BMW 2016 5 Series

[9inchlynch]

My 5 series needs new rear brakes
Dealership has quoted €350 and i have a local mechanic who'll put on Bosch or similar for €120

Whats the view from those of you who know .

Will the dealership use BMW brakes , are BMW brakes just rebadged version of other brakes

[Chamon_Lee]

why dont you get the local dude to put in genuine bmw parts

as far as I am concerned they are def not rebadged parts. I loathe when people say this as my experience says different.

[kambites]

BMW certainly do not make brake components themselves (it's an extremely specialist job, they'd inevitably end up spending a fortune to do a worse job than the big brake companies), but they will have some input into the development process of the components they OEM in. I've no idea who their OEM supplier(s) were, though.

Personally on a barge like that I'd happily use any decent brand (Ferodo, Brembo, Pagid, etc.) of pattern part. Without comparing them back-to-back I very much doubt you'll be able to tell the difference. I think I put Brembo pads on our Skoda last time I changed them; I neither know nor particularly care who the OEM supplier was.

ETA: It's also worth noting that OE brakes tend to be produced down to a very aggressive price and consequently are often pretty rubbish compared to cheaper aftermarket components. I certainly wouldn't put OEM pads on my Elise - they're awful compared to any number of after-market components.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 3rd September 11:28

[Pioneer]

Yep, OEM is not always best. Decent indie may well do a better job as well. Staff turnover at main dealers is pretty high. The master tech at our local main dealer used to work for a friend of mine. He wouldn't let them do a brake change let alone anything more involving. Why he was 'asked' to leave. Check any warranty you may have although I doubt consumables effect it.

[JamesRR]

Wouldn’t be going near the dealer for that. Far too much money for the work, and as others have said the aftermarket pads will be as good or better than factory.

[9inchlynch]

Thanks all - much appreciated

I managed to get a good chunk off at the garage and the prices ended up only a few quid apart

Thanks for keeping me right

[naturalaspiration]

kambites said:

BMW certainly do not make brake components themselves (it's an extremely specialist job, they'd inevitably end up spending a fortune to do a worse job than the big brake companies), but they will have some input into the development process of the components they OEM in. I've no idea who their OEM supplier(s) were, though.

Personally on a barge like that I'd happily use any decent brand (Ferodo, Brembo, Pagid, etc.) of pattern part. Without comparing them back-to-back I very much doubt you'll be able to tell the difference. I think I put Brembo pads on our Skoda last time I changed them; I neither know nor particularly care who the OEM supplier was.

ETA: It's also worth noting that OE brakes tend to be produced down to a very aggressive price and consequently are often pretty rubbish compared to cheaper aftermarket components. I certainly wouldn't put OEM pads on my Elise - they're awful compared to any number of after-market components.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 3rd September 11:28

among other things, BMW certainly do make their own braking components - 6M discs per year to be precise - but not pads, which as you rightly noted is a very specialist job.

http://www.bmw-werk-berlin.de/en/werk/produktion.h...

[P700DEE]

BMW indy great, your mate round the corner possibly not. The brakes need to be re-set on the computer when changed, make sure your chosen mechanic can do this.