who's right, toyota shop or reliable garage

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by john70, Jan 17, 2014.

  1. john70

    john70 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2014
    3
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Got a prius 2010 and took it in for an oil change at the dealership. They told me that the rear brake was metal on metal. they quoted me as follows:
    brake pad set $133.00
    brake shim kit $16.80
    brake repair kit $41.00
    disc brake -2 $179.00
    labour $150.00

    They added if I needed new calipers than the were $250.00 each. Total with taxes would be well over a grand.

    I went to the neighbour hood garage where I have taken my last 2 vehicles for the last 15 years and they looked at the problem and quoted me $260.00. They got the job and did it for $248.00 taxes in.
    They resurfaced the rotors (not sure what that is) and replaced the pads and cleaned and lubed the caliper slides.
    Costs as follows:
    resurface $34.00
    labour $126.00
    oe ceramic brake pads $55.56
    shop supplies $6.00

    Not knowing anything about cars did I make a wise decision. From a mechanical point of view what was the right decision?

    I appreciate any comments.
     
    #1 john70, Jan 17, 2014
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,656
    8,504
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    If you went to a trusted professional mechanic to do this work, I'm sure it's all you'll need. The dealers always add on as much as possible to what you really "need". As long as they didn't bleed your brakes, you should be fine. The brake bleeding would require special software from Toyota.
     
    #2 JC91006, Jan 17, 2014
  3. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2006
    1,049
    192
    0
    Location:
    NH
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    The Toyota dealer didn't do anything wrong, some resurface rotors some don't, their overhead is larger, as you must have needed brake work, not a made up artifact, it seems legit, parts and labor, you saved on parts by resurfacing (grinding the irregularities out of the disks), not to say some dealers aren't pirates.
     
    #3 ursle, Jan 17, 2014
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    112,133
    51,024
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    $133. for 4 pads? seems hefty, but i haven't checked. you definitely did the right think, i always go to the local guy, never had an issue. how many miles on you car? did you already do the fronts? did your guy show you the old pads?
     
    #4 bisco, Jan 17, 2014
  5. Grren4ever

    Grren4ever Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2013
    347
    167
    19
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    If it were me, I'd order the parts from an internet Toyota dealer and then get the private mechanic to install it.

    The private mechanic most likely used aftermarket pads which I found squeaked a lot in my previous cars. As for the Toyota dealership, they need to pay all the technicians, and keep the shop and dealer running well. They'll milk you dry if they got the chance! My best buddy works at Toyota and he tells me all about the horrible scams that they pull on customers.

    So in conclusion, you did the right thing.
     
    #5 Grren4ever, Jan 17, 2014
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    112,133
    51,024
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    sounds like they're trying to pay all the technicians with this one job.:p
     
    #6 bisco, Jan 17, 2014
  7. john70

    john70 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2014
    3
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I saw them take the pads out and one had one the complete side worn down on an angle. The mechanic thinks it might have jammed. I only have 40,000 K on the car. From now on I know where to take it.
     
    #7 john70, Jan 18, 2014
  8. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2010
    3,524
    983
    8
    Location:
    US
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    There must be something wrong with the calipers to wear out pads in a prius in 40,000 miles.
    Or maybe the pins just needed to be greased?
     
    #8 Former Member 68813, Jan 18, 2014
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  9. princessprius

    princessprius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2014
    50
    19
    0
    Location:
    baking in the southwest
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I recently traded in my 2010 Prius III.
    It had nearly 70K miles on it.
    Original brakes, still working just fine.
    Seems like there may be an issue that caused yours to fail early.
     
    #9 princessprius, Jan 31, 2014
  10. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    9,083
    5,800
    0
    Location:
    Undisclosed Location
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    That would be my concern as well.
    I think the OP did fine getting the "symptoms" addressed. Worried there might be a more dangerous disease.
     
    #10 The Electric Me, Jan 31, 2014
    princessprius likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)