Auto Parts: brakes, buick allure, brake job

Question
What parts are necessary to do a complete brake job on a 2005 Buick Allure

Answer
    You are doing your own brake job, eh?  Sorry.  This is a very cheap and easy to maintain car.  If you are doing your own brake job, you could just put on brake pads.  While the pads are off, you should examine the rotors and, if they are grooved, replace them.  No one turns rotors on these newer cars, new ones are too cheap and they are usually too thin to turn without going past the wear limits.  When you put on new brake pads you have to prevent the brake fluid from being pushed back into the anti-lock system when you retract the pistons.  On the front calipers you should clamp the brake line with something gentle, then open the bleeder screw and bleed the excess fluid just as if you were bleeding from the top down.  Take the usual precautions to prevent air from being allowed into the system.  On the rear wheels the procedure is the same, except that instead of forcing the piston back into the caliper it must be screwed in against the emergency brake ratchet.  Most parts stores carry the special socket you need to do this easily, and it doesn't cost much.
    Now, if you are talking about which parts the shop down the street wants to force you to buy when THEY do your brake job, well that's up to them.  The one thing they are trying to avoid is your coming back halfway through the useful life of the pads with some kind of problem.  A lot of shops will sell you new rotors before checking the old ones for wear, new calipers to avoid the danger of contaminating the anti-lock system, and all new hardware to prevent them from having to struggle with your old hardware in order to re-use it.  As a former shop manager, I really can't blame them; they are trying to keep you happy with the work and keep their boss happy with their sales figures.  And, since they can't jack up the flat-rate for installing these new parts, it gives them a better margin.  A good customer will not begrudge them this extra income, especially if in engenders an understanding of honesty between the them and the mechanic.  If you let them make money on the repairs you do need, they won't try to sell you stuff that you don't need.