Any quick estimate on what it would cost me? I'm purchasing a 1989 Celica and the owner said it needed new brake pads and brake lines.How much would changing brake pads and brake lines cost?Pads should be relatively inexpensive, $30 max (for economy grade) and I would replace rotors too, about $25 a piece. (for DOMESTIC cars; from your autoparts store, not a brake shop) Labor is probably going to be little over an hour.
Brake lines on the other hand are custom for every car and usually considered a %26quot;straight time%26quot; job, meaning that if the mechanic runs into problems and it takes 4 hours to do, you're going to pay 4 hours labor. Don't forget bleeding air from brake lines takes time too. I would suggest getting a quote from a shop before you buy it.
Murphy's law says that if you fix just one brake line today, the others will start leaking next week. I recommend changing all your lines at once.
Personally, unless you're totally in love with that car, or it's real cheap, stay away from it. It's gonna end up costing you a pile of $$.
