Hey guys,

My 2004 with 70k needs the pads and rotors replaced up front and the dealership wants $900 for parts and labor; that seemed a little high to me. What have you guys done in the past, gone after market or a combo stock pads and after market rotors? If after market please recommend a model/brand for me.


Thanks again

 

I went with Racing Brake rotors and stock pads for normal driving. There are vendors on this site that carry that brand also. Doing your own brake work is not as hard as it seems, can you do basic repairs?

 

That does seem high. A set of Carbotech Pads for the street (I've never bought stock pads) were around $250 for all 4 corners, as I recall.
Couple hundred for front rotors.
I can swap my brake pads on all 4 corners in about 20 minutes (including taking the wheels on and off.) Not a whole bunch of extra labour to get the rotors off. You should be able to do it your self in an hour or two if you take your time.

 

Thanks guys, for $400 shipped Racing brakes can set me up with Hawk pads and RB rotors. That's way cheaper than the dealer.

 

If you are going to do the rotors yourself(which is pretty easy), go get yourself an impact screwdriver right now............you will need it!

 

i find it surprising you need new rotors, i'm at a 140 000km and i'm just thinking about changing mine now. i'm very hard on brakes 2 sets of stock pads a season i track the car very often at least 8 events a season.

 

^agree with Nate

They just saying you need new rotors or do you KNOW u need new rotors? Did you wear the pad down so it was scrapping on metal? Are there any deep rings cut into your rotors? or are they pretty smooth? Have a close look and most likely you will only need pads. $60 for rear OEM DIY 20min.

 

True enough, the pads are down to 2mm but I'm not sure what to look for on the rotors they look fine to me. What sort of mileage has anyone else got out of the cars before the rotors where changed?

 

I find it hard to believe that the dealer wanted $900.00 to replace front pads and rotors only. There must have been other jobs added to get to that figure. If you did let your pads get down to 2mm, do you feel a pulsation when you apply the brakes hard? If you do, then the rotors need replacing as well. If you pm me I will give you a quote using Hawk HPS pads with your choice of OEM rotors or drilled, slotted or J-slot. I guarantee it will be a lot less than $900.00

 

I really, really need to avoid my local dealership...

I paid about $800 for the four rotors only. Bought the Hawk pads and did it myself... Goddamn.

 

alan even if he does feel pulsation when braking he can have his rotors machined as long as they would stay within spec. iv had mine done. i'm now below spec and need to get them done at this is at 140 00km i've herd from a few people that rotors on the 8 last a extremely long time.

 

I take back my initial reply! I just priced front brakes with all OEM parts, and the price of the rotors are $248.00 each at retail, the pads are $100.00 and labor $216.00. I believe the rotor pricing has gone up because they are now all cadmium plated. So if I take the retail price of all the parts and labor its $816.00 plus taxes. The club pricing on the front brakes would be $692.00 plus taxes. We can still supply premium aftermarket rotors at a lower price. In my opinion it is not a good idea to machine rotors as they are thin to begin with, and taking material off just dramatically shortens the rotors life.

 

Sterling where you located man? Go buy some aftermarket stuff from Al and I don't mind giving ya a hand at installing them. Doesn't take long at all.

 

You know what else wouldn't take long? Installing some ******* centre caps on your damn rims. :P

 

Gee I didn't believe others when they said you are retarded, but I guess you are...and I will tell you once again simpleton...There are NO centre caps available for my rims! Does that process, does that compute??

 

I too went with Racing Brake rotors and needed them sooner than I had thought I would. I went with Hawk Ceramic pads rather then the stock for low noise & dust.

The DIY's here are very good. Take your time, use jack stands, and I'm sure you can do it.

As always the proper tools make the difference, e.g. a hand impact driver for the front rotor retaining scews and a piston retractor toolset for the rear calipers (front pistons may be retracted by a 'C' clamp or large slip joint pliers). Harborfreight.com is a great place to pick up these occasional use tools at minimal cost.

 

You love DIY right? Make your own then doofus!

 

Hey at least I'm no coffee boy and actually get my hands dirty

I'm no machinist

 

Hey Gents; went to get my 2004 (33,000kms) 8 safetied last week and the dealer said my rear calipers were ceased and I needed to have them completely taken apart; greased and needed new pads. I told the sales manager I would complete the repairs and be back to get my sticker.

Went to ebay and bought front/rear pads for 100$ CDN and went to work. Took each caliper completely apart and investigated Mazdas findings. You know what I found wrong?

NOTHING.

The caliper components including the pads were still brand new and all came apart like greased butter (compression braking always better for wear).

I can not wait to talk to the sales manager when I go back for my sticker on Friday; I will ask which mechanic suggested these issues and make a complaint.

 

Damn dealers I wouldnt trust them! lol

 

^ go get 'em. Less then reputable dealers/shops love to sell you brakes (needed or not) as there's such a large profit margin in it for them.

 

Let me guess, it was either Steele Mazda or City Mazda? Both have a terrible reputation. I know of multiple instances of Steele doing work that was not required (or requested) without checking with the owner, and then billing them for it.
Part of the reason I've done all my own work since my car came out of the free-maintenance warranty period.

 

Another benefit to doing your own service is that even if at some point you don't have the time or interest to do it, at least you'll know if a dealer/shop is BS'g you or not!

 

City Mazda for the loss! I will still go there to show them their not as sly as they think!

 

StalkBlock: Ahh.. it sounded like City. A person I know who owns a body shop (and gets his Mazda parts from them) called up saying they had an RX-8 that they were moving into the shop, stalled it, and now it wouldn't start. What should they do? Person on the phone from City told them to tow it up to speed in 2nd gear and drop the clutch... (which I suppose would work.. but wow.. bad advice.)
Good luck with them. They are so crooked they make me sick. A few years ago during the Rolling Stones concert, they moved a bunch of their cars off the lot and parked them in the street to take up all the parking, and then charged people money to park on their lot for the concert.