Cost of replacing brake discs

jiltloop

My girlfriends car failed the NCT last week because the front brake discs were rusty. The car hasn't been driven much for a few months and only has about 50K miles on it (it's a 01 Nissan Micra). The rear brakes are also seized.

The guy in the NCT said that although the car isn't worth much it's great little motor and said it's worth getting the brakes fixed and bringing it back to pass the test.

He said it's only a couple of small jobs so I was thinking the cost to fix would be in the region of €200-€250 maybe? Just rang a garage for a quote and they said the front brakes alone would be €300 and the back brakes they couldn't say until they found out what the problem is with them.

My question, is €300 a bit steep? We really don't want to end up spending several hundred euro on it when the car isn't worth much more than that.

If the cost of repair is approaching €500 (theoretical of course) do you think it's worth spending? She is just using the car for learning how to drive, she hasn't been practicing much lately but is hoping to really start putting the time in now over the next few months.

Thanks in advance.

pea be

You will need to take it to a mechanic to get a proper quote.
You could be talking about a good clean, or new front discs (at a guess €50 to €70 plus pads €30 to €40 to just buy the parts).
Rears not working could be seized calipers or just pads binding, so you could be looking at anything from new calipers / discs / pads to just a good clean up. So a wide range of costs.
If the rest of the car is sound, you need to weigh up what you could buy for the repair cost - plus you dont know the car you are buying so potentially you will have similar / highet costs in the coming years.
Personally, i think and older car you know and still trust is worth spending money on - you have zero depreciation costs and it is nearly all running costs you could have with any car.

jiltloop

Yeah you make a good point about the car you know already. It does more or less run very well and there's always a risk with getting another car that there could be more expensive issues not too far down the line after buying.

Alanstrainor

jiltloop wrote: »

My girlfriends car failed the NCT last week because the front brake discs were rusty. The car hasn't been driven much for a few months and only has about 50K miles on it (it's a 01 Nissan Micra). The rear brakes are also seized.

The guy in the NCT said that although the car isn't worth much it's great little motor and said it's worth getting the brakes fixed and bringing it back to pass the test.

He said it's only a couple of small jobs so I was thinking the cost to fix would be in the region of €200-€250 maybe? Just rang a garage for a quote and they said the front brakes alone would be €300 and the back brakes they couldn't say until they found out what the problem is with them.

My question, is €300 a bit steep? We really don't want to end up spending several hundred euro on it when the car isn't worth much more than that.

If the cost of repair is approaching €500 (theoretical of course) do you think it's worth spending? She is just using the car for learning how to drive, she hasn't been practicing much lately but is hoping to really start putting the time in now over the next few months.

Thanks in advance.

I presume the NCT fail sheet shows a fail for brake performance? Or is there a visual fail for the discs being overly corroded? Given what you've said it sounds like they'll need to be changed regardless, it's just that discs will show corrosion easily, and driving them a bit will clear it in some cases.

As for the rears. I would be almost certain that this car has brake shoes on the rear, and does not have discs/callipers etc. I can understand why the mechanic wants to take a look as there are a lot of things that could be wrong. They could simply be seized due to lack of use, or the brake material inside could be completely worn and need to be replaced. And that's ignoring possible problems with the handbrake cable. Parts aren't expensive but these can be annoying to change.

George Dalton

€300 sounds very expensive for front discs and pads on a Micra. Were they quoting for calipers as well? €170 or so should easily cover discs, pads and labour.

bazz26

For €300 I'd nearly want another 01 Micra included.

colm_mcm

Rear brakes on a Micra are probably drums. Known brand pads and discs for one of those would be under €60 (at least they were a few years ago)

Bluefoam

If they are discs, just use them a bit, surface rust will rub off... not too sure about drums, but I'd suggest a quick clean, and bring it back to a different center.

He doesn't seem to have commented on wear, but if your brakes are worn, replace them.

jiltloop

Thanks for all the comments.

The place I rang didn't ask many questions to be honest, I mentioned the fact that it was a micra and the front discs needed to be replaced and asked for a quote based on that. There were no further questions and he was very quick to throw out the 300 quid.

I have to say I was pretty taken aback at the quote and how quickly it was thrown out there. The guy actually sounded like a kid on the phone. I'll be ringing a few other places. I'm new to this area so trying to find a garage I can trust and keep my business with for the future.

Any recommendations around Dublin 5?

liamo77

jiltloop wrote: »

Thanks for all the comments.

The place I rang didn't ask many questions to be honest, I mentioned the fact that it was a micra and the front discs needed to be replaced and asked for a quote based on that. There were no further questions and he was very quick to throw out the 300 quid.

I have to say I was pretty taken aback at the quote and how quickly it was thrown out there. The guy actually sounded like a kid on the phone. I'll be ringing a few other places. I'm new to this area so trying to find a garage I can trust and keep my business with for the future.

Any recommendations around Dublin 5?

Hi there is a guy in Finglas area who will take off your brake discs and recondition them and they will be as good as new. Got mine done a couple of weeks ago and they are working brilliant now. I think he only charged 50 Euro for the job.

Budget tyres is the name.

Cee-Jay-Cee

liamo77 wrote: »

Hi there is a guy in Finglas area who will take off your brake discs and recondition them and they will be as good as new. Got mine done a couple of weeks ago and they are working brilliant now. I think he only charged 50 Euro for the job.

Budget tyres is the name.

Pointless exercise in the OP's case as you can buy new discs and pads for €50 delivered for a Micra from Micksgarage.

€300 for the front brakes is daylight robbery. Buy the parts yourself and bring it to a mechanic and get them fitted (if you are unable to do them yourself) Labour for front brakes should be less than 1-2hrs as there's nothing to them.

Rear brake drums are €57 and shoes are €25. Again less than 2hrs for fitting.

The whole job could be done for less than €300.

Bluefoam

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Pointless exercise in the OP's case as you can buy new discs and pads for €50 delivered for a Micra from Micksgarage.

€300 for the front brakes is daylight robbery. Buy the parts yourself and bring it to a mechanic and get them fitted (if you are unable to do them yourself) Labour for front brakes should be less than 1-2hrs as there's nothing to them.

Rear brake drums are €57 and shoes are €25. Again less than 2hrs for fitting.

The whole job could be done for less than €300.

front brakes: 50
rear brakes: 57
shoes: 25
labour: 120 @ €30/hour
total 252

add delivery charges from Mick & you are up to €300

Cee-Jay-Cee

Bluefoam wrote: »

front brakes: 50
rear brakes: 57
shoes: 25
labour: 120 @ €30/hour
total 252

add delivery charges from Mick & you are up to €300

Free delivery from MG.

Pkiernan

Our Indy mechanic replaced the following on the wife's 2004 Golf for E420.00

Front Pads and discs.
Rear pads and discs.
Left rear capper.

E300 for your fronts is an insane price.

jiltloop

Bluefoam wrote: »

front brakes: 50
rear brakes: 57
shoes: 25
labour: 120 @ €30/hour
total 252

add delivery charges from Mick & you are up to €300

Just to clarify, the €300 quoted was just for the front brakes, he said he couldn't quote for the back brakes as they would need to see what the problem is with them first.

jiltloop

liamo77 wrote: »

Hi there is a guy in Finglas area who will take off your brake discs and recondition them and they will be as good as new. Got mine done a couple of weeks ago and they are working brilliant now. I think he only charged 50 Euro for the job.

Budget tyres is the name.

Was that €50 per brake including refitting them? That would be great as I suspect the front brakes are probably fine behind the bit of rust from underuse.