Thought I had posted this to the forum....my b7 made it 115k on one set of brakes. New rotors and pads cost 1200.00 from the dealership. Car is 7 years old 3 months.

 

Not unusual if you do a lot of highway driving. If that was city, then I am more than amazed. I generally got 80-90k per set of pads and rotors on my A6, which was mostly highway.

 

It's unfortunate you had to go to the dealership. Hopefully that was for all four. A reputable in dependant euro shop would've been less expensive. If you did it on your own, well you know how that goes.

 

My dealer charged much less for both genuine front and rear pads and rotors.

 

My 06 A4 B7 Quattro 6MT is now at 103K miles on original brakes and pads. I know I'll have to R&R soon, although I can still see about 25-30% pad material on them.

I'm not sure how hard it is to do brakes, but I've done brakes on Toyota, Mazda and Honda in the past without any real issues. I would think a decent set of aftermarket pads and rotors shouldn't cost more than $200-$300, and labor is probably about 3-4 hours tops with basic tools, including recycling the brake fluid.

I know on Toyotas you have a $10 tool to back the pistons into the calipers to get clearance for the new pads, similarly with Mazda, but otherwise they were a piece of cake to do.

Is there any mystery or special tools required to do brakes on B7? Any gotchas or tricks involved?

 

No special tools required,but I would recommend getting Akebono pads.They stop nearly as good as original and with no dust to cover your rims.
Rotors and pads all the way around about$350.
Good Luck!

 

Second this. Akebono (Euro ceramic) pads are awesome and bought online won't cost you that much of a premium. I bought my pads and rotors online, had them shipped to me, and paid my mechanic $75 or $100 to install them (the best he could do on the parts was like $400 for the pads/rotors from his local distributor).

 

Good to know. Akebono!