What should a brake job cost for a 2012 accord

[Torn Mind]

do it yourself?
new rotors at autozone is cheaper than a garage turning the rotors.
brake pads are also cheap.

and it's easy.. pop 2 pins.
and while ordering new rotors, buy a c-clamp to push in the caliper.

youtube videos is your friend

The cheapest rotors are likely of suspicious quality. The AcDelco Professional, Raybestos Advanced Technology, etc are probably similar to OEM quality. AcDelco Advantage are probably the best out of the budget rotors.

 

[k3n]

If your front struts are worn, then brake pads will be eaten up more quickly.

After 10k miles with my Integra, about 1/2 of the meat is gone, before the wear indicator.

Make sure the mechanic supplies warranty on the brake pad labor, and they lubricate the caliper pins properly.

http://repairpal.com/

 

[z1ggy]

Assuming you can't do this job yourself (it's fairly easy especially if you have a friend helping) $350 for just replacing pads is kind of high IMO. At a garage they have the means to do a job like that with just one guy in probably <2 hours. OEM pads can't cost more than $80-100, so that price seems high to me.

If they are replacing rotors, then price seems right.

 

[sontakke]

I had front pads and rotors replaced on Honda mini-van. I was standing next to him while he did the job. Elapsed wall time was 25 minutes. I had purchased good quality pads and rotors myself. I will have to dig up the actual numbers but I had got a good deal on them. My mechanic charged me an hour labor for the job. Obviously, the shop owner and I get along well but the reason for that is that I had never questioned his bill and I do occasionally give him big jobs such as timing belt replacement etc.

 

[Torn Mind]

Assuming you can't do this job yourself (it's fairly easy especially if you have a friend helping) $350 for just replacing pads is kind of high IMO. At a garage they have the means to do a job like that with just one guy in probably <2 hours. OEM pads can't cost more than $80-100, so that price seems high to me.

If they are replacing rotors, then price seems right.

Mechs are often paid flat rate and not hourly. Flat rate is calculated by averaging the time it takes for "all" mechanics of various experience to perform the job. The job does not have a regard for obstacles, like rust keeping the wheel on. Labor rate is hours multiplied by price.

http://www.brakepadscostguide.com/
http://cars.costhelper.com/brakes.html
The spread is pretty wide, and the these sites report $300 figure is within the spread. Since the original poster mentioned that the quotes he got were for both the front and the back, $350 is actually on the lower cost side.

It pays find out who is the OEM manufacturer of your make's brakes and find out their OEM equivalent line. Like Akebono's ProACT Ultra Premium line should be the brake pads Toyota and Honda rebrands and then sells at the dealership at a huge markup. The ACT923 is likely the OEM pads that come with a Toyota Matrix, for example. Taking advantage of coupon codes at Advance Auto online also can bring the cost down further.

Many brakes are easy to do and the cost of labor could have been used to purchase tools and supplies. I am suspicious of mechanics and don't want to feed a possible bad egg with my money for the simpler tasks like many brakes. But the labor costs are somewhat justified. They had to get an education, buy expensive tools, and use powerful impacts and lifting equipment to get to that level of speed. If someone doesn't know how to do something, they gotta pay someone else who does know how to do the job.

 

[z1ggy]

^^ Good to know, I always assumed it was an hourly rate they got paid since you get charged an hourly rate...

Guess I'm just the type of guy that hears $300+ for a brake job and thinks it's nuts when I can do them for $80, a little elbow grease and a few hours of my time (no power tools).

 

[Torn Mind]

^^ Good to know, I always assumed it was an hourly rate they got paid since you get charged an hourly rate...

Guess I'm just the type of guy that hears $300+ for a brake job and thinks it's nuts when I can do them for $80, a little elbow grease and a few hours of my time (no power tools).

It is heavy on the pocketbook when you ask someone else to do a brake job. Brake pads are a compelling DIY item because the tools(grease, sockets, torque wrench, gloves, jack) pay for themselves quickly, you keep $100+ extra spending power, and peace of mind the job is screwed up at the cost of some extra time, dealing with brake dust, and working those muscles lifting the tires.

Brake drums are a bit more tedious, and bleeding requires a friend and some patience too--and some care not to brake the bleeder screw, because that would really suck.

Brakes are a dream for a flat rate tech, but a downer for an older-fashioned hourly tech.

 

[T2urtle]

Guess I'm just the type of guy that hears $300+ for a brake job and thinks it's nuts when I can do them for $80, a little elbow grease and a few hours of my time (no power tools).

I'm the same way til someone broke it down to me.

Say parts was $50 pads and $75 for a pair of rotors. It would take me an hour but let's say average guy does 2.5 hours. Average guy gets paid something like $20-50/ hour. The guy told me he rather stay clean, work and pay me to do it. I didn't care as I got paid but it made total sense if u do make that much roughly per hour who cares.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

do it yourself?
new rotors at autozone is cheaper than a garage turning the rotors.
brake pads are also cheap.

and it's easy.. pop 2 pins.
and while ordering new rotors, buy a c-clamp to push in the caliper.

youtube videos is your friend

I took this advice today. A dealership told me my front pads/rotors were due for replacement; wanted $300 to do it, too.

Got some pads and rotors on Amazon for under $100 to replace my front pads/rotors. Took me two hours to swap them (I'd never done it before and was being slow/careful) but I feel pretty accomplished now. ()

 

[thomsbrain]

I think you have that reversed? 100k on fronts but not rears? And for the record, I've never known anyone to get 100k out of a set of front pads. Maybe its possible, but I've never seen it.

Brake pads have depth gauges that squeal when you get low. That's when ya know to change them.

Not reversed.

One front change at 120K and another around 240K. Could have gone longer.

The rears don't last as long because the rear rotors aren't vented, so they generally run a lot hotter in prolonged heavy use (true for most passenger cars).

 

[yh125d]

Not reversed.

One front change at 120K and another around 240K. Could have gone longer.

The rears don't last as long because the rear rotors aren't vented, so they generally run a lot hotter in prolonged heavy use (true for most passenger cars).

Do you live in the mountains or something? I certainly wouldn't say *most* passenger cars are regularly subjected to "prolonged heavy use" to a significant enough degree as to cause rears to run that much hotter that much more often to result in half the life vs the fronts. Is your experience in regards to this on a specific car? I suspect there's something else afoot here, maybe a bad proportioning valve sending more to the rear than it should