330 Brake questions

saph23 · Apr 5, 2005

Hi,
I'm not very knowledgeable on cars and could use some advice from you avid 3 Series BMW drives. I have 2002 330 CI with 26,000 miles. The brake pad light just came on. I brought the car to midas for a free brake inspection. They said I needed the whole gambit........4 pads, 4 rotars, sensors, cleaning of caliber and quoted by $1,000. He mentioned the parts where made by brembel (not sure of spelling) but were a step up from orinal parts from car. He also said brembel come with the car as well.

I called a local BMW dealership and they quoted me $770 for the whole gambit (pads, rotars, sensors).

I'll probably bring the car to the dealership, with the hope I only need pads. Would it be normal to need pads, rotars, and sensors this early? Do you think replacing the pads would be sufficient? Should I shop around for a car shop that can do the job cheaper, or just stick with the dealership? I don't hear any abnormal noises, just the brake light sensor come on.

Thanks for your advice.

aNoodle · Apr 5, 2005

The sensor goes off before you hear the squeek. But I've notice the safety squeek will come pretty soon after the light comes on. I don't even bother to replace the sensors anymore, I think they're redundant.

I've been hit by the dealership with that nonsense....once they said I needed new pads AND rotors...right after I replaced the rear rotors myself. Haha. I think it's the standard thing they add whenever somebody brings their car in. LOL

But your brake light came on...so definitely your pads are getting low. I replace my own pads and rotors. I've averaged about 2-3 pad replacements for every rotor. I've always been happy with BMW OEM. Their parts are very reasonably priced. The stealerships will pretend both have to replaced every time. You can buy a caliper though, that would be the best way to measure the thickness of your rotors to make sure they haven't worn down past the recommended thickness.

Kirby · Apr 5, 2005

$1000 is very high for this work, I would definitely take the dealer's quote over being "Midasized". It is not unusual to need at a minimum front pads every 20K to 30K miles. It may or may not need front rotors, IMHO, if you have not heard any grinding noises, I question that it needs rotors with 26K miles on them.

Rear pads can last longer, and rear rotors definitely last longer. 65% - 75% of your braking energy is done by the front, that is why they wear out faster.

I just did brakes on my '94 325i. Here is what it cost. The parts for a 330 are bigger/heavier and will cost a bit more:

Pads - EBC Street/Autocross performance pads - $110 total, front and rear (more expensive than stock pads)
Rear Rotors - $75 for the pair, BMW orginals from the dealership
Sensors - $30 for a pair (one front, one rear)

So the parts for my94 325 were around $225. If you do get rotors all the way around, maybe $400 in parts for a 330? With maybe 4 hours (generous) labor @ $80 = $320 I can see a $700 cost at the dealer, so I don't think they are ripping you off, but it's not a great deal either. Midas is hosing you.

Bmw 325i 7803 · Apr 5, 2005

I wouldn't even let midas touch my car. If I needed brakes and it wasn't under warranty, I would either do it myself or go to a reputable BMW repair shop in the area...

In your case I would take the dealers $700 estimate, not bad at all.

zman · Apr 5, 2005

aNoodle said:

AMEN!

I think this is one of any dealers' techniques to make money. [boxface]

I have also been hit with similar statement of my wife car (Mazda).

I know I have changed an oil transmission and its filter 1 month before I brought it to the dealer for some work other than maintenance. Then, they come to me offered me maintenance service. I guess they took some fluid out of my car and they put them on a clear test tube. They then compared the new fuild color and the old one in front of me.

I noticed the transmission fluid that I had just replaced was black!

I believe they took dirty fluid from somewhere else and presented to me. [screwy]

bmwrocks · Apr 5, 2005

zman said:

Did you call them on this? I would have REAL NICELY asked them to extract the fluid with me watching just to be sure, cause I "can't believe it could be that dirty". What do you think they would have done?

Sorry for the hijack......I think it is BMWs policy to replace the rotors as part of a brakejob. I like Kirby's method better though. Seems more normal than BMWs method of all new parts.

saph23 · Apr 6, 2005

Thanks for all the advice. I found a car shop that works on European cars. The owner showed me the wear on one of the rotors by measuring it and and says it's pretty common for the newer BMW's to wear this quickly. He quoted me $713 for 4 pads, 4 rotors, & 2 sensors. Of that price, the parts were $517, labor and tax was the remaining $200. I called a few other places and the two dealerships in my area quoted $770 & $1000 respectively. Midas was $1000 and Olin Mott was $850. Amazing how the quotes varied so much. I'll never bring my car to Midas again, I just thought a free brake inspection was worth the look. I didn't realize they were so unreputable.

