Driving along today and the car in front of me slammed their brakes on and I in turn did the same, had to brake really hard, ABS kicked in, and managed to pull up just short of the car in front.

However upon taking off and driving down the road a bit I tried to brake and found I had no brakes whatsoever. Pulled over, checked for blown hoses etc, couldnt see anything, so I drove it slowly using the gears and handbrake to a mechanics for an inspection/fix.

Any ideas what it could be? And perhaps a cost/timeframe for repair as this couldnt have come at a worse time financially due to christmas shopping etc...

Silly question but is the master cylinder above the "Min" line?

Turns out a brake hose has burst. Getting new lines tomorrow as well as pads and rotors whilst hes at it.

Ive given him $1000 to play with and told him to call if it will cost any more, not bad considering Ive had the car for over 4 years and they only other failure was a power steering belt snapping.

I would strongly suggest that you replace ALL the brake hoses. If one has gone, the others could (unlikely) be in a similar condition. Check the old hoses for signs of damage - pinching, stretching etc. They may have been damaged during maintenance sometime in the past.

If its a TJ, check that the lines aren't rusted, common issue, check my ride thread as well as my lines were corroded and were about to break when we caught it.

The bursting line was a custom line as I have 380 brakes on my KJ. Entirely my fault as I had cable tied them into position with the intention of mounting them correctly, however this was 2.5 years ago.

Spending up to $1000 on the KJ has helped me make a decision though, recently I have been thinking of upgrading to a 380, but now since Ive poured money into her I will give her a major service and see if I can hang onto it for another 1-2 years.

Factory lines for hte 380 calipers are only about $80 each, get these and they will mount fine then

And securely mount them away from moving parts. Is the other side worn at all?

Not sure, Just had both replaced to be safe.

New Pads, Rotors and lines, bleed etc as well as a "rear caliper kit"(?) for $663.

These things happen.