon8826]

As someone who currently works the industry its certainly never a job I'd pay for myself, but then I'm capable of working on my own car. The main factors in the cost of brake jobs for us is plain and simple the warranty. Every major repair shop has to be able to warranty the repair. Which means that even though you rotors probably could have been turned, on cars made in the last 20 years they tend to come out thin enough that you're back to us complaining about noise or pulsating within 3-5 months. Ergo new rotors, and because we are likely to have to replace these parts under warranty without us being able to get any sort of money back on parts, because brakes are wear items. Most major places charge you around 1.5-2x markup on parts. The shop you're talking too is hiking those parts up almost 4x from their cost. Most brake jobs in the industry today run about 450 per axle

[@AlleyPicked]

Thanks for your insight. I assume repair shops inflate the cost of parts for all repairs. As I said, I'm sure it's standard practice but I would feel incredibly guilty if I operated my business that way.

[@NoName-gv6nm]

​@@AlleyPicked they have to make a profit man lol profit margins are pretty slim in the auto industry. Most people just don't like forking out a grand or so for a repair because to most of us, that's a massive hit financially. But what can you do? Cars are expensive machines. That's life.

[@curiousmike1044]

Their quote was ridiculous. Also, It looked to me like your existing pads had a good bit of life remaining which begs the question was a rear brake job needed in the first place.

[@AlleyPicked]

After removing all of my pads, one of them was worse than the other 3. I guess if you are changing 1 you might as well replace all 4? But the rotors? those were fine...

[@scottcpan68]

Their prices on parts and labor are way too high. One thing though, the brake fluid flush is often overlooked but probably not a bad deal at $99. You can and should do it yourself for the cost of the brake fluid and an additional 30 minutes of your time. Changing the brake fluid every 50K to 60K will extend the life of all of the hydraulic components.

[@eldoradocanyonro]

I paid $30 to have mine flushed after I changed the brakes at all 4 corners last year. $99 is still too high. I made beer money in college doing other peoples' brakes for 1/3 the price of the local shops. They'd quote them $300 plus tax, I'd do it for $100 and make $60 profit.

[@kaywrench]

My friend how much do grocery stores pay for a dozen eggs and how much do they sell them to customers? can you look that up for me?

[@AlleyPicked]

0 to 30% profit. Less than the percentage for a break job.

[@kaywrench]

@@AlleyPicked WOW 0% mark up they are loosing money that is how a business should run.

[@user-cz1ex7kf2g]

That NAPA price is probably the list price, the shop is probably paying half that.

[@AlleyPicked]

Yea...with the volume of parts they order from Napa I'm sure they have a nice discount.

[@GarenP]

And also possibly listing the parts as costing way more than they actually do in your bill or estimate. This practice I find deceptive and dishonest.

[@connieehresman1171]

The guy doing the work gets paid too. mechanics & dentists get pay well.

[@moedawg4061]

It’s a ripoff indeed

[@canaksoy8130]

The labor rate is very low on that brake job. I think it's one hour of labor. the mechanic is really getting screwed over there or they are hourly and not flat rate. At my dealership it's 2 hours of labor(178x2) and it also applies to every other dealership, unless it is a very high end brake job. Our brake jobs come out to more than a grand per axle. I'm very grateful that people love their German cars. While everything you said is true in the video, you also need to consider that you are paying for a professional service, job warranty and convenience. The way I do brake jobs is almost surgical attention to detail. Never had a comeback on brakes, never a complaint in my career. That of course does not mean every other mechanic works the same way but their honesty on how they perform the work goes up as you pay more. Also cutting the rotors is almost useless nowadays because the labor time equals the price of new rotors. If you cut the rotors, you increase the risk of them warping as they get thinner. BTW there is a special caliper gauge to measure rotor thickness. the way you measured them is just wrong because you're only measuring the lip.

[@dotar9586]

It's hard to see in the video, but it looks like he has the step of the caliper jaw past the lip so he should be getting an accurate measurement. Plus it doesn't look like he's actually measuring them, just kind of a visual for the video. Personally I use micrometers, but I could easily get an accurate measurement with those calipers.