Anyways, thanks again for all your advice.

northstar · Apr 6, 2005

May be some of you guys can shed some lights on this issue. I thought that the brakes and rotors are covered under the " BMW Maintenance Programs ". I have a 2003 330i and the following is quoted from the 2003 " Service and Warranty Information" booklet:

Full Maintenance covers all factory recommended maintenance, as dertermined by the service interval indicator. Additional items that need replacement due to normal wear and tear, and that are not covered by the original New Vehicle Limited Warranty - such as brake pads, brake rotor, and wiper blades - are included, provided wear and tear exceeds BMW specifications.

bmwrocks · Apr 6, 2005

northstar said:

May be some of you guys can shed some lights on this issue. I thought that the brakes and rotors are covered under the " BMW Maintenance Programs ". I have a 2003 330i and the following is quoted from the 2003 " Service and Warranty Information" booklet:

Full Maintenance covers all factory recommended maintenance, as dertermined by the service interval indicator. Additional items that need replacement due to normal wear and tear, and that are not covered by the original New Vehicle Limited Warranty - such as brake pads, brake rotor, and wiper blades - are included, provided wear and tear exceeds BMW specifications.

You are 100% correct, it is covered. My stealership replaced my rotors and brake pads on my X5 before the warranty was out, all for free.

northstar · Apr 6, 2005

Thank you for the reply bmwrocks.

To saph23, I would talk to you BMW service advisor about this. I do not think that you need to paid for the brakes since your vehicle should be still under warranty.

saph23 · Apr 7, 2005

My car is past the 3 yr service warranty. I purchased the car November 2001. The had the car serviced by them after year 1 and back in June of this year (2.5 yrs from purchase) they performed inspection I. I guess the brakes were fine in June, so they didn't change them out. I brought the car back for a sunroof probably in Jan of 2005, but they didn't service the car. At that time, they told me I was past the service warranty and anything I had to pay for any services. I left a message with the GM of the dealership hoping he'll help me out. I've been told different things on how often I need to service the car. At first they told me to bring it in every year, then another service person told me the car would tell me when to bring it in. It sucks that the light didn't come on in Jan when I brought the car in, they might have made an exception since it was so close to the 3 yr mark.

GuyShark · Apr 7, 2005

Will they do a brake job if the sensor is not on?

I just got my 325, and its got 49K miles on it. 1K more and I'm outta warranty.
I do not know the past service record.

I suppose I should bring it in for a general inspection before it goes over 50K, so any "soon to be problems" can be fixed, under warranty.

Bmw 325i 7803 · Apr 8, 2005

That's correct only on 2004 and 2005 models did BMW extend the free maintenance for the length of the warranty 4yrs/50k... The 2003 and previous ones are 3yrs/36k, so if you leased a 2003 325i (45k total lease mileage) and had 15k a year as your alloted mileage once you pass 36k if you need brakes or an oil change before you turn it in, the cost is on you.

Guyshark: your maintenance warranty is up, so since you're paying for it, they'll do ANY job you'd like (brakes included).

northstar · Apr 8, 2005

I have a 2003 330i. I saved the original sticker from the vehicle and it states
" 4 years/50,000 miles Full Maintenance Program " on the sheet.

To saph23: Sorry, I did not know that it was 3 yrs/36k miles in the previous years.

I am still learning the history of the BMW cars.

SplinterPDC · Apr 10, 2005

60K original brakes and rotars.

GuyShark · Apr 11, 2005

Bmw 325i 7803 said:

D'oh!

Thanks though.

selavia · Apr 11, 2005

saph23 said:

My Dad once took his Camry to Midas for the Timing Belt. They replaced and didn't readjust the degree for the camshaft. So he was driving home and the engine would shake violently if he took it past 2500 rpms. He had to pay the Toyota dealer an extra $80 to fix it; and when Toyota adjusted it, they said that who ever replaced the timing belt changed NONE of the seals. (BTW, Midas charged for changing all of the seals) Bastards.

I dunno why these quotes are so high. All four of my brakes pads, rotors, sensors where replaced with upgraded pads for $560 including labor.

Sean

saph23 · Apr 25, 2005

Where did you replace your pads, rotors & sensors for $560? Did they put in the OEM parts? Just curious because I called about 5-7 places and $700 was the cheapest by far.

ddone · Jun 21, 2005

Informational...

I have a 2003 325i and the brake indicator went off at 24.9K miles.
Dealership replaced front pads and rotors (under free maintenance)
for free. However, the advisor indicated that a typical cost
for 4 wheels of pads and rotors runs $725 USD.

Chesty Bonds · Jun 21, 2005

I wouldn't let Midas go near my car if they were the last servicing shop on the planet.

330 Brake questions

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