Brakes
 

Hello fellow BMWowners,

I have an '03 3.0 with 42K miles and my brake light came off (yellow) for the first time. I am out of warranty and would like to keep this cost as minimal as possible. I would most likely need the change the front and the rear sets.

A local mechanic (I am in Boston, MA) quoted me ~1000 and a Bristol Motors in Hartford, CT said they can do it around 800-880 in 3 hours. Since it is a safety issue do you recommend that I buy the original parts and go to a BMW dealership - just to be safe and on the record? Would anyone recommend an independent mechanic (in or around Boston) that would change my brakes for a reasonable price?

How much did you pay for yours? What would be a reasonable estimate, provided that I am not upgrading any of the original parts?

Thank you in advance,

Peabody Mass

Louies BMW LTD
260 Newbury St
Peabody Mass

978-535-3450

One of the best ......in my opinion.

Only works on BMWs

I think I am going to buy the parts and then go to a place to get it done. Can someone guide me in the right direction as to what and where to buy?

Many thanks,

here you got !
http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...ns-brakes.html

Thanks!

Does anyone know how many miles I can go without damaging anything, after the brake light turns yellow?

Help me understand your situ...you need brakes, (pads & maybe/probably rotors),
and you want to go buy those parts, and then take those parts to a mechanic for
him to install?

Not sure I have run across many quality shops that encourage the customer to bring
in his their own maintenance parts.
GL,mD

Most shops won't let customers bring in part b/c the 'warranty' on the work can't / won't be offered with customer-sourced parts. The truth is that they make a profit on the parts (this is normal).

This warranty excuse is generally BS especially if you're buying / using OEM parts. Bavarian Autohaus in NH is a reputable BMW parts source.

Brakes and rotor replacement is one of the easier DIY repairs. If you don't wanna do it or lack the tools, a local shop can put them in for you.

I would avoid the chain shops (Midas, Jiffy Lube) and use a local mechanic (i.e. the shell station) someone who you trust. You don't need a BMW specialist to do this kind of work.

GL

My indy mechanic is very good and lets me bring my own parts. He even tells me if I can do better on ebay or wherever. My mechanic says he makes at most 10% on parts.

Thank you all for responding. I am learning a lot.

Quote:

"Help me understand your situ...you need brakes, (pads & maybe/probably rotors), and you want to go buy those parts, and then take those parts to a mechanic for him to install? "

Yes, I was thinking about that. I figured if I can save more than $200 and buy better parts, why not? The thing is that doing this at a dealership is way too much money and I don't know a trustworthy indy around here. If an indy (that would do all 4 for 800) use cheaper parts and tell me that they used OEM parts, I wouldn't know the difference. The only way to make sure is to buy the parts myself.You have a point there.

Quote:

"Most shops won't let customers bring in part b/c the 'warranty' on the work can't / won't be offered with customer-sourced parts. The truth is that they make a profit on the parts (this is normal). This warranty excuse is generally BS especially if you're buying / using OEM parts. Bavarian Autohaus in NH is a reputable BMW parts source."

Thanks for the NH source. Would they do it if I say, just give me a warranty on the labor quality or that I don't want a warranty on parts? You are right, I don't have the tools or the garage space, unfortunately. Still want to save some money though. And if I can learn a little about parts, all the better - since I plan to keep this car for a while.

Quote:

"I would avoid the chain shops (Midas, Jiffy Lube) and use a local mechanic (i.e. the shell station) someone who you trust. You don't need a BMW specialist to do this kind of work."

Really? Nice. Very useful info. So brakes are brakes then. Thanks!

Quote:

"My indy mechanic is very good and lets me bring my own parts. He even tells me if I can do better on ebay or wherever. My mechanic says he makes at most 10% on parts."

Question: I know indys usually order the parts. When I pay, am I paying the shipping expense as well? If they don't charge me shipping, say they have it there in stock, it might be more practical to pay them to 10% mark up, since I'll pay ~$60 for shipping it seems.

FYI, the only reason I am trying to save every penny is that I need to buy all new tires very soon and also need to re-tint the entire car (they are coming off) in the next 2 months or so.

