Just dropped my 2009 Pathinder LE at the dealer for new brakes.

$460 for new front brakes and rotars

and he said that I will probably need new pads and re-surfaced rotars on the rear as well and that would be $290.

Is this a fair price or am I getting ripped off?

The car only has 42k miles, it seems a bit early to be replacing the brakes.

Does seem a bit early. But not crazy depending on driving habits.

Learn how to do brakes yourself, it doesn't get much easier for DIY. You could do both pads and rotors up front for $150 and an hour, two at most your first time. Nothing more complicated than turning a wrench and tightening c-clamp.

Only changing the oil is easier as you don't even need to jack these up to drain them .

Stealerships give me hives.

If you're braking hard enough to actually need pads/rotors at that mileage, change your brake fluid as well. Your calipers will thank you.

-DPF

Bandy1080 wrote:Just dropped my 2009 Pathinder LE at the dealer for new brakes.

$460 for new front brakes and rotars

and he said that I will probably need new pads and re-surfaced rotars on the rear as well and that would be $290.

Is this a fair price or am I getting ripped off?

The car only has 42k miles, it seems a bit early to be replacing the brakes.

seems a bit early to me too
if it's not too late, call them & have them save the old parts for you, for inspection
"stealerships give me cramps"

What are your driving habits like? 42K does seem early for the rotors to require replacement/resurfacing. I would have assumed that you must do a good amount of highway driving to have 42K miles on an '09, but if that were the case then your brakes shouldn't need replacement already.

Wow $460 for front brakes and rotors seems really high but you did go to the dealer so you are paying extra for the Nissan parts and their operating and shop costs. 42K seems early on the rotors but maybe you are hard on your brakes and it was necessary. When it comes down to brakes its always best to replace if there is any question of safety.

If you want to DIY your rear brakes you can find decent house brand or Wagner rotors for about $50-70 each from your local auto parts store and good brake pads for about $40-50. Many auto parts stores such as O"Reilly will also turn rotors for about $30 a set.

The pathfinder was used for highway and city driving but I am constantly stuck in Boston traffic every morning and evening so I assume thats why the brakes wore so fast. Also I bought it pre-owned with 33k on it already so I have no clue how the other driver drove it.

I already bit the bullet with the dealership on this one, but I am considering going elsewhere for the rear brakes. Could my local mechanic install the OEM brakes on it? Would I have to purchase the pars for him or is that something he could handle?

Sorry for being so naive, I don't even change my own oil....

As a rule we don't skim the dics (rotors) it's too much of a short term solution and it merely decreases the discs ability to dissipate heat and it messes up the new pads that much faster. Check for yourself if your discs are worn and have a large "lip". Cheaper - in the long run - to replace if needed.

If you have a slight wobble when braking then they could be warped - this also happens easier when discs are skimmed.

You guys get great mileage on your brake compounds! Our avg is 10k miles and driven lightly on our African ("rip off") compound.

Agreed, it's not worth turning rotors. Just replace them if they're getting thin or have developed a nice lip.

$490 is a lot of cash, but not out of the ordinary for a dealer job. Indy would probably be $350-$400.

You can order OEM parts from somewhere like autohausaz, and have them shipped free if you plan ahead. Maybe do that for the rears.

Again, nothing saves money like learning to do at least some of this yourself. I just replaced the wife's entire worn-out suspension on her 325i, saved myself literally thousands of dollars between better prices for parts and the labor rates/hrs they'd "calculate" for the job.

-DPF

Bandy1080 wrote:The pathfinder was used for highway and city driving but I am constantly stuck in Boston traffic every morning and evening so I assume thats why the brakes wore so fast. Also I bought it pre-owned with 33k on it already so I have no clue how the other driver drove it.

I already bit the bullet with the dealership on this one, but I am considering going elsewhere for the rear brakes. Could my local mechanic install the OEM brakes on it? Would I have to purchase the pars for him or is that something he could handle?

Sorry for being so naive, I don't even change my own oil....

Basically any mechanic can do a brake job, and any reputable mechanic will install parts you carry in and only charge you shop fees and labor. At least this way you know for sure what is being put on your vehicle. Some small shops make a huge markup on parts and they may give you a hard time in which case you might want to find a new place to do business with. For example I got quoted $95 parts cost on a valve cover gasket for my Ford from the local oil and tire place but it was a $40 part at NAPA.

deezx5 wrote: Basically any mechanic can do a brake job, and any reputable mechanic will install parts you carry in and only charge you shop fees and labor. At least this way you know for sure what is being put on your vehicle. Some small shops make a huge markup on parts and they may give you a hard time in which case you might want to find a new place to do business with. For example I got quoted $95 parts cost on a valve cover gasket for my Ford from the local oil and tire place but it was a $40 part at NAPA.

