S40 (New) Brakes : Front Pads & Discs fitting cost

[janusz]

Perhaps one of you can explain why garages demand well over 250£ for non genuine and well over 300£ for genuine set of pads and discs even though OEM parts cost circa 140£? Is fitting so "fiddly"?
Is it really that difficult to replace pads and discs on MY06 S40?
Seems to be 40mins job but I am not an expert obviously...
I have sourced OEM parts myself. I am trying now to find garage to fit it for me as I have no facilities available to do it myself (nor tools).
I have asked around and pretty much all garage nearby told me that they do supply parts and I cannot just bring my own parts to their garage for fitting...
Odd!

[Daim]

Just changing the front (without removing the wheel etc.) takes around 15 minutes a side. Then the rear brakes (which are more complicated and require more time to do) on top of that...

The fastest I've managed to do the brakes was within something like 80 minutes... But then they are done properly. A second person was then refitting the wheels...

[janusz]

thanks!
I just need to fit the front, rear was done last year by previous owner during annual service (to my surprise as I would expect all pads/discs to be replaced at the same time )

[v50inred]

Garages don't like fitted owner supplied parts due to the fact the make some money on the parts but more significantly if they are faulty you will moan at them and they will not be able to get new parts under warranty.

They would have to take them off, give them to you, leaving the car on a lift, then you would have to get the new parts without a car to collect them in.

Changing pads on their own is easy enough, but discs means you have to take the caliper off rather than just rotate it out of the way.

I assume you have gone to Halfords of Kwik Fit?

You are better of finding a second hand tyre shop that has a mechanic on site, they will normally fit discs and pads for a reasonable cash sum.

A garage has to make a profit, has wages to pay, tools to pay for, business rates, rent and liability insurance to pay for.

Would you do your job for nothing or for a loss?

No, neither would I and one will a garage.

I would never use Volvo branded parts but would happily buy OEM quality parts for EuroCarParts.

With the current online discount you can get discs and pads (Pagid) for under £100. Can't remember the exact price off top of my head, am going to price the parts back up and put the parts to one side.

[janusz]

Originally Posted by v50inred

Garages don't like fitted owner supplied parts due to the fact the make some money on the parts but more significantly if they are faulty you will moan at them and they will not be able to get new parts under warranty.

They would have to take them off, give them to you, leaving the car on a lift, then you would have to get the new parts without a car to collect them in.

Changing pads on their own is easy enough, but discs means you have to take the caliper off rather than just rotate it out of the way.

I assume you have gone to Halfords of Kwik Fit?

You are better of finding a second hand tyre shop that has a mechanic on site, they will normally fit discs and pads for a reasonable cash sum.

A garage has to make a profit, has wages to pay, tools to pay for, business rates, rent and liability insurance to pay for.

Would you do your job for nothing or for a loss?

No, neither would I and one will a garage.

I would never use Volvo branded parts but would happily buy OEM quality parts for EuroCarParts.

With the current online discount you can get discs and pads (Pagid) for under £100. Can't remember the exact price off top of my head, am going to price the parts back up and put the parts to one side.

yup, I have considered various parts and the difference between genuine Volvo and 3rd party parts was rather small. In fact, the difference between Pagid and Volvo is less than 30£. So why use 3rd party parts if I can get genuine OEM parts for 20£ extra?
Anyway, yes Halfords and KwikFit are out of scope in this research. The ones close to me have so many negative reviews that I am surprised to see that they are still in business..

[SonyVaio]

Originally Posted by janusz

Perhaps one of you can explain why garages demand well over 250£ for non genuine and well over 300£ for genuine set of pads and discs even though OEM parts cost circa 140£? Is fitting so "fiddly"?
Is it really that difficult to replace pads and discs on MY06 S40?
Seems to be 40mins job but I am not an expert obviously...
I have sourced OEM parts myself. I am trying now to find garage to fit it for me as I have no facilities available to do it myself (nor tools).
I have asked around and pretty much all garage nearby told me that they do supply parts and I cannot just bring my own parts to their garage for fitting...
Odd!

That is the most ridiculous thing I've heard, are garages so flush these days they don't want business?? Although I would ask where exactly have you taken them to? I would expect that sort of comment from KwickFit and Halfraudsbut a normal back lane garage should be pretty competitive and have no issues with you supplying your own parts.

Originally Posted by Daim

Just changing the front (without removing the wheel etc.) takes around 15 minutes a side.

Really? Come on Daim that has got to be impossible? Although I'm intregued and wouldn't put anything past your ingenuitive mind. "Without removing the wheel"?

Originally Posted by v50inred

A garage has to make a profit, has wages to pay, tools to pay for, business rates, rent and liability insurance to pay for.

Would you do your job for nothing or for a loss?

No, neither would I and one will a garage.

I would never use Volvo branded parts but would happily buy OEM quality parts for EuroCarParts.

With the current online discount you can get discs and pads (Pagid) for under £100. Can't remember the exact price off top of my head, am going to price the parts back up and put the parts to one side.

A garage charges £XX amount as a labour cost, they would still be doing the exact same job for the exact same time and therefore the exact same labour cost - with or without supplied parts by the customer???

