[rvt1000]

I'm not going to spend 2k on a brake job when I can spend $500 and do it myself. However when I asked my landlord if I could use his air compressor with my tools he told me I can't do anything like that. filling a tire sure. but no work. I live in the mother in law apt on a 5 acre property....work would have been hidden from view. He's worried about liability...???? Anyone with any legal knowledge have any insight. His wife does work for an attorney....so.

[overcoil]

A) offer him a gift

B) any places rent work bays ?

C) Wal Mart parking lot

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

B) any places rent work bays ?

There should be options, including lifts and tools. By me $25-$35 per hour for a basic setup, definitely worth investigating.

[Dylan86]

Don't use his stuff, he has no liability that way...

[p912guy]

Tricky situation, now that he knows what you want to do. If you go ahead, be careful with fluids. Any service you perform on someone elses property like changing your own oil, or a brake job where fluids like oil, antifreeze or brake fluid could leak or spill could be an issue. I like the rent-a-bay idea or find a friend who'll let you use their driveway.

[XutvJet]

Yeah, he could assume liability if he knew you were doing this, you got hurt, and you decided to sue. He'd only be liable if you took action. His insurance policy likely notes this assuming he has a renters policy.

[Rocky58]

I had all 4 pads and rotors replaced on my Volvo for $245 labor (incl. tax) at my local tire and wheel shop. The pads and rotors and brake fluid I bought myself and provided them to the shop, so I got the exact kind I wanted. To me that was money well spent.

[rvt1000]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Yeah, he could assume liability if he knew you were doing this, you got hurt, and you decided to sue. He'd only be liable if you took action. His insurance policy likely notes this assuming he has a renters policy.

He seems to be more worried about an accident on the road, i think.

[morphomeman]

OP: there is not much that you can do since this is his property and, at least from what you have written, it doesn't look like he will respond to reason.
Brakes are among the few DIY services that you can still do yourself on a modern car, so I feel for your pain.
If you do want to do the work yourself, then the rent-a-bay option that others have suggested is the best, but those places are pretty scarce in many areas.
Next best is a local shop that you trust. Consumer Reports agrees.
A BMW dealer will usually do a good job, but will always be the most expensive.

[cooolone2]

The quick cheap brake job like the one posted for $245 usually uses cheap China Rotors that are wafer thin, just meeting minimal tolerances that don't last long or perform well. Same goes for the pads included. I've done that in the past and the next year the place informed me I needed new rotors again, just crazy!

Better off spending the money on good quality components and saving on the labor by DIY. There are many places that can be used to do the brake job as it usually isn't something that takes a lot of time, as noted lol, Walmart or a Home Depot lot, school or any other large parking lot. If questioned, just say your caliper fell off and you're fixing it yourself, will be done in a jiffy. Assumptions here include that you have all the tools you need along with the know how to do the job. You would want to have to leave the vehicle up on a jack or stand to go get something you need... Rotors and pads, relube slides, replace boots, etc., can be done in an hour, maybe 2, if you run into small issues. If you are new at it, double that, lol

Good luck

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by cooolone2

The quick cheap brake job like the one posted for $245 usually uses cheap China Rotors that are wafer thin, just meeting minimal tolerances that don't last long or perform well.

Huh?

Originally Posted by Rocky58

I had all 4 pads and rotors replaced on my Volvo for $245 labor (incl. tax) at my local tire and wheel shop. The pads and rotors and brake fluid I bought myself and provided them to the shop, so I got the exact kind I wanted. To me that was money well spent.

[Rocky58]

I have used Akebono pads on all my cars. They have served me well and lasted a long time. They are also made in the USA. Rotors depend on how much I want to spend and what the car will be used for. I can understand how people who like to DIY do their own work. Personally, I am now too old to change oil, plugs or brakes myself and how I want to spend my free time has changed .

[seansurfn2]

Originally Posted by rvt1000

I'm not going to spend 2k on a brake job when I can spend $500 and do it myself. However when I asked my landlord if I could use his air compressor with my tools he told me I can't do anything like that. filling a tire sure. but no work. I live in the mother in law apt on a 5 acre property....work would have been hidden from view. He's worried about liability...???? Anyone with any legal knowledge have any insight. His wife does work for an attorney....so.

as a landlord i never want ppl letting fluids get on the driveway.. i had to power wash
my driveway on my rental twice before its a pita

[TrboMike]

Is it that he doesnt want you fixing your own brakes and thinks he is liable? Or more likely he owns the property and you rent and he doesnt want you working on a car on his property that could cause injury to you or someone while working on the car and then you sue him?