having been on the "reputable mechanic" end of this for quite a few years, please allow me to point out just a few (of many) reasons that it is beneficial to purchase your repair parts from who is installing them for you:
1) many times, and for many reasons, provided parts are incorrect. this sometimes doubles (at least) the amount of time to get the job done (phone calls, down time, tied up lifts, etc). shops charge & are paid for on the basis of time. who pays for the additional time & effort? if the shop made the error in ordering, they should incur the additional expense. if the customer who provides the parts or the person(s) who sold them to the customer makes an error, would you expect the shop to incur the expense?
2) in the event that provided parts are defective, would you expect the mechanic to stand behind the additional labor to remedy the situation?
3)if a shop bills a customer for labor only, they are making less money than if they were selling the parts with the job. expecting them to charge the same will not build a good customer/shop relationship. if a repair shop can make a reasonable profit on the parts that you buy from them, it will, in the long run, benefit both the shop and the customer, by allowing it to be a more profitable, and therefore, more healthy & stable business.

dieselfan wrote:As a rule we don't skim the dics (rotors) it's too much of a short term solution

There is a minimum thickness for every rotor. If the rotor is machined within that tolerance it's not more prone to warp or crack than any other rotor. I have had replaced and turned rotors on my wifes Altima and neither one makes it past 30,000 miles without warping. I had the front rotors turned on my '05 Pathfinder at 46,000 miles and currently have a little over 70,000 on the rotors. Best of all it only cost $8.00 to have them done at a local shop and I still have the original pads that came on it when it rolled out of the factory. I'm not easy on them either, I tow a boat and utility trailer quite often, so that brake job sounds quite early to me. I'd request to see the parts they pulled off.

Bandy1080 wrote:Just dropped my 2009 Pathinder LE at the dealer for new brakes.

$460 for new front brakes and rotars

and he said that I will probably need new pads and re-surfaced rotars on the rear as well and that would be $290.

Is this a fair price or am I getting ripped off?

The car only has 42k miles, it seems a bit early to be replacing the brakes.

Sorry, it's a rip off.

When you apply brakes, if it wobbles/shakes then the rotors need to be turned.

If the brakes feel smooth, change the pads for $100+ at home. Took me 45 minutes to change both sides (front only) using OEM jack. LOL

As for the rear, didn't bother checking as the rears tend not to wear out as fast as the fronts.

Parts for what he has quoted should not cost more then about $320.

He is RIPPING YOU OFF BIG TIME! HE can argue that the rest of the charge is labor, but that is ridiculous, with labor this should not be about $400-$430 altogether. Go elsewhere or do it yourself.

eieio wrote:

deezx5 wrote: Basically any mechanic can do a brake job, and any reputable mechanic will install parts you carry in and only charge you shop fees and labor. At least this way you know for sure what is being put on your vehicle. Some small shops make a huge markup on parts and they may give you a hard time in which case you might want to find a new place to do business with. For example I got quoted $95 parts cost on a valve cover gasket for my Ford from the local oil and tire place but it was a $40 part at NAPA.

having been on the "reputable mechanic" end of this for quite a few years, please allow me to point out just a few (of many) reasons that it is beneficial to purchase your repair parts from who is installing them for you:
1) many times, and for many reasons, provided parts are incorrect. this sometimes doubles (at least) the amount of time to get the job done (phone calls, down time, tied up lifts, etc). shops charge & are paid for on the basis of time. who pays for the additional time & effort? if the shop made the error in ordering, they should incur the additional expense. if the customer who provides the parts or the person(s) who sold them to the customer makes an error, would you expect the shop to incur the expense?
2) in the event that provided parts are defective, would you expect the mechanic to stand behind the additional labor to remedy the situation?
3)if a shop bills a customer for labor only, they are making less money than if they were selling the parts with the job. expecting them to charge the same will not build a good customer/shop relationship. if a repair shop can make a reasonable profit on the parts that you buy from them, it will, in the long run, benefit both the shop and the customer, by allowing it to be a more profitable, and therefore, more healthy & stable business.

A reputable mechanic also won't kill you on parts by marking up 100%+ yet most places seem to do this especially on things like brake pads if you want to go above house brand quality. I know that an auto shop is a business not a charity but pads and rotors are a fairly common parts not generally known to fail. If the OP was having an alternator or engine repair etc... then I agree that the shop is probably the best parts source if they stand by their work and offer a warranty on parts and labor.

Thanks for all the advice on this. I think for the rear brakes I am going to go to my local mechanic (that I trust) and see about him doing the brakes. I will see if I have to purchase the OEM parts or if he could just order them.