Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 11:37:15 -0400 From: "Jeremy Brown" <JBrownnopsamcom> Subject: Re: 1984 900 S brakes cost (master cyl., calipers, etc.)
Hello, I also just had to replace my front calipers and pads plus have the rotors turned, and it cost me about $320. The kicker was that I had just had them replaced only 18 months before by a mechanic that was not my regular guy. My mechanic showed me the old calipers and they looked as about as old as the car (16 years). It was obvious that the first mechanic put used parts on my car and charged me for new. The moral? Make sure that whomever does your brakes can be trusted!! Some suggestions: -Midas and the ilk: Midas is a bit more expensive, but they have a nation wide guarantee. The minus is that they are a franchisee system, and like any franchise system service can vary from owner to owner. The parts are not necessarily Saab, but should work out. -Dealer: The dealer will give you genuine Saab parts. The minuses are high cost and the same issue of franchises as above, namely that some dealers do not like to work on older cars. -Local Mechanics: If you use a local mechanic, make sure he is ASE certified and in good standing. Also make sure the person is Saab knowledgeable. I have a local guy near me who is Saab certified and is a crook. I had him look at my car and he tried to sell me another saying mine was no good. Profit was his only motive. My regular guy is real good and will stand by his work even a few months out. -Parts: if you get a referbed master cylinder, get a written guarantee from the mechanic who rebuilt it or the parts company who sold it. If you need to replace the rotors go with new, not used. Our models, '84 & '85, have different lug screw pinouts than later Saabs, '86+, so any used rotor will be 16-17 years old. Look at your driving patterns and see what type of pads you will need. There are different grades of pads designed for different applications. I hope that this helps a little, Jeremy in MA "jw" <johnwebster1nopsamhlink.net> wrote in message news:39456520.2E01EDD8nopsamhlink.net... > Then more recently I noticed a scraping noise at the wheels > when I applied the brakes. I knew this was not good a good > thing (small understatement), but hoped I'd get by with just > replacing the pads. So I took it into my local mechanic, who > confirmed the master cylinder needed replacing, but also > said I need two new rear calipers, one front caliper and > maybe new rotors. I had no idea the situation was this bad > or I would have brought it in sooner to nip it in the bud. > I'm thinking maybe the previous owners hadn't done any brake > work in a long time. As a minimum, the mechanic suggested a > new master cylinder (probably no way around that), the rear > calipers and maybe they can resurface the rotors, which > would run me at least $800. > > Does this sound like a reasonable price? I saw someone here > say a new master cylinder from a Saab dealer was around > $400. What about the calipers? This is the same shop that > did my clutch, they have a "Saab specialist," although a > different mechanic checked the brakes. I'm might bring it > into Midas for another estimate, just to shop around a bit. > I'm assuming Midas should be able to handle Saab brakes OK...? > > btw, this is $US, I'm in Rhode Island. Any info greatly appreciated. > > -John
