Brake pad replacement, a question...

[texaxile]

Hi

Car is a 60 plate Mazda 6, FMSH low miles etc.

My Dad was quoted £326 for replacing pads all round by the Main dealer.

I was quoted £160 from a trusted indy using Ferodo pads and including the replacement fitting kit (metal guides etc) Mazda recommend using when doing so.

Up until now everything has been done via the Dealer as Dad is 81 so reluctant to use an indy, he still sees them as "back street" garages.

Would getting the pads replaced at an indy have any bearing on perhaps any future "goodwill" repairs? (they re charged his air con and fixed the leak for free in the summer and gave him a set of "as new" but secondhand mats), he's worried about "upsetting them" .



Cheers
Pete

[Iva Barchetta]

Car is already 5 years old so there can't be much more goodwill available.....shirley.

Go to the Indy.

[eldar]

Iva Barchetta said:

Car is already 5 years old so there can't be much more goodwill available.....shirley.

Go to the Indy.

This. Pads alone don't require the 'arcane skills' of a main dealer.

[SnailTrail]

You can have a full set of Pagid brake pads for a Mazda 6 from Euro Car Parts for £55. If you go even cheaper you can get Eicher (ECP own brand) for £45. Fitting will take an hour at the most I'd say.

[littleredrooster]

£166 difference buys a lot of AC recharges and secondhand mats...

[steveo3002]

might be worth a look to check it actualy needs them both ends , wouldnt be the first time a dealer has wanted to replace good parts

[GingerMagic]

If the indy garage has been kind to your Dad in the past - seems a shame not to go back to use them for quite a basic job, especially at less than half the price of the main stealers - you can get the car valeted too, and still have plenty of change.....

[skyrover]

Fit the pad's yourself and save a packet.

Very simple job, even for a novice and many many video's on you-tube to help if you get stuck

Good opportunity to inspect the condition of various other things while the wheels are off and maybe slap a bit of grease/paint here and there.

[V8RX7]

£160 isn't cheap and I doubt they need doing anyway.

My VW sensors told me my brakes were worn 12 months ago - they are still fine.

Take a look through the wheels yourself I bet there is at least 4mm left on they only come with approx 10mm it's not unusual for garages to change them at 50% worn.

[Howard-]

I don't know why main dealers charge so much for pads and/or disc replacements It's a really, really quick and easy job. On my previous Mondeo I was quoted £250 each end for disc and pad replacement by a main dealer - I promptly bought a set of discs and pads for all four wheels for about £130 and did it myself.

[Ozzie Osmond]

V8RX7 said:

Take a look through the wheels yourself I bet there is at least 4mm left on they only come with approx 10mm it's not unusual for garages to change them at 50% worn.

You'll be needing X-ray vision to see the inboard pads though! In many cases they can't even be seen by an MOT tester.

In car maintenance it's not good enough to look at one side and assume the other side must be the same. You need to get the wheels off and check properly.

By the way, does that main dealer price include changing the fluid? I wonder when "Dad" last had that done?

[steveo3002]

Howard- said:

I don't know why main dealers charge so much for pads and/or disc replacements It's a really, really quick and easy job.

they charge it because they can , mention worn out brakes to most people and they get it done

[V8RX7]

Ozzie Osmond said:

V8RX7 said:

Take a look through the wheels yourself I bet there is at least 4mm left on they only come with approx 10mm it's not unusual for garages to change them at 50% worn.

You'll be needing X-ray vision to see the inboard pads though! In many cases they can't even be seen by an MOT tester.

In car maintenance it's not good enough to look at one side and assume the other side must be the same. You need to get the wheels off and check properly.

I wonder how I've survived the last 25yrs only looking at one side and using a little common sense.

[Ozzie Osmond]

V8RX7 said:

I wonder how I've survived the last 25yrs only looking at one side and using a little common sense.

Not bothering to inspect half the pads doesn't sound much like common sense to me, but there you go.

When a caliper starts to jam it's very common for the pad on one side to be in good shape but for the pad on the other side to be heavily worn.

[J4CKO]

Pads are one of those things that if you can do yourself will save you quite a bit of money and time to be honest as I find its quicker to fit pads and disks than take it somewhere, wait and drive back.

The ones on our the front of our C1 are getting near to needing doing, £15 that will cost me for the pads, and 15 min per side.

[paintman]

If your father doesn't trust anyone other than a main dealer I'd suggest you let him stay with them. He will only worry that something will fall off at any moment if you force him to go elsewhere/argue the toss with him & at his age he really doesn't need the stress.

[eldar]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Not bothering to inspect half the pads doesn't sound much like common sense to me, but there you go.

When a caliper starts to jam it's very common for the pad on one side to be in good shape but for the pad on the other side to be heavily worn.

The noise will give that away!

[kambites]

Howard- said:

I don't know why main dealers charge so much for pads and/or disc replacements

Because they can and the sheep will still use them.

As others have said, as long as the parts are decent there's not a lot you can go wrong with changing the brake pads. I'd go to the indy (well I wouldn't I'd do it myself but I assume that's not an option).

[texaxile]

Ozzie Osmond said:

You'll be needing X-ray vision to see the inboard pads though! In many cases they can't even be seen by an MOT tester.

In car maintenance it's not good enough to look at one side and assume the other side must be the same. You need to get the wheels off and check properly.

By the way, does that main dealer price include changing the fluid? I wonder when "Dad" last had that done?

Doesn't include the fluid, I'll have to check but I think it (fluid) might have been done as part of the 60k / 60 month service done in July which highlighted low brake pads. The problem with Mazda is that there's no "service stamp book" per se, it's just a sheet of paper to say whats been done and the rest kept on computer record. Not ideal I'll agree, but that's Mazda UK for you...

Anyway, I'm going with the general concensus and getting the Ferodo pads from Mr Auto along with the fitting kit and depending on time, chucking it into the local indy or even doing it myself if I get the time and the weather holds out.

[Who me ?]

And before tackling job, have a look to see if Mazda is on the list of makers which suffer from the dreaded "calliper retaining thread rot". My little Auto place told me that certain makes/models are more prone to the threads on the body getting damaged than others. One of mind needed doing,and I'm certain that the pads had been changed at one of the fast fit places to remove a pre sales MOT ADVISORY on pad wear.