> I agree with Ken. This is one area you can save some major $$$, and do > just as good of a job. I can't imagine paying someone to do something so > simple. Dirty yes, but difficult, no. If you are not a real DIY person, > this is a good place to start.
You can let me quote you on parts and take it from there. People have been mentioning prices as high as $300 each for rotors. I have original ATE drums and rotors for under $50, plus pads and shoes for under $20, wheel cylinders for around $10, etc. If you're not a do-it-yourselfer, see if you can get a local shop to put on customer-provided parts. Most are not crazy about this, but many (including some brake chain franchises, such as my local Monro and Speedy Muffler King shops) will do it, especially if they suspect that you will go elsewhere otherwise. They want to make a profit on both parts and labor, but often will settle for just labor if it's that or nothing. I often ship parts to various repair shops at a customer's request (or ship it to the customer and they bring them in with the van). The shop will probably warn you that using customer-provided parts means that they won't warranty them, but the parts generally carry a 6 to 12 month warranty anyway. Be warned though, that if you discuss providing your own parts before getting a labor quote, they may pad the labor charge a bit in order to make up for the lack of profit on the parts. I have had the same experience myself with shocks, by the way; my local tire chain branch charged me $10 each to install my KYB's. For that price, I didn't even bother to tackle it myself; my time was worth that much. - Ron Salmon The Bus Depot http://www.busdepot.com (215) 234-VWVW |
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