i noticed a slight hesitation in the braking. i take it to the dealership for regular service and to have it checked out. they say the front pads and rotors need replacing and the rear just the pads. this is the part that perplexed me. the guy says in the front I had %10 pad left and in the rear %15 pad left. it seems to me if that were the case my braking with be more fucked up and noticeable.


are they giving me bullsh!t or is this really possible. and isn't $801 sort of ridonkulous.

11/2/2005 1:59:03 PM

lol

more like $300

11/2/2005 1:59:42 PM

what year make and model

11/2/2005 2:01:23 PM

2004 mercedes clk

11/2/2005 2:03:40 PM

nm my first comment.

you don't want cheap shit on it.

11/2/2005 2:06:08 PM

yes it is. I bet you the parts alone are running about 500 for genuine MB pieces. You wanna roll in a benz you gotta pay the bill. If you want a $200-300 brake job at the dealer, buy a civic. If you want a $70 brakejob, buy an old civic and go to a service station. If you dont have an extra $800 laying around you shouldn't be rolling in a new benz.

[Edited on November 2, 2005 at 2:11 PM. Reason : .]

11/2/2005 2:11:00 PM

that doesn't sound at all unreasonable for a dealer price to me, especially on a benz. like ^ said, if you don't want to pay those types of repair/maintinance prices you should reconsider owning a premium brand.

11/2/2005 2:12:27 PM

yep, welcome to the wonderful world of expensive car repairs...I had a radiator fan switch go on my 944T and it cost me about 400 bucks...20 bucks for the part and labor at 90 bucks an hour

11/2/2005 2:19:42 PM

Absolutely agreed. Nothing is cheap for a Mercedes. Not even the oil filter.

11/2/2005 2:20:34 PM

Quote :

"nm my first comments."

[Edited on November 2, 2005 at 2:21 PM. Reason : .]

11/2/2005 2:20:50 PM

^^^buy a CPO for it, it will save you money. You will still need cash for maintanace, but at least the repairs like that would be covered.



[Edited on November 2, 2005 at 2:23 PM. Reason : ^^^]

11/2/2005 2:22:56 PM

a CPO? . . . the cost isn't really the issue. it's just a matter of the guy telling me i only had 10-15% of padding left when it doesn't feel so severe when I brake. it's just slightly noticeable.

i suppose a plus is I went 30K miles without having to get brake work done before. and w/in the last 30K miles i've only had 2 oil changes.

11/2/2005 2:41:36 PM

^you're not supposed to be able to tell much if any diffence in braking as pad wear occurs. that's a properly functioning system.

11/2/2005 2:44:13 PM

cool. that makes sense.

11/2/2005 2:45:07 PM

Quote :

"and w/in the last 30K miles i've only had 2 oil changes"

When you had your oil changed, did you use Mobil1? That's what Mercedes puts in at the factory. If you did, you don't have anything to worry about. Synthetics don't break down like Dino-Oil, they simply get dirty.

11/2/2005 2:46:30 PM

Quote :

"and w/in the last 30K miles i've only had 2 oil changes."

11/2/2005 2:47:22 PM

the car bases the oil changed based on wear or something like that. my car is truely for people who don't know anything about cars.

11/2/2005 2:53:10 PM

my truck has had 3 oil changes and one oil pump in ~65-70k miles. dino oil.

11/2/2005 2:56:02 PM

Interesting. So it actually bases its oil life on calculated variables? Not bad.

Mine just trips every 4k miles.

11/2/2005 2:56:13 PM

I just change mine every 5k miles.

11/2/2005 2:57:54 PM

Call me retarded, why not just go to any old shop and ask them to do the job with some decent aftermarket components?

11/2/2005 3:14:43 PM

ibtl

This thread has been made by a retarded alias.

11/2/2005 3:16:07 PM

stfu gargs..

11/2/2005 3:35:23 PM

ignore esparagus and his faggotry.

11/2/2005 5:00:22 PM

Why would the rotors be in trouble if he still has pad left on the pads?

