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How badly did I get over-charged by stealership?

4K views 52 replies 27 participants last post by  UFOtestpilot 
#1 ·
My right front caliper failed and was locking up that wheel and I was in a hurry to get this repair done so I took it to my local Jeep dealership. They showed me, and I agreed, that not only was one of my calipers toast but so too were both rotors. All the brake parts, except the pads, were original to this TJ w/ 76K miles.

They replaced both front rotors and calipers w/ OEM Mopar parts, replaced the soft brake lines in front also, new pads, then bleed the entire system.

Total cost, parts, labor, tax: $719.00

Keep in mind I am in CT where everything is more expensive....but how much did I get over-charged, if at all? Thanks.
 
#2 ·
What made you believe that the rotors were toast? Were they warped? Deep scratches in them?
 
#3 ·
That's not atrocious. Just Brakes or Brakes Plus would've charged the same, if not more. An independent shop might have beat it by 100-200. Factor in the fact that it wasn't safe to drive and you needed it fixed pronto and it's a justifiable expense, especially if you're not a DIYer.

This is assuming they were being straight up with you about the rotors. As stated above, why were the rotors bad? Warped, too worn to resurface? Pitted or gouged?
 
#9 ·
so differing opinions so far?.....yes the rotors were very badly gouged/grooved, even to the point where there was a raised jagged edge on the outer diameter, they were bad. I was allowed to go into the shop and inspect the entire front system before I agreed to the job.

the pair of calipers were a tad less than $100. remember they also replaced all the soft brake lines up front because the right side was badly worn, those Mopar hoses were another $100...it was the OEM/Mopar rotors that were the big hit on the parts cost.

i figured i over-paid a tad....i got good parts and these guys know their jeeps. I am DIY-er but not when it comes to brake systems.

so maybe $200 i could have squeezed out by shopping around? ouch.
 
#10 ·
it was the OEM/Mopar rotors that were the big hit on the parts cost.

i figured i over-paid a tad....i got good parts and these guys know their jeeps. I am DIY-er but not when it comes to brake systems.

so maybe $200 i could have squeezed out by shopping around? ouch.
You can get some of the best pads and rotors for the TJ from Black Magic Brakes for only $235:

Jeep Wranger (TJ) 1997 - 1999 Front Brake Package

And if you shop around you can find just the rotors for even cheaper.

I think you probably could have saved more than $200 personally, and had you even done the work yourself you could have saved a huge chunk of change.

Brakes can be pretty simple to work on, especially if you're just working on disc brakes. If you haven't ever worked on a vehicle, it's not hard to figure out. It's one of the first things I ever did myself on a vehicle, and seeing prices like this is exactly why I started.

But I can see labor adding up to a big amount of what you paid. Unfortunately that's the cost of taking your vehicle somewhere to get worked on.
 
#11 ·
I think that was a fair price for OEM parts and dealer labor if you cannot do it. Yourself and don't want crap from China and a newbie doing your brakes at a Muffler shop.
 
#12 ·
This. Not everybody can do a brake job themselves. If you don't have the tools and the know-how or a place to do the work, what other option do you have than to let a shop do it. I had the good fortune to have a friend teach me how to do brake work because I sure as heck wasn't about to attempt a repair like that on such a critical piece of equipment by myself.
And I've seen brakes-only repair shops (big name shops) charge outrageous amounts of money for brake work, have even heard of them telling people their master cylinders needed to be replaced because their pads got too worn, telling people their rotors were too worn to be resurfaced, but discarding them before the person could ask for the spent ones back, etc.
You hear Brakes Plus advertising on the radio that they'll replace brakes and rotors for $99/rotor...but they've got tons of complaints with the BBB about folks walking in for routine brakework and leaving with $1000+ bills for huge repair jobs that likely weren't warranted.
Overall, I'd say what the OP paid for dealership work was in line with what most dealerships would charge for that work
 
#15 ·
thanks for the feedback folks....i probably have the best (stock) front brake set-up I could have purchased, but the downside is my wallet is a tad lighter than it could have been if I had spent time shopping around.

One more thing: they gave me a 1 year, 12K mile warranty on everything, parts and labor, baked into that $719 price.
 
#17 ·
Unfortunately your experience is wrong. I'm quite sure some of the cheapest stuff they do sell is junk (as can be said about any place), but certainly not everything. I've been referred there by Blaine (he goes by Black Magic Brakes on here) when looking for certain parts.

