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My 2012 Berlingo needs some new brake parts, pads as a minimum probably some new discs too as MOT had an advisory in August saying one of the front discs is a bit pitted etc.
So in typical worst case scenario style I went to to local garage and asked for a price for new pads and discs front and rear. They quoted over 900. Figured I would get a few quotes before committing to this. Medium sized garage with locations throughout the east mids quoted about £850. Then a more national garage quoted a bit under 600 (they do a more fixed price scheme) this is factoring in the rear discs housing the wheel bearings too.
What am I missing here? I get that buying power of a more national place could make things cheaper but there is a big old difference in price. I have no idea if each place would be using the same quality parts, or the more expensive quotes would be using F1 standard race bits and cheaper quote would not. If all quotes were broadly equal I would have no problem using the local garage, but the quotes aren't equal.
Is it a terrible idea to go for the cheapest quote? Will whatever they fit last half the time of what a local place fits? These are the kinds of things I am asking myself!
The car is booked in for a free brake check to give me an idea of exactly what work is required so obviously it may not be worst case scenario, but I am preparing myself for the worst!
All of the above are mental prices! I've recently bought a complete MOT'd Porsche for less than youre paying for Berlingo brakes!
Berlingo's are van based - parts prices are generally cheap to entice fleet buyers. My M59 (2004year Berlingo) is the cheapest car for parts I've ever owned.
The above garages will use whoever their local parts supplier is - might be OEM spec but probably won't be coated discs for example.
Price the parts up on Autodoc - choose ATE for brake discs (they are OEM for a lot of manufactures including Volvo), i use them in mine. Pads by Mintex/Brembo/whoever.
Either fit them yourself or get a local back street garage to fit them.
In all honesty, its the sort of job that is so easy to do yourself. Id use some of the budget to buy the tools, jack, axle stands, decent socket set and get a handy mate round to guide you through it so you'd be confident in future
recently done my Mazda brakes discs and pads front, rear pads, 2 control arms and it cost me little over 300 for mid range parts and an afternoon drinking coffee
a competent garage should be able to smash out front pads and discs in 1-2 hours of work IMHO id give myself an hour a side working on the ground
B9 Berlingo rear disks are surprisingly expensive, but for pads and disks front and rear I recently paid £180ish for just parts.
That should be around 2-3 hours labour max at a garage.
£600 doesn't seem like a bad price.
if th disks are just pitted and have plenty of material on them you can get them skimmed.
tbh it'll just wear off - on a 12 year old car I'd just swap the pads and be done with it
I don't know about Berlingos but you can't always assume that what should be an easy job actually is. For instance changing the pads on my Transit is a doddle but the front discs are behind the hub - the bolt is at 450N/m, which i can't get off, and removing the hub often destroys the wheel bearing. Stupid design, for me that's a garage job for what should be something simple.
For reference that was about £350 for discs, pads and wheel bearings at the front, not too dissimilar to the OP's £600 for both ends
The cheapest quote may not be the best option if the brake parts are of low quality or the service is poor. You may end up spending more money on repairs or replacements in the long run. You should look for a balance between price and quality
I used to work on my own cars as a teen. I stopped for 30+ years but now doing everything I can on my old Caravelle.
Discs and pads I have been doing for ever on all our cars as generally its been really easy and cheap to do it myself. I bought some good axle stands and for years I used the cars own jack. Obv depends on the job. Take a look on YT sometimes its easy 😉
Those are completely bonkers prices. I did the brakes on SWMBO's Berlingo van for a fraction of that. Ive just checked the invoice for pads & discs in 2020 which came to £83.57. Front discs and pads for my T6 were £200 only a few days ago, the Berlingo parts will definitely be cheaper. Obvs things have gone up but at those prices I'd be doing this myself. Lots of very helpful vids on YouTube. If you were anywhere nearby id give you a hand. I'd allow an hour a side start to finish including getting all the required tools out. Id be surprised if it took a garage an hour to complete that job.
Edit. Those are over the counter parts prices for a punter. Trade will be getting the stuff at a hefty discount. Even the cheapest quote at £600.00 is extortionate.
For instance changing the pads on my Transit is a doddle but the front discs are behind the hub
I had a Transhit and it was the worst designed POS I've ever owned. I loved having a van but hated that it was a Transit.
