B 2.0
BR
Brakes, tires and alignment
The system you notice only when it is wrong. Pads and rotors, brake fluid, calipers and lines, tires, balancing and four-wheel alignment.
Brakes are the one system where the failure mode is not negotiable, and they are also the one most often sold badly — a "brake special" that turns into four figures once the car is on the lift is a recognised trick, and it is the reason people arrive suspicious.
The measurable facts are simple. Pads have a thickness, rotors have a thickness and a minimum stamped on them, and both can be written down. Our brake inspection gives you those numbers on paper, per corner, whether or not you have anything done. If your pads measure 7mm, you do not need brakes today and we will tell you so.
Salt air east of the river matters here more than anywhere else on the car. Caliper slide pins and hardware seize, and a seized slide wears one pad to nothing while the other barely moves. That is why hardware is part of a proper brake job rather than an upsell, and why a brake job done without it comes back.
Tell us these at write-up
- Which axle
- Front and rear are separate jobs at separate prices. Most cars wear the front faster, and doing both at once is a choice rather than a requirement.
- Pads only or pads and rotors
- If the rotors are above their minimum thickness and not warped, pads alone are correct. We measure and tell you the number.
- Parts grade
- Ceramic, semi-metallic or OE-equivalent. Each has a real difference in dust, noise, feel and life. See parts and warranty.
- Hardware and fluid
- Slide pins, clips and brake fluid. On a coastal car, hardware is part of the job, not an option.
- Symptoms
- Grinding, squealing, pulsing through the pedal, pulling to one side and a soft pedal are four different faults. Say which one you have.
All of it goes on the repair order in your words, and the written estimate is built from it. See estimate and authorization.
- Estimate
- Written, against your vehicle
- Authorize
- By you, before work starts
- Changes
- A revised number needs a second authorization
- Old parts
- Returned if you ask at write-up
Diagnosis is $149, and it is credited in full against the repair it identifies if you authorize that repair with us.
B 2.1 Prices
What these operations cost
Published ranges for the operations in this group, at a labor rate of $149 per hour. Everything on one page is on the pricing page.
| Operation | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Front pads and rotorsOne axle, with hardware | 2.4 hr | $486–$720 |
| Rear pads and rotorsOne axle, with hardware | 2.2 hr | $448–$680 |
| Pads onlyOne axle, where rotors measure in spec | 1.4 hr | $289–$420 |
| Brake fluid flushFull system, to clear moisture | 1.0 hr | $139–$179 |
| Caliper replacementEach, including bleed | 1.6 hr | $320–$520 |
| Brake hose replacementEach, including bleed | 1.2 hr | $189–$290 |
| Wheel bearing / hub assemblyEach | 2.2 hr | $420–$680 |
| Four-wheel alignmentMeasured and printed before and after | 1.2 hr | $139–$189 |
| Tire mount and balancePer tire, tire not included | 0.4 hr | $34–$48 |
| Tire rotationFour wheels | 0.4 hr | $39 |
| Parking brake adjustmentIncluding cable inspection | 0.8 hr | $89–$149 |
Prices are USD ranges for the operation named, at a labor rate of $149 per hour, and include parts and labor unless a line says otherwise. They exclude shop supplies, disposal fees and tax. They are published so you can budget before you call, and they are not an estimate for your vehicle. Reviewed September 2026. The estimate for a specific vehicle is written against that vehicle and authorized by you before any work starts. See the disclaimer.
Questions Brakes, tires and alignment
Questions about this work
Specific to this group. The general ones — estimates, warranty, payment, shuttle — are on the FAQ page.
Do I need rotors every time I need pads?
No, and anybody who says otherwise is not measuring. Rotors have a minimum thickness stamped on them, and if yours are above it and not warped, pads alone are the correct repair. We measure and give you the number. What is true is that on a car that has already had two pad sets, the rotors usually are at or near minimum, and replacing them then is cheaper than doing pads twice.
Why did you quote hardware as well?
Because of where you live. Salt air seizes caliper slide pins, and a seized slide means one pad does all the work and wears out in a fraction of the time. Fitting new pads to seized hardware produces a brake job that comes back within a year, which is a worse outcome for both of us. On a coastal car hardware is part of the job.
What does a pulsing brake pedal mean?
Usually rotor thickness variation — the rotor is no longer perfectly flat, so the pad is pushed back and forth as it rotates. Sometimes it is a warped rotor, sometimes uneven pad material deposited on the surface. It is measurable either way, and the fix is resurfacing or replacement depending on how much thickness is left.
When does a car actually need an alignment?
After any suspension or steering work, after a hard pothole or kerb strike, and when the tires are wearing unevenly or the car pulls. Not as an annual ritual. We print the before and after measurements so you can see what was out and what it is now, rather than taking our word for it.
B 0.0 The rest
Everything else we do
Diagnosis
Finding out is its own job, priced on its own, and what you own at the end of it is a written finding you can take anywhere — including somewhere else.
In this city the air conditioning is not a comfort item and the cooling system is not a seasonal one. Performance testing, leak finding, compressors, radiators and water pumps.
Misfires, timing components, belts, starters and alternators, transmission service, axles and driveline — the work that follows a diagnosis rather than preceding it.
Oil and filter, fluids, filters, belts, plugs and the mileage-interval services, each priced as a line item rather than discovered at the counter.
Describe it and we will name the operation
You do not need the right word for it. Tell us what it does, when it does it, and how long it has been doing it, and we will tell you what it probably is and what that costs.
Arlington Motor Company, Inc. · 10939 Atlantic Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32225