Brake pads OEM BMW or OEM Mercedes

I literally just did the rear rotors/pads and front pads for my amg GTS last week. I found that MBpartscenter.com had the best price that are OEM. Only 1k per rotor (compared to the dealer who wanted 1700 each). I also got porterfield R4S pads from pelican parts. They are considered streetable/track pads. I didn’t change the front rotors yet, but if I were to I would get them from FCP euro at $500 each rotor. My mechanic charged me $500 for install and a brake fluid flush

My local dealer has the “value service” pricing on BMW USA’s website, front rotors/pads/sensors on an 18 330 x drive for $419.95 front and $435.95 rear.

I installed R56 front brakes.

I consider my W204 C63 visceral, even if not analog. The 6.2 V8 makes all kinds of nasty noises you would not expect from a Mercedes and it howls all the way up to 7200rpm, which may not be that high, but still impresses me given the size of the engine. The car is quick, noisy and has the brakes to back it up.

M3 stock brakes are better, the GTI gets a little tail-happy under hard braking above 110-130mph.

Seems like there would be room in the market for a slightly detuned S55 base model without the fancy seats, brakes and wheels for about $5-8k less like the M3/M4: M3/M4 Competition.

I really love driving it though, particularly the brakes and the handling.

The way the brakes begin to grumble during heavy braking is less impressive, but they work well enough.

And jesus christ. $600 for rear pads and rotors? the the parts are like $250 and labor shouldn't be over $200...

Might I share an experience with my Mercedes Warranty Service: It was my last "scheduled" maintenace on my Benz before my warranty expired in a month... This is what my service rep told me behind closed doors...."We better schedule in as many repairs as possible" 4 new break pads and 2 new rotars for the front (even though they still had a few more thousand mile on them), replacement wood trims for 2 of the door panels, new wiper blades and arm, a whole new radio system b/c the tape player broke (even though I've put probably only 2 tapes into the bay for the 4 years I owned the car); a brand new driver seat b/c one of the heating element on the car seat would not power on (I live in Florida, rarely ever used it).....