Freelander 1 Quoted £350 to do the brake hoses

Seems pricey, it needs 5 and "2 are quite long"
Think I should be looking elsewhere or is this reasonable?
Thx

Extortionate!!!!!

Whereabouts in God's country are you?

You could have the solid pipes changed for that amount too. The flexy pipes are cheap and easy to change. No more than an hour for all 4. Find somewhere else

all 4? he said there's 5 to do.
maybe it's pipes not hoses? It was the mechanic over the phone.
I'm near Glasgow.

badfelafel said:

all 4? he said there's 5 to do.
maybe it's pipes not hoses? It was the mechanic over the phone.
I'm near Glasgow.

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There's a fifth from the copper brake line to the connector on top of the rear axle, if it's like the defender. £55 for a set from Rimmers.

Only 4 flexy pipes on a Freelander. It's just a normal car with a bit more ground clearance

Changing flexi's is simple quick and easy...

Until a union won't undo, twists and splits the copper pipe.....and a bleed nipple is blocked and comes out with the alloy thread in the caliper by which time you're pulling your hair out and yer Doris is screaming at you.....ermm. ...

Apparently

The "2 are quite long" comment made me think it was the copper pipes, rather than the hoses. Either way, £350 is way over the top.
Get the mechanic to confirm what it is exactly that he is quoting for..then phone around.

Just sounds like a days labour including materials.

Depends how you look at it really and whether that's a fixed quote or an estimate. As said there are a couple of possible pain in the arse possibilities. I know from bleeding the brakes on my '99, the bleed nipples on the front calipers loosened easily, but both rear ones only just managed to loosen, so will he replace the cylinders if it goes bad in that price? He'll have to do a double bleed of all 4 brakes, so there will be a reasonable cost in fluid. Having said that, if the parts and fluid come in at £100, he's got £200 to play with after VAT. Dunno what the hourly rate is, but you would think he's got some to spare in there.

If you haven't had the pads changed for a while, it might be worth getting them done at the same time. Shoes will add a little to the job as the drums will have to come off, but probably worth doing, even if just to make sure the pins are in decent condition.

As with a lot of these things where the garage bill is questioned. Its not rocket science, you could spend a day to do it yourself and save enough for a cheap week in Benidorm! I'm no ninja mechanic, but I spent the best part of a day replacing the ABS modulator on mine and the car drove and, more importantly, stopped, afterwards. I had to take the headlight out, which means taking the bumper off as well and its an awkward position leading to fluid everywhere - the hoses should be OK to change (he said having never changed them!). Get yourself one of those cheap "1 man brake bleeding kits" and its a doddle (if the rear nipples loosen!).

badfelafel said:

all 4? he said there's 5 to do.
maybe it's pipes not hoses? It was the mechanic over the phone.
I'm near Glasgow.

Click to expand...

Which garage is it? I've heard good things about Monarch in Glasgow http://www.monarchgarage.com/ and I use Reid's in Paisley (0141 889 1263). Or there's Gibson's http://gibsonsautos.co.uk/ Worth phoning round for a few quotes.