You saying everything RockAuto sells is junk is like saying I was burned once on a purchase from Amazon so everything they sell must be junk. You'll have bad experiences everywhere, but typically that's the exception and not the standard.

i probably have the best (stock) front brake set-up I could have purchased
Many who have the experience would say the best setup on stock brakes is with the Black Magic pads Blaine sells. If you're still on stock sized tires now it certainly isn't a necessity at the moment, but if you ever upgrade they're certainly worth a look.
 
#18 ·
You paid a fair price, two New OEM Calipers New not rebuilt Chinese Crap, set of Factory brake pads new good stuff, New OEM brake rotors which I'm sure if the caliper was locking up at least one of your old rotors was toast and I always recomend replacing them in pairs, New Factory Brake hoses those are not cheap, then you had brake fluid and shop supplys, labor at probably around $100 an hr 2.5 hrs or so.
They did'nt screw you you got a qualified person who knew what they where doing to repair it, you got a good warranty thats good at any Dodge/Jeep Dealership Nationwide. Actually if anything they may have been a bit low.
Another thing to remember is those original Factory parts lasted you 76,000 miles and many years, no reason the new ones wont also. Now can you say that about all the cheap aftermarket stuff being thrown around?

That said I'm sure someone will pipe up and say how they can buy a pair of calipers for $60 hose's for $20 rotors for ten bucks each and do the whole job in their driveway in a half hour......from what I've seen thats pretty much how some on this forum think :whistling:
 
#24 ·
That said I'm sure someone will pipe up and say how they can buy a pair of calipers for $60 hose's for $20 rotors for ten bucks each and do the whole job in their driveway in a half hour......from what I've seen thats pretty much how some on this forum think :whistling:
We both know that a pad and rotor swap is not quite the same as a front axle brake job where all the parts are cleaned, wire brushed, bolt holes are cleaned and inspected, divots are repaired on the knuckles, the proper brake lube is used, rotors are properly cleaned, brake dust and debris is removed from the caliper pistons, and the system is bled correctly after being flushed.

After the tires are off, I can do a pad and rotor swap in about 5 minutes per side, a brake job takes me about an hour per side not including the flush.
 
#28 ·
Putting off any maintenance makes you pay in the end one way or another. I wouldn't say you got hosed but, like the others said, you could've done better for less. Lets face it, brakes/lubes are the bread and butter for shops. That's their honey pot that everyone needs...you don't always need a repair done on your vehicle. Hopefully you learned a lesson about preventive maintenance.
 
#30 ·
thanks again for the feedback, interesting how diverse the opinions of the pricing are.

when i said "best stock setup" i was only refering to the fact i had a trained jeep technician using factory parts, no monkey business or short-cuts, and no questionable knock-off materials. i'm sure there are better brake set-ups, but those would not be stock/factory.

i never said 100% of what RockAuto sells is junk, just some of it, well quite a bit of it from the numerous alternators, water pumps, and other mechnicals i have purchased from them over the years that failed very early, or didnt work at all. i would agree that some of the stuff they sell is fine, all of it is priced cheap.

good discussion folks.
 
#31 ·
Check the forum next time and/or ask for some help in what ever the problem is. Maybe you did maybe you didn't pay to much. If you don't have one, pick up a Chiltons/Haynes manual for your jeep. Doing the work yourself will save a lot of money. This forum is filled with a lot of people willing to help out. Who knows you may have someone in your area willing to come by and help you and teach you how to do something to your rig you didn't know how. Good luck buddy.
Happy Jeeping
 
#32 ·
I just ran an estimate on what you had done useing Mitchell1 Price Estimator ( what most of the industry is using to calculate estimates, both dealerships and independents ) using a 2002 Jeep Wrangler Sahara and all New OEM parts and at an $95hr labor rate which is standard in my area. Here it is.

Calipers 2 @ $304 each
Rotors 2 @ $258 each
Front Pads set $215
Front brake hoses 2 @ $50 each
Brakefluid/Shop Supplies $15
Labor 2.6hrs @ $95hr $247
Total - $1139
+ Tax ( Florida is 7% ) $79.73
Grand Total - $1218.73

This is what most Dealerships and Independent shops would have charged you for the work you had done using all new OEM Parts and a $95hr labor rate. You got a pretty good deal or some reman/aftermarket parts.
 
#47 ·
I just ran an estimate on what you had done useing Mitchell1 Price Estimator ( what most of the industry is using to calculate estimates, both dealerships and independents ) using a 2002 Jeep Wrangler Sahara and all New OEM parts and at an $95hr labor rate which is standard in my area. Here it is.

