After 28,000mi the brake service indicator light has come on permanently. My local dealer (who does all my service) said over the phone that the brake service is $1,200. Ouch.

I will not attempt a service like this myself, regardless of how easy it might be. (I've read the articles on the club site) I don't want to f*** it up and pay for it with my life or someone else's.

So my questions:

Is this a reasonable price?
What should I expect to be performed for this service? All pads? rotors? sensors?
Is 28,000 mi a reasonable average for brake service? (The Cayman is my daily driver 50mi/day in an SF CA commute, i.e., Start/stop driving at 80mph in between for 100 yds at a time-- can't help myself)

Kman-Went

Thanks.

I just had the two-year service on my car. And I live in the EastBay. I have 16000 miles and about 60-70% remaining on my brakes, so that sounds about the right wear rate, all things considered.

Porsche shop rates are like $155/hour. I suspect that a Mitchell Flat Rate manual would state the number of hours. After that it boils down to parts, and consumables. My guess is about 4 houirs labor - tops.

The correct way to do a brake job, according to the workshop manual is to replace the rotors, pads, harware kit, etc. And at the list prices, that sounds within range. Be thankful that you don't have PCCB.

An interesting bit of research might be of benefit to all. I wonder what all of the parts would cost from Suncoast? It may still be several hundred dollars.

The good thing about having the dealer do the work is that they accept some liability for the brakes working correctly.

__________________
*******************************
The search tool is your friend. It is very
likely that your question has already been
answered countless times.Very,very likely.
*******************************
*******************************
Cayman S - a portable amusement park

- 2006 Cayman S
- 2003 Dakota SXT
- 1963 Studebaker Avanti, R2, 4-Speed
*******************************

LL

i believe the dealer will be changing the brake pads, sensors, and rotors. that's why it's so expensive. i read that just yesterday in the forum. here's a link:

Brake maintenance

for that price, i will definitely learn to do it on my own

Someone mentioned here on the site within the last week that PAG recommends replacing the calipers at the same time the rotors are replaced. That would certainly jack the cost way up.

For my own part I don't see the logic of it, except as a profit center for PAG/PCNA -- calipers aren't wear items the way rotors and pads are.

New Textar pads and Zimmermann rotors (OEM AFAIK) for all four corners can be mail ordered for about $660+UPS, though for some reason I wasn't able to locate rear rotors in a cursory search. Full brake service will also include new buffers and warn sensors all around (figure another $200 in parts), and a fluid change and bleed. $1200 actually isn't looking like such a bad deal after all, and they're clearly not replacing the calipers at that price.

OTOH if $1200 just buys "we'll fix anything that looks like it needs fixing", then chances are they're not gonna do pads+rotors+buffers+sensors on all four corners, to pad their profit. Make sure you know what you're getting.

I agree w/ douzzer - if the price they quoted was for new rotors/pads/sensors, then given the cost of Porsche labor, that is probably about what you might expect at a dealer.

You might be able to save money by buying the parts yourself, and taking it to an independent Porsche repair shop.

__________________
My Blogs
2006 CS Tip (Daily Driver & Part-time Track Toy)
2005 Ford Expedition (to haul the CS)
2006 Lexus RX400h (wifey's)
Gone, but not forgotten: 2002 WRX, 2004 MINI

I agree with your opinion, but it's incorrect that PAG recommends routine caliper replacement.

Depending on car useage, the rotors may not need to be replaced at 28k and certainly rotor replacement is not a function of the passage of time (e.g., a 2 year service). If an inspection finds the thickness within spec and no cracks to the edges or joining vent holes, you can defer a large part of that $1,200 quote by waiting until your front and/or rear rotors actually need to be replaced. Unlike brake fluid which is time (as well as use) sensitive and should be done at least every 2 years, pads, sensors and rotors should be replaced when needed and not as part of a routine time interval service which is an unnecessary waste of money, time and other resources.

__________________
Dan

Good to get that cleared up. It seemed pretty odd -- someone was clearly confused.


Beyond avoiding $150/hr in the service bay, the big savings in brake self-service is cheapskating the parts. I'm self-servicing my front brakes for about $100 (Textar pads from Suncoast) by retaining the rotors, buffers, and sensors. I had the 2 year done before I even took delivery and they found (visual inspection) that the pads were a pinch below 50%.

Holy shiznizle DJIA at -306.05 as I type. This is not really entertaining anymore..

Anyway, if you change the pads preemptively, the sensors are reusable if you're careful when you tug them out. And there's no real reason I know of to replace the buffers. Dealerships robotically replace both when they replace the pads, but even the service manager I was working with admitted the buffers are fine to reuse.

Yup - thanks for the myth-busting, Dan.

brad

__________________
21-year PCA Member
PCA DE Instructor

Yeah, your would probably never have to have a brake job!