[@mph5896]

Yeah, the mechanic and the customer is getting hosed with that estimate. 1 hour for the mechanic and $100 in parts =$769🤣

[@davidnadeau9460]

Honestly garages scam us on every jobs, especially on brake jobs. But yours are incomplete, I worked in a garage, I'm a mechanic, you have to clean-up everything on replacement, (brush/clean caliper bracket, sliders, inspect rubber seals, inspect caliper, clean-up hub and put spray anti-seize on hub, ceramic silicone grease on sliders after complete cleanup, silicone grease on caliper bracket and on the backing of the pads) It's not as long as it seem, I understand you are not a mechanic but this is how it's done properly. When you have rotary brushes and the tools, it takes about 1 hour to clean install on 4 corners.

[@kencoleman7762]

Well, it's definitely a scam although their operating costs are clearly higher than yours. They have to pay for the location, building costs, a variety of licenses and governmental maintenance, all sorts of insurance and many other costs that jack up the final cost. The owners/franchisee also expects to make a profit. All that may not justify their quote but you cannot expect them to compete with a back alley mechanic. But saving money is a marvelous reason to do your own work.

[@shogunofgrowing4839]

Well see that's not really fair though because you need to compare it to places like autozone o'reilly's not rock auto and you gotta understand there's a markup price they are a business they aren't going to trade dollars with you so the money for the parts it's not a scam. I will say they charge you pretty damn steep for the rear brakes but they can service those rotors they're just a pain in the ass on the rear rotors because they take more time to cut than front rotors but that is not a excuse to sell new rotors. Them saying they cant resurface your rotors was the scam.

[@NoName-gv6nm]

It's less common place now supposedly because rotors are thinner from factory than they used to be decades ago. It's for fuel consumption. Less rotating mass equals less energy. So since they're thinner now a days, less shops are willing to turn them cuz they're more likely to warp.

[@maritimezhang]

what did that ratchet ever do to you man. use a breaker bar please

[@NoName-gv6nm]

A good shop will go the extra mile to clean things up and lubriate everything nicely and even apply corrosion inhibitors. Cheap shops will just slap things on without care, like this guy no offense. If you live in the rustbelt, i dont think its a scam to have a shop do a good job and save you the headaches of seized and corroded brake parts. Been through it myself. I dont mind paying a little extra now.

[@billgreen4003]

be safe in Christ God Bless everyone John3:16

[@jasonpocaro2730]

Well lets see... Building Rent, gas, electric bill, insurance, staff, maintenance of equipment, tool men (plural) tax bill(s). Add THAT all up genius and that is why a brake job is so expensive. Do you do your own dentistry? How about your own construction? Take a class in business arts and LEARN SOMETHING about how a business operates.

[@AlleyPicked]

I am willing to pay for the labor but don't deceive me to be about how much the parts cost. There is no way a simple brake job should cost almost $900. Some places charge a reasonable price but my point here is that I was being taken to the cleaners by this particular mechanic. I am informing people so they understand what they are being charged for. If they are willing to pay $900, thats fine, their choice, just be educated about it.

[@jasonpocaro2730]

@@AlleyPicked That's ONE individual. After 30 years of diagnosis and repairs, not just "parts cannon" a vehicle, it's disingenuous to use Rock Auto as a comparison. We can't (and won't) buy parts at THAT cheap of a price point. We rely on Mass warehouse type suppliers. CPW or O'Reilly are the LEAST expensive, yet highest quality parts. Call any dealer for a brake pad quote from the parts department or get PREMIUM pads at AUTOZONE. Use THAT as basis for prices. Just be logical in your video(s) your misrepresenting the efforts of honest & hard working business owners.

[@AlleyPicked]

I went to the NAPA parts website and the prices there were half of what the mechanic wanted to charge me. So I did an apples-apples parts comparison.

[@jasonpocaro2730]

@@AlleyPicked That's possible. Midas auto service has a 300% mark up on parts. Firestone has a 400% mark up 😵. Everything is more expensive this last year, so passing down SOME inflation costs is to be expected. Always get 3 quotes on ANY major work. I do 3 brake jobs a day on average. $300 to $400 is around the price for pads, hardware, 2 rotors, labor & tax ( shop supplies & disposal too)... $900? That would include 2 loaded calipers and bleed ABS system too...

[@GarenP]

@@jasonpocaro2730 The cost of the job isn't the issue, it's misrepresenting the cost of parts in a bill or estimate to the customer, which like it or not gives people the impression that the shop is dishonest. This issue does cause shops to lose customers, it would be better to simply charge more by adding the cost to other areas like labor.

[@user-ib3tc6bl6o]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX_XdaKMn8d3rLM НЕ ЗАБЫВАЙТЕ ЭТО