How much should this cost?

But how much are genuine pads from the main dealer, and what's their hourly rate?

So is that three hours at £100/hr? 2.5hrs at £120/hr? 2hrs at £150/hr, even?

All are _VERY_ easily possible for a prestige brand dealer, and not totally unrealistic times for the job list.

It's £108/hr apparently. However, there's obviously a saving in cost for changing the pads and the brake fluid at the same time, but that's not been taken into account.

What's a reasonable hourly rate these days for a London-based smaller garage? Anybody know a good one in NW London?

I'm quite surprised you're asking, tbh.

Rather obviously a Volvo main dealer is only going to be supplying Volvo- branded pads at Volvo price. Whatever price a box-shifter factor is charging for non-genuine (branded or not) is irrelevant.

There y'go. 2.75hrs, if the £100 parts guesstimate is about right.

The only saving there is minimal - jacking the car up and taking the wheels off.

No idea what they're like, but they've been around for a while :-

Rear pads £100 to £150

Brake fluid £40 to £75

Auto transmission oil £50 to £100

Depends if the volvo has to be lugged into diagnostic software plus if after all the work any of the software has to be reset.

In Brum your looking at £60 per hour main dealer £120

They are probably making 100% on the parts

C70 will be before electronic handbrakes, so no problem there with the rear pads - but might need diagnostics for the brake fluid change (purge the ABS block) or even the ATF.

That would be about the right price for a main dealer, but if you are happy with pattern parts, why not use an independent garage? Their hourly rates would be perhaps 50% of a main dealer, and parts prices nearer to DIY.

Chris

My local man is £30+VAT / hour :)

I have never ever been advised that brake fluid needed to be changed. I've never had a car fail an MOT over this and never had brake failure. This in 43 years of driving. Am I missing something here? If so please pardon my ignorance.

Unless it's actually a service item I reckon the chances of actually getting the autobox fluid changed will be zero, even if they charge for it. Many box makers quote the fluid as being lifetime fill and, although changing the fluid is easy enough, far too many garages treat autoboxes as being made of myrrh and magic, and won't do anything safe in the knowledge that the punter isn't going to grovel about underneath to check.

Brake fluid absorbs water, which reduces the efficiency of the system.

Most manufacturers recommend periodic replacement - usually every couple of years.

You may not notice it, until you wish you'd been able to stop a bit sooner, or didn't have massive brake fade on a long downhill stretch.

Watford isn't NW London, Adrienne. It's oop North.

Yes, I've heard of this.

Yes.

You you just provide us with your registration number and car make, model / colour... just so that those of us who do feel it's worthwhile can avoid your deathtrap?

The water collected by the fluid ends up at the lowest point - the rear wheel cylinders. They are made of cast iron, and rust, causing the seals to fail. The resultant mess costs you a pair of wheel cylinders and a set of brake shoes, or about the cost of four fluid changes.

Chris

If he buys a new car every three years or so then he will almost certainly not encounter any brake fluid troubles. Loss of braking through master cylinder rotting away is the most common problem with leaving old brake fluid in over its design time, followed by rusting slave cylinders, in this country brake fade through boiling fluid is unlikely, but not impossible, I managed it once in 1977 with my Zephyr with the Jaguar engine, going down a hill at speed I tried to stop for red lights, couldn't and went straight through at about forty. Happily enough there was nothing about back then, late at night. I changed the fluid after I found out the cause.

Lets see your opinion based on anecdotal evidence of your own driving skills without you stating how long you owned each vehicle and that of experts in fluid mechanics, chemists, and vehicle technicians who develop se and maintain these fluids

you dont get the vote

Cheapo garages don't bother with telling you, they rarely check all the stuff they should, they will get more money when you get trouble, and the customers that look for the cheapest place don't want anything extra done, even if it is safety related preventative maintenance. Brake fluid quality is not part of the MoT. You don't generally get to use your brakes to a high enough extent to show the problems of old fluid, but one day you might need them to work as they should, and they might not. It is a bit like using a car with old worn out tyres, it will still work, and if you drive sensibly they will last a very long time, but when you need emergency grip or one suddenly blows out you will have a real problem that could have been avoided by renewing the tyres before/when they wore down to the lower wear limits.

See, you've given yourself away. Anyone who says "I use the gearbox to slow down" never gets over 12mph in the first place. You brake with the same verve as if still running on cabled drum brakes all round while worry about having to get the brake shoes relined should you "press on a bit" and hit 15. You dither at junctions until it's clear enough to see the 12th century on the horizon and you wouldn't stop hard in an emergency because you know you've got the right of way.