labor charge to replace rear brakes (drums and shoes)

[space-time]

I called my local mechanic and asked how much they would charge me to install new drums and shoes, if I bring in the parts. They quoted $180. Does this sound OK or a little too much? One colleague of mine claims this is a 30 minute job, but I never did it myself and I cannot be sure if this claim is accurate. Car is an older Civic BTW

[mikebw]

30 minutes if you are familiar with what to do and have all the tools at hand ready to go, and nothing goes wrong. $180 sounds fair to me, of course I would probably do it myself instead.

[C(-)ris]

Way to high, assuming that the Civic is fairly standard. $50 per wheel or $100 per axle is typical labor pricing for brake jobs. They may be adding more cost because you are bringing in your own parts.

[Speedy]

I know nothing about your Civic but rear drums suck to replace. They've been on the car forever and the parking brake always seems to give me a headache. I always do my own brakes but one time I had to put the thing back together unreplaced and take it in because I couldn't get the new parts to fit together.

[davester]

If I was the mechanic I'd either charge you extra for bringing your own parts (since you are cutting into the revenue on a job) or I'd refuse to do the work (since you'd probably blame me if the parts were defective. Also, why are you buying drums before you've inspected them? For most cars, you will go through several sets of shoes before requiring a drum replacement.

[mrbigstuff]

^ what he said.

[cbelt3]

If yours is anything like mine, it's been since forever that you've done the rears. Odds are the drums will be impossible to remove, requiring much penetrating lubricant, blistering curses, and possibly torch work. Which may then cause additional parts to be replaced. Bleeding the little buggers may require replacement of the cylinders, 'cause them bleed valves like to rust into little solid pieces of FeO2.

Not to mention the stupid little spring that goes 'sproing' and disappears down the floor drain in the garage. Even if it's 50 feet away under a toolbox.

Also depends on where you live. If you were in the backwoods, the fee may include a case of beer and a few chickens.

[josntme]

Wonder how much the local diner would charge me to cook my eggs if I brought my own? miley-excited001:

[Carm]

As stated, you will go through your front pads many times before you need to replace your drums. Most of the stopping power is done by the front pads, that is why they need to be replaced more often. Rear wheels usually just require adjusting.

My estimate the last time I asked was $45 per wheel. $90 for one axle plus parts.

[Racer X]

I've seen rear jobs done for that or less, parts included. It really depends on what going on under the drums. I have also seen complete replacement of everything except the backing plates, running well over $500. Honestly, gutting and replacing everything parts-wise, isn't that bad if you buy the parts, its the labor that's expensive.