BMW brake pads change

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
Hi ...

Need to replace the front and rear brake pads on my BMW. Checked with BMW dealer and was quoted CHF 1700 for the same. Will it be much cheaper if I go to BMW in Germany? Or am I better off finding a smaller shop for the same?

Any suggestions / recommendations

Thanks,

KO

2
Just to clarify ... It's brake discs and pads .... Front and rear that need to be replaced ...

3
What age BMW? What model? When were the brakes last done? Are you sure it is only pads? What condition are the discs? When was the brake fluid last changed?

I've seen dealers quote for far more work than is actually required - so it is worth getting that quote split out into each job.

EDIT: I see you say discs + pads. Go to reifen-direkt and get a price for the parts

4
Take a look at my thread & do it yourself for about 100 CHF plus an hour of your time,

Overpriced Car Parts & repairs

5
Thanks for the update dodgyken and fatmanfilms.

It's a 2010 3series with 35k miles on it. I did a pre MFK TCS test and that was the recommendation.

Will look into ordering the parts and check if my local garage guy will install them. I am not much of a hands on car guy.. Unfortunately

6

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By which I mean, it's probably unnecessary work, especially if your brakes work fine and your only interest is to pass the MFK. You should have seen mine when I took it in. Beamers normally will show a low brake pad warning light before they need new pads unless there's very uneven wear, in which case you'll likely be looking at a larger bill.

In any case, price up the parts on like autoteile-meile.de or something. I would recommend to stick with BMW pads which were 50% more expensive in Switzerland than in Germany when I checked a few months ago, but will still cost you double the price on non-BMW ones.

8
Yes, the model of the car makes a difference. The brakes for a base 1-series model are a lot cheaper than the brakes for an M6.

Do shop around, this kind of service is not really something that you'd need a mail dealer for.

9
Side note, prices on the auto-teile sites are usually quoted minus Mwst.

I ordered something from www.autoteile-meile.ch and was surprised when it was shipped from DE, took 12 days to arrive (despite being in stock) and had the Mwst added. (all my own fault for not reading the details)

Still less than 1/3 the CH price though.

10
All the prices on .de and .ch include Mwst, but on the .ch site they also link to "import regulations" so I don't know if that means you've paid German *and* Swiss Vat or if they've taken the VAT off at source. I hate these ".ch" sites that make it appear that they're selling from Switzerland.

11
I can understand a car needing new pads at 35k - but discs??

Hmmm I'm not convinced. Do you want them checked independently?

12
You should know that the Swiss don't like to make decisions, so it's much easier to always say disks & pads, which is what happens.

This is why Swiss people like to buy new cars as the 'risk' of a 3 year old car is too much.

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Is that also why they take a relatively new, relatively low mileage car to a pre-MFK test?

14
DIY. I will change them soon on my E90 325i

One needs a toolbox. Every repair I have successfully carried out on my Bimmer by following good videos.

Front brake pads.

Rear brake pads.

15
I've got the full rewind kit for the pistons

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I don't think those are completely the BMW way and he forgets to test them for sticking pistons after fitment. Also I don't think he shows pushing the pistons back other than by hand, which is usually impossible. The pads he was taking off looked brand new.

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Me too.

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All fine and dandy until you knacker a piston

19
I use them before the old pads come out and they don't go anywhere near the pistons. I agree it's not the 'correct' way.

20
That's the way I did it last time on my Toyota. All good, as long as they retreat those buggers