Maintenance costs of carbon brakes vs. "regular" brakes

[Kain]

Based on what I've read, changing/servicing Porsche's carbon brakes costs hell of a lot more than their "regular" brakes. I wanted to know how much of a difference is there for the M3/M4's carbon brakes vs. "regular" brakes when it comes to changing worn out brakes with new ones?

[RowanBuds]

Replacement runs ~~12K in parts for a complete kit - calipers included.

Maintenance, I can't answer but if you use the car minimally if at all on track you should get 80k+ miles out of them. Moderate to heavy track use and YMMV.

[DBV]

Well, I know that a lot of Porsche owners that have the carbon brakes will change out pads at about 50% which actually seems to help in the longevity of the actual carbon disc. Now, that said, I also know some of the more experimental types were sources replacement carbon disk rings directly from Brembo or I even heard from a Corvette ZR1(or some other "more affordable" sportscar), and simply swapping the new rings onto the Porsche specific hats. Of course your results may vary.

I wouldn't be suprised with carbon brakes becoming more and more mainstream, that aftermarket offerings for the carbon brake components become more prevalent.

So, to answer your question: depending on whether you are leasing or buying, together with the fact that the carbon brakes on the M3/4 aren't covered under the included BMW Maintenance plan, may be a deciding factor in determining the overall costs (original cost of admission through selecting the option not withstanding).