Calipers 2 @ $304 each
Rotors 2 @ $258 each
Front Pads set $215

Front brake hoses 2 @ $50 each
Brakefluid/Shop Supplies $15
Labor 2.6hrs @ $95hr $247
Total - $1139
+ Tax ( Florida is 7% ) $79.73
Grand Total - $1218.73

This is what most Dealerships and Independent shops would have charged you for the work you had done using all new OEM Parts and a $95hr labor rate. You got a pretty good deal or some reman/aftermarket parts.
That seems a little high even for OE parts...especially the pads.
 
#36 ·
"...I would make sure they replaced the 2 brake lines and not painting your old calipers .."


we think alike! yes of course when i got back home I removed one wheel and inspected everything they did and checked the other side too.

FLFLASH: thanks for that analysis, I checked my itemization and my labor was $290 total for the replacement of the rotors/pads/calipers/hoses. Total parts were $380 of which $200 was an OEM "Brake Pkg-Front Brake" which bundles the factory rotors and pads for a discount of about $100 if purchased seperately. Your caliper price shown above is very high, not sure why.

FREE78: I know it is cheaper to do the work myself but in this case I did not have the time or expertise. So my original question of "was I over-charged" was not meant to compare the cost of a do-it-yourself job to a dealership job, rather it was to see how well my dealer did when compared to other shops that do this work. Seems on that issue the overall view, so far, is they did pretty well cost-wise.
 
#44 ·
FLFLASH: thanks for that analysis, I checked my itemization and my labor was $290 total for the replacement of the rotors/pads/calipers/hoses. Total parts were $380 of which $200 was an OEM "Brake Pkg-Front Brake" which bundles the factory rotors and pads for a discount of about $100 if purchased seperately. Your caliper price shown above is very high, not sure why.
Thats Not what it would have cost you at my shop thats what Mitchell1 Estimator qoutes out too. With my pricing on parts and labor using quality Reman Calipers the Best brake pads, new non OEM rotors and New non OEM Brake hoses and the 10% discount on parts and labor I give All Jeepers you would have been out the door for just under $600. Add about $150 to that if you wanted Black Majic Pads and rotors.
 
#37 ·
For going to a dealership you didn't do that bad. Yes you could have done it yourself for 400-500 bucks but if you aren't comfortable working on your Jeep especially brakes than you did ok.

Next time look into it on the forum, it may be worth buying some tools and learning yourself. Then you will have them for the next job. I started doing this when I was 15 and now have a great garage and automotive knowledge. I have saved myself thousands of dollars on labor on my jeeps and other vehicles.

as someone else said WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE :)
 
#40 ·
good advise. i've got a lot of experience working on my own cars. including restoring several musclecars (mostly Plymouth Road Runners) as well as a near total rebuild of a 1986 Shelby GLHS a few years back. I always do my own work on my Grand Cherokees too. but this particular type of brake work I never liked doing, and, i was in a hurry to get it done. Right it is water under the bridge for me but I hope maybe this thread helps others make a decision as to what to do with their next brake job. When my '08 GC needs front brakes? I think I'll be taking it to this same dealer.
 
#41 ·
They replaced both front rotors and calipers w/ OEM Mopar parts, replaced the soft brake lines in front also, new pads, then bleed the entire system.

Total cost, parts, labor, tax: $719.00
Personally, I think you got raped. I would never put that much money into stock front brakes...ever.

I paid less than that for the 15" Vanco brake kit, which addresses design flaws in the stock setup, strengthens the knuckles and includes new pads and rotors....resulting in stops that are windshield kissing good, even with big tires.
 
#43 ·
Personally, I think you got raped. I would never put that much money into stock front brakes...ever.

I paid less than that for the 15" Vanco brake kit, which addresses design flaws in the stock setup, strengthens the knuckles and includes new pads and rotors....resulting in stops that are windshield kissing good, even with big tires.

Speaking of which, how is the upgrade?
 
#48 ·
check www.savvyoffroad.com and www.vancopbs.com for new prices & availability. I think they did a redesign with new knuckles.

I was lucky enough to find mine on craigslist for $650.

Speaking of which, how is the upgrade?
Amazing. I got the Black Magic pads broken in and it's definitely got another step up in stopping power from the 46mm calipers/Stop-Tech pads/Centric rotors. As the new pads heat up, they get even better and I can lock up the fronts at the drop of a hat....so I'm still recalibrating my foot to hold right on the edge of that lock-up vs traction threshold. I really appreciate surprising the lowered "tuner" kids that insist on follow too closely to my rear bumper....and just driving around, once again, I'm stopping 20 ft too short for stop lights :rofl:.
 
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