If your lease says you have a specific parking space or garage space, then maybe you have a legal right to be able to work on your car in that space. But otherwise if the owner of the property doesnt want you working on a car that can cause injury to yourself, thats the BREAKS (see that joke?) of renting.

[Isoleucine]

If your lease gives you some space as yours and the lease doesn't restrict you from working on your own car, then you are allowed to work on your car no matter what the landlord says. The lease and any written additions to it trump any verbal agreements or personal desires of the landlord.

That said, the landlord doesn't have to let you use his tools. The good news is that a brake job doesn't require an air compressor, so if you have your own tools you can do it all yourself without any equipment from the landlord.

The only liability the landlord could possibly have is if you were illegally dumping fluids on or from the property. In that case, however, the liability still falls on the person who actually dumped the fluids (you) unless the landlord knew you were dumping and helped you in some way. The landlord is not liable if you work on your car in a rented space, mess it up on your own, and then crash later because of it. If that was the case then you wouldn't be able to rent auto repair bays for DIY fixes, since the shop wouldn't want to assume liability for work performed by someone other than themselves.

[Maynard]

I think the universe is trying to tell you something about greenhorn DIY brake jobs. How about finding the local community college and signing up for their basic auto repair class, then you can use their lifts, while an ASE looks over your shoulder to help. And I DK what kind of parts you are finding that offer a 'full brake job' for $500, but you really should go with BMW quality parts, even if not truly factory. Anybody can turn out something that looks OK for cheap, but this is one of the most stressed and safety-critical parts of the whole car.

[B58togo]

Originally Posted by cooolone2

The quick cheap brake job like the one posted for $245 usually uses cheap China Rotors that are wafer thin, just meeting minimal tolerances that don't last long or perform well. Same goes for the pads included. I've done that in the past and the next year the place informed me I needed new rotors again, just crazy!

Better off spending the money on good quality components and saving on the labor by DIY. There are many places that can be used to do the brake job as it usually isn't something that takes a lot of time, as noted lol, Walmart or a Home Depot lot, school or any other large parking lot. If questioned, just say your caliper fell off and you're fixing it yourself, will be done in a jiffy. Assumptions here include that you have all the tools you need along with the know how to do the job. You would want to have to leave the vehicle up on a jack or stand to go get something you need... Rotors and pads, relube slides, replace boots, etc., can be done in an hour, maybe 2, if you run into small issues. If you are new at it, double that, lol

Good luck

Read it again. The $245 was labor only.

[rvt1000]

[QUOTE=Maynard;25838715]I think the universe is trying to tell you something about greenhorn DIY brake jobs. How about finding the local community college and signing up for their basic auto repair class, then you can use their lifts, while an ASE looks over your shoulder to help. And I DK what kind of parts you are finding that offer a 'full brake job' for $500, but you really should go with BMW quality parts, even if not truly factory. Anybody can turn out something that looks OK for cheap, but this is one of the most stressed and safety-critical parts of the whole car.

Thanks for the advice, but not my first rodeo.. Been a few years but brakes are brakes, simple iron rotor they've been making them for decades. Good ones and bad ones. Done them more than once on motorcycles faster than this car. Sold motorcycle parts for years, most of the after market brakes (i.e. EBC, galfer) worked great. We did however typically sell OEM pads as they wore better for most people, even though they didn't bite as hard.

The $500 set was more like $595 and that was a sale price (from an American OEM, not OE.). I found another someone mentioned when I tried a search, it was also around the same (non sale price) as the first. My independent shop quoted me $1950 for an aftermarket set installed. Sorry but if you think $1200 in parts and $600 in labor for a iron disc and pads is appropriate there is a PT Barnum quote you should look up. Not saying it's not what people are paying, just that it's absurd. One thing on racing level discs and pads that sales volumes don't equate to economies of scale to bring the prices down, another thing on a disc used across multiple models.

I'll post another thread about other than OEM sets, if you have a positive or negative comment about a specific product post it there.