The only thing they would lose on is being able to rip the customer off charging premium prices for the cheapest parts they can find and then bumping the whole cost up by charging VAT on EVERYTHING when the parts will have already been paid for WITH VAT!

Brake parts from Volvo are regarded by many on here as some of the best you can get. They have proven themself many many times on here that they outlast, out perform and provide better quality than 3rd party parts. The most obvious is brake squeal, very common with 3rd part parts and almost unheard of with Volvo parts - there are big differences.

You should be able to get proper Volvo parts for approx £130 - £140 or perhaps even cheaper (contact Rufe). It should take less than 30min a side if doing yourself and I'd expect a garage to be able to do the fronts on an S40 in less than 15min a side.

Jack car
Wheel off
Open bonnet and remove brake resvoir cap and cover with a clean cloth
2 x 7mm allen key bots out holding calliper on
Release bleed nipple
Push calliper piston back (slowly and smoothly)
Pads out
Push calliper piston back further if required (slowly and smoothly)
Tighten bleed nipple
Bungee calliper out of way
2 x carrier bolts off (13mm iirc)
Disc off
New disc on (after cleaning protective film/grease off)
Clean runners up (wire brush)
Touch of brake slip on runners
Touch of brake slip on back of pads
Carrier back on
Pads on
Calliper on and tighten
Double check all bots with torque wrench
Press brakes & top up brake resevoir if required
Ensure brakes are firm and then start engine and press brakes again
Bleed/top up resevoir & test if required further
Replace brake resevoir cap
Wheel back on
Move to other side and repeat.

Sounds like a lot but it is all done pretty quick with the correct tools etc... on hand and especially at a garage where all this is 2nd nature to them.

If you were down my neck of the woods I'd do it for you.

[craigblues]

Personally I would always go Genuine Volvo Parts when possible...

[Zeb246]

It cost me £20 to fit rear pads, from a local garage.

[Daim]

Originally Posted by SonyVaio

Really? Come on Daim that has got to be impossible? Although I'm intregued and wouldn't put anything past your ingenuitive mind. "Without removing the wheel"?

I meant it in the sense that, without counting in the time to remove the wheel, it takes around 15 minutes per front wheel.

Undo the two screws which hold the calipers in place, undo the two screws which hold the bracket in place. Remove the disc (hammer/lever/what ever). Clean up hub. Fit new disc. Fit bracket. Press piston back in place. Fit new pads. Put caliper on. Fit bolts for caliper. Plug in dustcaps. Done.

You can of course spend 2 days cleaning the rust off the little bits around it all, but hey, 15 mins a side is that what Volvo (round about) needs here too My dealer does it in 10 mins per side. Just need to know what you are doing.

[Ninja59]

Originally Posted by SonyVaio

That is the most ridiculous thing I've heard, are garages so flush these days they don't want business?? Although I would ask where exactly have you taken them to? I would expect that sort of comment from KwickFit and Halfraudsbut a normal back lane garage should be pretty competitive and have no issues with you supplying your own parts.



Really? Come on Daim that has got to be impossible? Although I'm intregued and wouldn't put anything past your ingenuitive mind. "Without removing the wheel"?



A garage charges £XX amount as a labour cost, they would still be doing the exact same job for the exact same time and therefore the exact same labour cost - with or without supplied parts by the customer???

The only thing they would lose on is being able to rip the customer off charging premium prices for the cheapest parts they can find and then bumping the whole cost up by charging VAT on EVERYTHING when the parts will have already been paid for WITH VAT!

Brake parts from Volvo are regarded by many on here as some of the best you can get. They have proven themself many many times on here that they outlast, out perform and provide better quality than 3rd party parts. The most obvious is brake squeal, very common with 3rd part parts and almost unheard of with Volvo parts - there are big differences.

You should be able to get proper Volvo parts for approx £130 - £140 or perhaps even cheaper (contact Rufe). It should take less than 30min a side if doing yourself and I'd expect a garage to be able to do the fronts on an S40 in less than 15min a side.

Jack car
Wheel off
Open bonnet and remove brake resvoir cap and cover with a clean cloth
2 x 7mm allen key bots out holding calliper on
Release bleed nipple
Push calliper piston back (slowly and smoothly)
Pads out
Push calliper piston back further if required (slowly and smoothly)
Tighten bleed nipple
Bungee calliper out of way
2 x carrier bolts off (13mm iirc)
Disc off
New disc on (after cleaning protective film/grease off)
Clean runners up (wire brush)
Touch of brake slip on runners
Touch of brake slip on back of pads
Carrier back on
Pads on
Calliper on and tighten
Double check all bots with torque wrench
Press brakes & top up brake resevoir if required
Ensure brakes are firm and then start engine and press brakes again
Bleed/top up resevoir & test if required further
Replace brake resevoir cap
Wheel back on
Move to other side and repeat.

Sounds like a lot but it is all done pretty quick with the correct tools etc... on hand and especially at a garage where all this is 2nd nature to them.

If you were down my neck of the woods I'd do it for you.

£143.55 - discount (VOC discount if you have it many Volvo Dealers)...+ delivery.

£95 ish for discs, 47 for pads.