Here is my experience with previous cars: it is nice to find a local independent shop that you can see has worked on and mainly works on BMWs and start taking your car there... it pays off in the long run to form a good relationship with such shop, even if you end up paying 10% more now.

Here is a quick search on your local craigslist that 'claim' they do only BMWs... if these are shops, you can drop by and talk with them perhaps?

http://boston.craigslist.org/search/...BMW&srchType=T

Here in SF Bay area, independent shops are advertising complete front/rear brakes with BMW/OEM parts for about $800 or so.

With brakes, I would go with genuine BMW parts myself, but that is just me.

When I worked in an independent shop, we would install the customer's own parts, but we strongly discouraged it. It was just more trouble than it was worth. Any problems afterwards, and the customer wanted warranty. We would write 'customer parts, labour warranty only' on the work order and sometimes the customer would be upset, and ask why we wouldn't stand behind his parts. When you got the vehicle apart and found that the parts didn't fit (not an uncommon occurence), and you had to either put it back together or tie up a bay, we either charged for the trouble or just ate it and swore we would never do it again.

For parts, we charged the same price the dealer did, and just made the margin our discount allowed, for OEM parts. We would also offer non-OEM alternatives, it was the customer's choice. We made recommendations if asked. I installed a lot of Repco-PBR pads (now called Axxis in the US) If the customer wanted, we would save the old parts and give them to him in the OEM boxes. We always saved them in case they asked to see them. Frankly, if he was doing it because he didn't trust us we got a little ticked off, as we were booked weeks in advance and just didn't need the hassle, we had plenty of regular customers and turned away work most weeks.

There was no freight charge that went to the customer, unless we were bringing in specialty parts from outside the country, as we had parts delivered every day on a scheduled run (for which we ate the freight ourselves, as a business overhead) and also had the dealer deliver at no charge.

The experiences I have recounted here may not be entirely typical. There are lots of shops that don't work as we did. At the same time, there are many that do. What you need is a shop you can trust. If you don't know one, ask around and get some recommendations. Trust is more important than BMW experience. If we worked on a specialty car and didn't know something unique to that vehicle, it was our problem and not the customer's. There is nothing about X5 brakes that would have stopped us from doing the job and standing behind it. I occasionally need to find a shop these days as it is a long drive back to the shop I worked at, and I don't have full facilities at home. I go into a local shop and talk to the manager, asking questions, and see what kinds of answers I get. I can usually get a sense of whether it is the type of place that I want to give my business to.

Hope this helps.

If I was an independent mechanic and only made 10% on parts I would find a new parts supplier. Sounds like he is a hobbyist and not a business.

No, because we don't know how much each pad is worn. The sensors are only on two wheels (front left and right rear). I have driven several hundred kilometers (150 miles) with the light on, but I have also seen cases where the RF pads are worn completely before the light comes on on the LF.

You know I'm not sure but I don't think they usually charge for the shipping and you're probably right as far as saving on shipping.

Again, I have a very very good relationship with my indy mech. So, he tells me everything - what he can get them for, what he recommends and why. Then he lets me see if I can get a better price, especially dealer parts, because they don't get a big discount contrary to what people would think. At least I know where, when and what I can save money on.

Basically, he lets me choose everything. I realize this is not the norm but its really not that difficult if you just make nice and try to be friends! Not only do you get a new friend but you save a bunch of mulah too! :thumbup:

This is not a one person shop. They have several mechanics and specialize on imports and have been around awhile. I just happen to be friends with the two brothers who are mechanics and just happen to be the owners too. It helped me get along with them as they are big F1 and Ayrton Senna fans like me. :thumbup:

I respect your opinion but want to let you know my experience. Also, majority of their business is repeat/word of mouth.

Fair enough :thumbup:

All I am saying is that it seems he is willing to build a relationship with his customers, which is a good thing. If he did the same with his suppliers, and managed his purchases (supply chain) as well as he did his shop, he could likely establish several key suppliers that let him make a reasonable markup on parts. As a customer, you would benefit from that. He sounds like a good mechanic, but management of a small business is more than pulling wrenches. That is just my experience from years in the business. The economics in your city/state may be different.