Panamera 971 Brake Replacement

[ilovephiladelphia]

"Brakes worn" message showing on the dash, and have just booked the car into OPC. Does anyone have any idea on what the damage will be?

[ATM]

OPC

Ouch

Probably 4 grand

[ilovephiladelphia]

No way... are you joking or serious?

[ATM]

ilovephiladelphia said:

No way... are you joking or serious?

Joking

But OPC is the most expensive place to go for work like this which is probably the simplest job to do on your car after wiper blades

[ilovephiladelphia]

Oh Lord, you nearly made me cry.

Although I have changed wiper blades, I have never refitted brakes. I only went with OPC as I'm worried about invalidating the warranty (PH search reveals it's a topic of much debate)...

Dumb choice?

[ATM]

Money no object - OPC

Everyone else - anywhere cheaper

If you have simple metal discs then 50 companies will manufacture brake discs for your car or more - total guess work

Pads - maybe more companies

You might just need pads

OPC will probably try to sell you discs even if you don't need them

They used to charge those of us with little holes in our brake discs to clean crud out of the holes - madness and robbery

4 discs at 4 or 500 each

Pads 2 or 300 front and same again rear

Other parts like wear sensors, backing plates or anti squeal shims and maybe some bolts and fastenings which I would just re-use - insert your own number here

4 hours labour at 100 per hour

All plus VAT

TOTAL GUESS

[ATM]

See pic 4 - expensive discs made by TRW

Discs removed were original I'd guess

Car is 2012 about 40000 miles

Rear discs look bad but car still stops fine so left them for now - last pic

Worst bit is jacking up car and removing wheels

Copy paste from my car's blog below here.... .........

Changed front [only] discs and pads on all 4 corners. Random selection of pics.

[Discombobulate]

ATM said:

See pic 4 - expensive discs made by TRW

Discs removed were original I'd guess

Car is 2012 about 40000 miles

Rear discs look bad but car still stops fine so left them for now - last pic

Worst bit is jacking up car and removing wheels

Copy paste from my car's blog below here.... .........

Changed front [only] discs and pads on all 4 corners. Random selection of pics.

I would have had to have at least wiped those calipers

[Mosdef]

From memory on my 2019 Turbo it was around £2,800 for fronts and c. £3,000 for rears (more work apparently, despite smaller disks). That was for disks and pads.

[ATM]

From 12 mins 30 for about 2 minutes forward. Shows them fitting new disc and pads to one corner on a 1998 911 but procedure is very similar with all P cars and Brembo calipers. It really is that easy.

Doing this at home. The hardest bit like I said is jacking up car and removing / refitting wheel.

[ilovephiladelphia]

So just an update for anyone who might want to know for future (Panny 971 4S) - the total cost came to £1,111 inc VAT for rear brake pads and discs.

A breakdown:
2x Brake Discs for £190
2x Brake Pads for £150
2x Sensor Wires £50
1x spring and screws £70
Labour £262 (1.6 hours)

£1,111 inc VAT

Thought the price was alright in the end.

[ATM]

ilovephiladelphia said:

So just an update for anyone who might want to know for future (Panny 971 4S) - the total cost came to £1,111 inc VAT for rear brake pads and discs.

A breakdown:
2x Brake Discs for £190
2x Brake Pads for £150
2x Sensor Wires £50
1x spring and screws £70
Labour £262 (1.6 hours)

£1,111 inc VAT

Thought the price was alright in the end.

Not as bad as I expected

Could maybe of gotten parts usually around half price of OPC and then done the job yourself with existing screws, sensors etc for

A breakdown:
2x Brake Discs for £85 = £170
2x Brake Pads for £75 - normally these are priced as a set so 1 x 75 for both sides or the pair
2x Sensor Wires £000 - re-use
1x spring and screws £000 - re-use
Labour £000 (1.6 hours) - DIY

£245 + VAT or £294 inc VAT

[ilovephiladelphia]

I was essentially worried I'd either jack the car up and have it fall on me OR I'd mess something up and be on the six o clock news for a pile-up. Also, I don't think I have a jack so that would be some capex...

I called some Indys and they quoted me around £600/700 inc VAT for the rears but the car was booked in anyway, and I didn't know the effect it would have on the warranty. The car also now has full OPC history so hopefully it will help when I come to sell it (imminent)!

[ATM]

ilovephiladelphia said:

I was essentially worried I'd either jack the car up and have it fall on me OR I'd mess something up and be on the six o clock news for a pile-up. Also, I don't think I have a jack so that would be some capex...

I called some Indys and they quoted me around £600/700 inc VAT for the rears but the car was booked in anyway, and I didn't know the effect it would have on the warranty. The car also now has full OPC history so hopefully it will help when I come to sell it (imminent)!

Ignore Me

If its right for you that's all that matters

You could have omitted the brakes from the history and therefore it's still full OPC

[ilovephiladelphia]

No, not at all - because of your post I now know how easy a job it is, and I also watched the Mat Watson video! Everyday is a school day.

I'd love to one day have a house large enough to give me some space to do repairs, but the way I "waste" my money on cars, I don't think that will ever happen...

[ATM]

ilovephiladelphia said:

No, not at all - because of your post I now know how easy a job it is, and I also watched the Mat Watson video! Everyday is a school day.

I'd love to one day have a house large enough to give me some space to do repairs, but the way I "waste" my money on cars, I don't think that will ever happen...

You can do jobs like this parked on the road. I have. Just spin car round for each side so you're always on pavement. They only charged you for 1.6 hours so that shows you how easy it is. Less than an hour per side. With car in the air and wheels off I could probably do both sides in 10 to 15 minutes. So if that's optimistic then 30 minutes absolute max.

[The Gauge]

ilovephiladelphia said:

So just an update for anyone who might want to know for future (Panny 971 4S) - the total cost came to £1,111 inc VAT for rear brake pads and discs.

A breakdown:
2x Brake Discs for £190
2x Brake Pads for £150
2x Sensor Wires £50
1x spring and screws £70
Labour £262 (1.6 hours)

£1,111 inc VAT

Thought the price was alright in the end.

I don't think there is anything wrong with what you paid. When you have such a nice sports car and want to keep it in top mechanical condition, with good service and repair history then paying OPC to do it gives some level of comfort that genuine parts are used and the warranty remains solid. A £500 car warrants DIY work, an expensive sports car warrants having reassurance from a garage/OPC. Had the bill been £5k I might think differently. When you buy a lovely car you know you're going to have to sometimes get your wallet out.

Yes it could have been much cheaper with an indie garage, or to DIY it, but then you would have needed to buy a decent jack, spend a day doing it (always takes longer the first time) and would be worried about doing it wrong. You know that parts and repairs are going to be dearer on a nice sports car. You now have some nice Porsche paperwork to show any future buyer who will be reassured that you looked after it rather than tinkered with it yourself which might make it easier to sell. I imagine Porsche buyers like seeing Porsche paperwork?

I have a motorbike and have been taught how to remove the final drive and rear wheel, but I still prefer to pay a garage to do it as if I made a mistake and the wheel literally came off, I'd be dead.

[h0b0]

I changed the brakes on my Cayenne after being told it was going to be $5k at the dealer. It was not bad but when it came to change them again my independent said he would do them for $400 if I supply the parts. I decided it was just easier if he did it.