rdutter

My vehicle has done 60K and needs replacement of both Rotors and pads.

I've got a quote from Audi Canada for CAD 2,531

Front
318 (Labour) + 841 (Hardware) + 13% GST = CAD 1,310
Rear
397.50 (Labour) + 683 + 13% GST = CAD 1,221

Since the vehicle is almost 6 years old, is it safe to have them replaced at a reputable brake specialist workshop instead of an Audi workshop?

The local Audi service center says they use Audi parts only so I was wondering if the brakes and rotors are also manufactured by AUDI or they use some third party parts?

Thanks

cuatrokoop

Seems to be a common theme this week. Audi makes almost nothing themselves. The OE pads I took off our '13 TDI were made by Pagid (also a Porsche OE for years, along with Textar and Jurid I believe). It is totally safe to take it to a reputable indy shop for the brakes.

Toledo RX

Yes it is - I got quoted for $2100 US dollars to replace the front and rear brake rotors by the local Audi dealer.

According to the dealer, the front and rare OEM brake pads and rotors cost $1600 when ordered from Audi (I doubt that Audi make nothring from selling OEM parts to the dealers)

I'm looking at alternate options to replace with an aftermarket by a local indy shop.

tigerwillow1

From the context, I believe the original statement meant that Audi doesn't manufacture many of the parts. Not a statement about how much they are marked up, price-wise.

ticklechicken

It's safe to use an indy shop when the vehicle is 6 days old. It doesn't matter how old the car is.

Also, don't get caught up in "genuine Audi parts". What the other commenters are saying is that Audi doesn't actually make brake parts. They buy and re-sell brake parts from other manufacturers. You can buy direct from those manufacturers for a lot less money. They won't be "genuine Audi", but they can be just as good. They can also be better than stock. They can also be worse. If you want to save some money but don't want to do the research to know which parts to buy, just find a reputable local independent mechanic and trust their advice.

airwhen

This may be a crazy idea, but changing brakes is not difficult. You need a handful of tools, a tad bit of knowledge and a few hours.

I purchased 4 Zimmerman Rotors (the Audi OEM) and Pagid brakes pads (also Audi OEM) from FCP Euro with new sensors for $495 shipped. To get OEM by some shop would be about $1400 for all four corners. That’s over a $900 dollar difference. Set the kids in front of the TV, put on IronMan and two hours later the kids are super hero fulfilled and my brakes are done. Yeah, they are that easy.

2 hours, $450 per hour. That’s a bit more than I make an hour, so it’s worth my time.

Sure, changing out and engine or replacing a transmission is quite a bit harder, but brakes are flipping easy.


Wait until plugs and or igniters go bad. I showed my friend on his A4 how to change the plugs and igniters (2 igniters were pushing codes). Was he happy. Nope. He was pissed. He was pissed because he paid so much money for years for something he was too afraid to do, but when showed how thought it was the easiest thing to do.

$0.02

TrickyQ7

I bought my own rotors as pads off eBay after the stealer told me $2500 to replace just the front pads and rotors. I then took them to my mechanic and he installed them all around for $350. So I ended up spending about $600 to have all 4 rotors done.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F371934111699

TrickyQ7

rdutter

Got new brakes and rotors replaced from a very reputable workshop but even after doing 200 kilometers, there hasn't been any improvement in the braking and coming to a complete stop takes a longer distance and a fair bit of force on the pedal.

I thought that the new brakes and rotors take time to adjust to each other and patiently waited for it to fix itself but the braking is no good.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

cuatrokoop

You have to get the brakes hot several times (HARD on the brakes, almost to ABS point, from ~60mph to ~10mph). Also, if they evacuated some of the brake fluid, it is possible they pulled too much and got air in your master cylinder. That would require a total system bleed to cure.