11/2/2005 5:14:47 PM

most high(er) performance cars have rotors made out of a softer iron which allow for better braking but they wear out below minimum machining specification in just one set of pads. your regular autozone rotor will last through two or tree sets of pads before they are below min spec.

11/2/2005 5:33:20 PM

[aftermarket]

11/2/2005 5:35:19 PM

Most if not all german car manufacturers recommend replacement of the rotors with the pads. Many of them don't even have machining specs for rotors.

11/2/2005 6:51:31 PM

Quote :

"Call me retarded, why not just go to any old shop and ask them to do the job with some decent aftermarket components?"

you are retarded. im not sure you can even get aftermarket components for benzes, and if you could, you shouldnt.

11/2/2005 7:35:18 PM

yeah that'd void the warranty if something else happened in the braking system

11/2/2005 7:52:09 PM

I got a 2000 kia sephia and had my brake pads and rotors replace a couple of months ago. Paid about $300 for the whole thing.

11/2/2005 7:53:36 PM

if you have a nice car that cost you a pretty penny, its well worth getting the best shit and the right shit for it. or else buy a civic like others have already said.

11/2/2005 7:54:58 PM

Quote :

"decent aftermarket components"

there is no such thing when compared to OEM.

11/2/2005 8:25:10 PM

FDT OEM or STFU

11/3/2005 12:33:03 AM

auto mechanics are all criminals

didnt you know that?

11/3/2005 12:33:55 AM

[aftermarket]

11/3/2005 8:33:07 AM

Damn. I guess what they say about getting parts for German cars is true... I guess I'm just used to getting half my parts from cars that haven't even run for years.

[Edited on November 3, 2005 at 9:35 AM. Reason : .]

11/3/2005 9:33:12 AM

got the total this morning . . .

PARTS/$379.56 ------------ L A B O R !!!!!!!!! - $ 377.00

HERES THE MECHANIC NOTE: found pads and rotor and rear pads below spec. replaced front pads and rotors and rear pads.

i drove the car to work this morning and I really didn't notice a significant difference. it wasn't too severe to start with. i'm still a bit perplexed that they stated I only had 10-15% pad left.

did i just get taken

total after taxes and sh!t - $841.91

11/3/2005 10:36:10 AM

also they noted my front left tire is wearing unevenly.

no mention on how to correct this. should I get a new tire people. i know nothing about cars.

11/3/2005 10:37:59 AM

^^no. like it was mentioend above, you shouldn't really notice a difference at all.

11/3/2005 10:42:46 AM

^^^

yes. they charged you for $400 dollars for 20 minutes of work

thats why you learn to do your own shit.

a dealer usually will do, what the do, right. but it will cost you. a lot.



[Edited on November 3, 2005 at 11:08 AM. Reason : -]

11/3/2005 10:52:41 AM

Quote :

"i'm still a bit perplexed that they stated I only had 10-15% pad left. "

Because you probably did. Did you ask to see your pads when they removed them? did you ask for the flatness measurements of the worn rotors? If you didn't try to get visual verification of the wear charactaristics for these parts, then you don't have any way of knowing except their word.

More than likely your pads were worn that low. The elements that are added to the brake pad material composition that start to "sqeal" when your pads are low kick in at anywhere from 5%-20% remaining life. Brake pads and rotors are consumables, they wear and warrant inspection and replacement/reworking at regular intervals.

You have to understand a couple of things. One, it's a Mercedes, and if you take it to a dealer, they use Mercedes OEM replacement parts and will simply replace consumables such as rotors instead of turning them. The OEM Mercedes brake pads are going to be a whole hell of a lot more expensive than if you were to go to Autozone and get some aftermarket. Second, you took it to a dealership. Dealership labor rates are HIGH. Most dealerships use a standard labor rate for a specific task. Say the nationwide average time for a brake job you described is 2 hours. They charge you for 2 hours, whether it takes them 30 min or 6 hours. This is a system has its pros and cons. Anyway, $377 for labor is ridiculous for a brake job, but probably average for a Mercedes Dealership labor rate.

So in answer to your question, did you get taken?

