'97 E320 Brake Job Cost

[Rebel62]

I just hit 80,000 miles on my '97 E320 and the brake light came on telling me that the Brake Linings needed to be replaced. I've had bought the car with 20,000 miles on it and I have yet to do a brake job. I'm not sure if brakes were replaced on it before I bought it.

Either way, I'm pretty impressed with the miles on one set of brakes. My E300 never went this long without needing new pads. For the last 20,000 miles, I've been very impressed with the brakes and I've been waiting for this to happen. Here's my questions:

1) What's the normal wear on brake pads for this model? 60K seems like a lot. (And I don't drive like a grandma)

2) New Rotors, what is the common wisdom on the number of pad changes for a set of rotors?

3) Can you turn rotors on this model?

4) I spoke with an Indy who told me the pads had sensors in them??? (Not sure of this - I didn't think SBC came out until 2002)

5) Typical cost for pads / rotors / labor?

6) DIY - how hard - haven't done my own Brake jobs since I sold my '69 VW Beetle

Thanks in advance for your responses. This is a great site and I've always gotten great info from y'all.