Rear Brakes? Hard to replace?

[BlackOnBlack]

My dealer wants $450 for pads and rotors. Is this easy to fix on my own? I've changed brakes a long time ago on a Blazer.

[dach95]

Dealers are crazy when it comes to after sales services!

[baskerj]

It really depends on what you are getting from them. New aftermarket rotors will run you $80 per wheel ($160), pads will run $20 pw (another $40), for cheap organics unless they are putting on ceramic or carbon-metallic (which they probably are). Those are about $50 pw (100$).

$160 - Rotors
$100 - Pads
$120 - Labor (2 hrs. max)
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$380 -> Mark-up the parts by 20%, plus tax, and you get around to $450

If you DIY it it's going to cost you around $280 ($20 for tax) just for the parts if you use comparable parts. I personally would call a reputable brake shop and see what they would charge you...just make sure you are comparing the same quality parts.

But I guess your question is are they "easy" not "inexpensive". It's not rocket science...just be sure you know what you are doing. Pick up a Chilton's manual to the step-by-step procedure and you should be fine.

[ScarabEpic22]

I have heard of many people using the rotorpros rotors off of ebay with hawk pads with great success. They are around $200+s&h and the hawk pads are about $75 per axle. You are looking at about:
~240 rotors shipped
+170 pads shipped
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~410 total, but much better parts than what the dealer uses, as the rotors are cross-drilled and slotted.

This is what I am going to do when I have new tires put on and look at the pads. If they need replacement, this is the setup I am going to go with.