Why do brake jobs cost anywhere from $60 to $400?

Hey Zahntech -

My brakes are making noise, and I'm wondering why there's such a huge range in price for "brakes" - I've seen it as low as $60, and the dealership quoted me around $400. Why the disparity? Can I get away with the cheap price?

-- Cheap squeaks

Hey Cheap squeaks -

You say your brakes are making noise. Some noise is normal, however, if your brakes have been quiet for some time and now they're noisy, you're probably right to think you need to have them checked out. The reason some prices are so low is that they're just including brake pads - not machining the rotors or new rotors, depending on what's necessary.

However, brake pads press on the rotors and wear into the rotors, so I never recommend just replacing brake pads. If you just replace the pad without "trueing" or "machining" the rotors, the new brake pad won't fit flat against the rotor and will be more likely to make noise, wear the brake pads oddly, and provide less braking power. Plus, if you have cheap brake pads, they're even more noisy and they will leave brake dust all over your wheels. So typically you should replace brake pads (and use reasonable quality pads) and machine the rotors at the same time. Rotors can usually last three or four brake pad replacement before they need to be fully replaced too, except in European cars. Most European cars require that the rotors be replaced at the same time as brake pads.

So, what's a cheapskate to do?

1) Make sure your brake pads really need to be replaced. Ask for a look at them and measurements of how many millimeters are left on the pads. Your squeak may not be due to worn pads.
2) Get good brake pads. There are a ton of different types - organic, semi-metallic, ceramic. Ceramic will cost more, but will be quieter and last longer. In my opinion, they're worth it.
3) Ask to see the rotors to know whether they can be machined or have to be replaced. Machining is obviously cheaper - but you can't do it forever without wearing the rotor down too far.