Yes, you got raped, but the dealer did so honestly. If you were to take it to any other Mercedes dealership, you probably would've received the same anal invasion.

11/3/2005 10:57:25 AM

Quote :

"i noticed a slight hesitation in the braking."

you really arent giving much info here.

take for example, if your master brake cylinder is fucked up. you are gonna have too much pedal travel or a pedal fade. i went to a brake place with this problem and there fix was expensive new pads and rots. brilliant, considering any idiot could diagnose a bad master cylinder.

if your pads needed replacment, you would be hearing squeeking. you didnt even need the replacemnt yet, in all likelyhood, becuase you havent mentioned a screech. these people are trained to do whatever they can to get you to agree to replace the pads and rotors even if the problem has nothign to do them.

for all you know, there was just air in your lines which you could have fixed with a rubber hose and a can a brake fluid.

also

why the fuck you need new brakes on a 04 mercedes? how many miles you put on the car?

[Edited on November 3, 2005 at 11:05 AM. Reason : 0]

11/3/2005 11:01:31 AM

Quote :

"these people are trained to do whatever they can to get you to agree to replace the pads and rotors even if the problem has nothign to do them. "

I'll second that. I had a buddy who was a BMW mechanic, and he left b/c he got tired of being told to do that kind of unethical stuff. NEVER take your car to a dealership!

11/3/2005 11:04:53 AM

Brakes do not automatically squeal when they are almost worn out. Some pads have a wear indicator that will drag when the pad gets worn enough. Some pads squeal from the minute they are installed new. As long as there was pad material left, whether it was 5% or 25%, the braking effort and feel should be the same. Until you start getting to the rivets, you shouldn't be able to tell any difference.

11/3/2005 11:09:02 AM

^both are good points. shitty brakes can squeel for a lifetime, i learned my lesson on that. and it doesnt sounds like the people addressed your underlying problem, which you should confront the dealership about.

i really hope that 'hesitation' is gone. or perhaps you could be a little more descriptive.

[Edited on November 3, 2005 at 11:18 AM. Reason : -]

11/3/2005 11:17:08 AM

Quote :

"Brakes do not automatically squeal when they are almost worn out. Some pads have a wear indicator that will drag when the pad gets worn enough. Some pads squeal from the minute they are installed new. As long as there was pad material left, whether it was 5% or 25%, the braking effort and feel should be the same. Until you start getting to the rivets, you shouldn't be able to tell any difference."

Yes, I agree, the performance and feel of the brakes is consistent as long as there is some material left on the pads. But OEM Mercedes pads have an audible wear indicator (the sumbitches squeal) when the pads get to a certain wear level. The squeal gets proportionally worse as the pads become more and more worn down. However, just because they weren't squealing doesn't mean they weren't worn, he could've been right at the threshold.

Either way, worn or not, we need more info as far as the symptoms to really determine whether you got screwed or not. Is the "hesitation" still there or is it gone? Was there any vibration when braking? Did the car try to pull left or right when you braked? I can see pads "needing" replacement after a couple of years, but rotors should not be warped this early if it's only seen normal use.

11/3/2005 11:20:33 AM

you actually got hooked up. he shoudlve replaced rear rotors also.

benz specs call for rotor replacement with pads.

Quote :

"One, it's a Mercedes, and if you take it to a dealer, they use Mercedes OEM replacement parts and will simply replace consumables such as rotors instead of turning them."

you cant turn benz rotors. they will fail. quit talking out your ass.

[Edited on November 3, 2005 at 11:24 AM. Reason : ]

11/3/2005 11:22:57 AM

Wow...$801..?

I got parts and labor for pads and rotors for about $170. Maybe even less than that. $65 just for labor, but I have a good mechanic like that

11/3/2005 11:29:15 AM

yeah but you dont drive an 04 CLK

all you kids are talking about your own cars and giving this guy halfass information so he thinks he got screwed.

if you drive a benz, f&r brakes for $800 is par for the course. its a fact of life, get over it or buy a honda.

[/thread]

11/3/2005 11:31:18 AM