My M59 front brakes are easy - the only issue being that it needs a largish torx (t55? IIRC) for a bolt that has a fairly shallow head. I was concerned that it might round out when I did the brakes for the first time in my ownership.
The rears are harder (I think), IIRC you need a large sized torque wrench to do the hub nut up.
Prices do seem very high, I'd want to know what brands they are quoting.
If you are going to order from Autodoc - ONLY buy from them on a Monday or Tuesday. The prices start on Monday at their lowest (usually 43% off) and discounts are progressively reduced through to Friday/The weekend when people make distress purchases.
Same with ECP etc, just like a Dominos pizza, never ever payy the full price.
As for DIY - yes, generally, its very easy, I always do brakes myself, indeed did my C Class Discs/Pads front and rear this weekend. No garage is going to repaint the calipers, polish the sliding pins, treat the hub mountign flanges, check and adjust the wheel bearings, dress the hub and bolt threads, clean and ACF-50 the brake pipe joints, etc etc...
However, as we have seen on this very forum many times with various 'help' threads, there are many things that can trip up your entry level/first time DIYers.
I snapped an Impact Torx bit in the front left disc retaining screw - it needed a centre punch, cobalt tipped drill bits, cutting fluid, grinder and blade, impact driver, various grips, and tap and die set to rescue it and finish the job - I have all that stuff to hand but only through experience and often the beginner, doing it on their shiny new Halfords jack and stands on the street might not.
Other classic gotchas:
- Mazda MX-5 rear brake calipers and stripping splined edjuster key after attempting to push back calipers that wind, not push.
- VW Triple Square caliper mounting bolts
- Mercedes 7mm Hex Caliper mounting bolts
- Various - Diagnostic tool required to wind back electronic handbrake motor to get caliper over new pads
etc etc....
Always do your research and check the tool requirements first. Berlingo, for instacne, I beleive usesa combined rear rotor/wheel bearing asssembly. You'd want to know what your getting yourslf into before its 4pm on Sunday and your wondering if its possible to get a train to work on Monday!
Oh and - dont put new pads on old discs that look "ok, i guess, bit more life left in them maybe". Theres nothing worse than people who do that then halfway through the life of the new pads, the discs are now completely f*cked, massive lips, so rusty they wont come off, etc etc...
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Looks pretty straightforward, bearing is inc in the rear discs on the YT video here. Yes a few slightly less common tools but pretty standard stuff, and even buying some tools you can save a lot of money here. Obviously not everyone's bag but I have always done my own discs and pads and you can save a lot. I buy a few tools each job I do with my 'savings'. Give it go 🙂
I used to do my own spannering but stopped about 10 years ago. Recently started again as costs are crazy. Oil and filter change was about £60 in parts, garage wanted nearly £180 !
Discs were the same. Needed doing and the garage were really busy and couldn't do it for a few weeks, so did it myself.
B9 brakes are nothing like ?m59
But still easy enough.
M59 disks are tiny compared to b9.
B9 parts for the brakes are surprisingly expensive comparitively.
Ive done the B9 brakes at the front- not too bad tbh. Rears not yet...
I'm not overly happy with doing work on cars and generally find it pretty stressful, BUT, oil and filter change, and discs and pads is something I reckon is within the abilities of most.
I did the discs and pads on the misusses' 2010 Berlingo maybe 18 months ago, think possibly it was the first time I'd done rear discs so had to get a tool to wind the pistons in, and maybe a bearing puller or something. I guess it depends on your car(s) as to whether it's worth investing.
You'd need a jack, Axel stands, socket set and a couple of other bits, but even with that and parts your going to save a few hundred on even your cheapest quote.
It's quotes like that that have kept me doing car DIY for decades.
But not everyone is able to do it, it takes a bit of practice and confidence to safely jack and support a vehicle, know about torque settings, build up your tools, learn how to deal with a disc that is welded on by corrosion etc.
And I hate giving up a Saturday, it's always winter so not pleasant, but worth it in the end.
If DIY isn't an option then keep getting quotes, a mobile fitter may turn out to be your best bet
I used Clickmechanic for my last cambelt/water pump change, saved about 50% over local Surrey garage prices