I’m up in Canada (Toronto) and I just had the 55,000km (35,000mi) service a few weeks ago. The service manager said front front pads would need to be replaced soon and sure enough to the warning light turned on this evening.
I know I’ll pay a premium getting it done at a dealer but I’m OK with that. I just don’t want to get completely screwed over. What’s a reasonable cost to get the front pads replaced? I’m assuming the rotors are just turned and not replaced at the same time.
John I think one of the things your going to run into is the fact that the dealer is only going to use OEM replacement parts for the job. That isnt a bad thing you just have to know your going to start off paying a little more for that. Also I dont think I have ever heard of a dealer turning the rotors. Most say the rotors are a one time use only unit and they are going to make you get new rotors. On the rotors you can supply your own in the fashion of say something like the JHM lightweight rotors that add a little help with rotational weight or something along those lines where the rotors are different enough from OEM where the dealer wont reject the job or parts as cheap.
If you add in those two parts at dealer rates that are generally 100 dollars an hour that would tell you exactly what your going to pay
They wanted 1200 (pads+rotors) to replace (I’m in the US) to which I said no thanks to. I ended up getting a stoptech kit instead 
OEM rotors for the S4 are pretty pricey. If you’re willing to go aftermarket, I’m sure you could find a reputable shop to do them for you for half of what the dealer is asking.
Thanks for the replies. I didn’t know about the single use rotors the dealer’s quote makes more sense now. The person I spoke to didn’t have a breakdown but they said a front brake job was about $760 including parts and labour.
Now that I know what’s involved and I have other options to price it against I’ll make some calls during the week to get pricing. Thanks guys. 
Yes given the amount they gave that should help you get an idea on what you can get if you look else where. 760 is a bit steep for front brakes but you can look for better than OEM
Cool. Thanks again. I’ll call some local shops and see what they say. I don’t know about ordering the parts myself as I’m in Canada and most of the dealers are in the US so the exchange rate and shipping can be a killer.
The dealer often charges 1.5 hrs per axle for brake service. This is fair if you don’t want to get your hands dirty. $190 or so.
If you want to save a few bucks, source your own [ads and rotors. I bought carbotech bobcat pads and OEM rotors for my RS4, then handed them to the dealer to do fronts. Saved about $700 and the pads are better than the OEMs.
Why dealer for this?
If you must supply parts…otherwise do yourself or go to Indy and upgrade the stuff for less than a hack job at the dealer l unless they are actually good 
I don’t have the tools, experience, or really the desire to do the work myself. I realize I pay a premium for taking my car to the dealer for work but I don’t mind. However, I also don’t want to get blindly ripped off so that’s why I was asking about the cost.