Alfa 156 brakes pads and discs

[Paul 5]

Hey guys,

Based in Sydney and have a silver 2000 Alfa 156 JTS selespeed with 62,000km, am the second owner of 2 years and the car is immaculate.

Had it's full service done recently at Alfa dealership as usual and the brake pads and discs need replacing. Dealer quoted $1,700 parts and labour for front and back and a local garage where i work has quoted $1,000. He will use the same parts although not all genuine Alfa but from same manufacturers.

Rego is up in June and I want them done before then but I also plan on leaving to work overseas later in year and will sell it then.

I know Alfa mechanics are used to deal with the brake sensors, am i mad not giving the car to an Alfa garage to get this job done or is there anything i can specifically tell this mechanic to do? He is well established and well respected here and a decent guy to boot.

Also does anyone know a 156 ebing scrapped as i need a small part for the boot release mechanism. The trigger catch in the boot lid broke on me recently and now i cant open the boot lid from inside the car?

[dehne]

hi there regarding disks look at the new ones on ebay there is also a guy on the they go by the name of alfawreck all they do is wreck them i think any good brake place should be fine

[jayarr]

Hi,
would think that most of the alfa parts places would have a 156 or 2 being wrecked.

With regard to prices on fitting disks and pads, suspect you need to ask the question about what you are getting. Alfa dealers will likely use genuine parts, my experience is that if you want the "as new" feeling, can't go past the original Alfa pads, but you pay for it. As long as you don't have expectations of track day performance.

Labour costs for the Alfa dealers (I only have one dealer to go by) are steep, but my local did the full monty, changing brake fluid as well. You should ask what services you are actually getting. If it's just rotors and pads, this is a hour job, assuming minimal bleeding.

Last thought for the day - If was buying your car, I'd be looking for the dealer stamps on servicing!

Cheers.

[wankski]

dehne makes a good point... i dont know how good the eBay items are, but looking online i see pair fron around $130, pads $50...

all up around ~$360-400, so i dunno why there is $600 in labour charge for fitting, as said it is a 1 hr job.

You might liek to look at this avenue, also there is no reason why u cannot source genuine parts yourself and supply to a local brake place to do the work. There is nothing special on the alfa 156 as far as brakes go, any brake shop can do it... Might like to call brakes plus or similar and find what they would charge labour only.

the sensor you speak of is simply plug and play and is only for wear limit. Some pads ship without it, then u simply tuck the connector away with a zip tie. otherwise, plug and play.

[ProvaRacing]

Paul 5 do yourself a favour and register on alfaromeo.com.au as an owner, then you will find servicing offers like this one attached. Then contact your dealer and ask them to quote labour at 1 hour as listed and see how you go.

Personally for road use I wouldn't use other than genuine Alfa pads for the as new feel and effectiveness without the squeal, issues with cold/hot performance etc. Like cars for sale you can always find much cheaper but is it the same thing?

[jayarr]

Hi PR -

thanks for the information about registering!  

Flame disclaimer->>
Mind you it's one of the things that really irks me about some Alfa dealerships. You have to either have the "inside" knowledge on these deals, take the sting, or walk away. It would be nice if the service details were included in the e-news. I used to be reasonable and have a good degree of trust in the quote and would reward with repeat business. However I find my self questioning every quote now with extreme prejudice, given I cannot be sure that I'll get a fair quote first time.

Cheers.

[Paul 5]

Thanks guys, information has been very useful. I have no problem in paying for the Alfa parts and labour at an approved dealer but I just find that they don't divulge the full truth and this turns me off them. I was told at last dealer service that my back brakes needed doing immediately, however 2 other opinions have told me since there was still 8k km left on the discs and pads.

I have registered on the Alfa Romeo site too, it all helps.

thanks again....still trying to find someone scrapping one to replace the boot lid catch so if you hear anything let me know.

Paul

[ProvaRacing]

Yes I know what you both mean with dealer quoting it annoys me too - but I did realise when you sell 1600 odd per year Australia wide of one car brand how few any dealer in a state gets to make money on sales likewise the number coming through for servicing so I do have a bit of sympathy for what often seems and sometimes is a rip off (I am not here to cheer for dealers - nor completely justify margins they make btw) ...but then I realised if it isn't profitable for a dealer to maintain a business on so few cars, for those few of us that actually financially support Alfa Romeo by buying new cars the brand will disapear and the jurasic park owners will have their way (time will stand still).

[shiny_car]

There's several ways you can approach maintenance like this, depending upon what you find convenient, are prepared to pay, and what performance you want. For example:

1. go through Alfa dealer: minimal hassle; they provide the parts, it will get done 'right' (in most cases!); OE-spec
2. go through independent workshop: parts may/may not be OE; should be cheaper; should be fine for a basic daily driven car
3. buy your own parts and have them fitted by one of the above, or yourself: can be cheaper, or alternatively you can have better performance for similar money, or the option for higher performance

For parts, you can by OE-spec/originals through places like Arese Spares (Sydney) http://www.aresespares.com.au/index.html where Vlade is a real Alfa enthusiast and offers good service. Or EB Spares in the UK, and they have some higher performance stuff too http://www.ebspares.co.uk/ , and they offer good service and usually delivered within 2 weeks (depending upon supply). Then fit them yourself or have your local workshop do the job; you could save a hundred or two $ over a dealership, and still have OE parts.

If you are wanting higher performance, suitable for a street car (as opposed to track car), then look into Ferodo brake pads, like DS Performance series. For discs, you can look into DBA (Australia); or I use Tarox discs (Italy) which are grooved. The costs of some of these can be similar to dealer prices for the original-spec stuff.

[saratoga]

Hi,  re,, discs ,,I agree with Prova Racing. Go for the brake package from the dealer.  Although the flyer is dated 2008,,,they all have theflyer still in their service depts,,My dealer reckons the offer is available all the time as the supplier makes up and sends out parts to them with a weeks notice.  Apparently the discs are a little more durable than the set that are fitted originally which wear out in nno time at all.
I have got 80k out of a set of front discs and the same out of a set of Goodyear F1 GSD3's so I cant complain.