94 Crown Vic brake job: Am I getting ripped off?

thats about what a ford dealer would charge you for that.... about $450 US for the brake job and about $150 for the belt and that gives you $600 and dont forget the brake caliper... they dont give them away.....

The part that sounds fishy is the caliper leaking. I have done my own brake jobs for years, and I have never found a caliper that needed replacing.

It seems that this is a frequent item found to be "bad" during brake jobs at nearly any repair shop.

I would agree that some places use the shotgun approach to brake repairs or the old "when in doubt throw it out" method. But the fact that you have never seen a leaking caliper just means you haven't done many brake jobs. The fact is that the only people who really know what was needed in this repair are the ones who performed it. If the original poster didn't trust them for some reason he should have told them to button it up and taken it elsewhere. Bob

I just did the wife's 97 bird.I myself found a rear "leaky" caliper and what a surprise that was cost wise.At Lordco the core charge alone was $97.00 cdn the cost of the caliper alone with discount was just over $150.00. Because it is a "sport" model the front pads $60.00 and the rear $105.00 all cdn $.The rotors should of been turned on the front ,another story the end job with no labour $ $ $'s I here the stories of other folk being held at bay by the brake job stores $1000.00 + and now I understand,cost of high tech parts = BIG DOLLARS.Phone the parts store and get the cost's then do the math. Terry

Steve Shorl> Just wondering if someone could help me out to determine if I'm

Don't know if there's much of a difference in costs because of the cars involved.

I just had the brakes done on my 99 Taurus at 50k miles. New pads, recut rotors for the front & brake cylinders for the rears $250. I was also quoted about $60 for a new serpentine belt installed.

BTW a free oil change was included with the brake job.

This was done at a local shop not at the dealer.

Eric

what a surprise that was cost wise.At Lordco the core charge alone was $97.00 cdn the cost of the caliper

all cdn $.The rotors should of been turned on the front ,another story the end job with no labour $ $ $'s

stores $1000.00 + and now I understand,cost of high tech parts = BIG DOLLARS.Phone the parts store and get the

IMHO:

1) If caliper was leaking, wonder why you weren't having drivability problems, i.e. put on brakes and it should pull to one side, if brake fluid was getting on rotor it would affect braking power. Most places here in US are required to show you the "bad" parts, or at least offer them to you. 2) A rotor should not need turn> Just wondering if someone could help me out to determine if I'm

Are you some kind of Dealer guy, mechanic, Rep..? Not everyone is as knowledgeable as us grease monkeys are, but that is no reason to cheat those guys, or gals. If you know of a dealer that is at least 95% honest at all times, post his info. here.

You need to find a 'shadetree' mechanic and get ____ like this done for a hundred....or less. My 2 cents.

Why not rebuild the caliper? Or was it not rebuildable? I've rebuilt a wheel cylinder before. Admittedly I didn't save much as a new cylinder is only about $20, but nonetheless, it's that much more in my pocket.

what a surprise that was cost wise.At Lordco the core charge alone was $97.00 cdn the cost of the caliper

all cdn $.The rotors should of been turned on the front ,another story the end job with no labour $ $ $'s

stores $1000.00 + and now I understand,cost of high tech parts = BIG DOLLARS.Phone the parts store and get the