New Brake Pads needed

CrazyChemist_2

vansboy wrote:

The battery probably NOT leaking.

Just make sure the caps , if any on the top of the battery, are sealed/pushed down/screwed up tite.If any are open, you need to check the level inside, hasn't dropped. If it has, you top up, to just above the plates (the bit you can see, inside the battery, if the covers are removed) using distilled water - like the stuff in a steam iron. It MUST be this, not ordinary water.

Then pour boiling water over the residue & rinse again lots cold water.

Lightly smear grease/Vaseline on the batter terminals & any area around the battery, which have now gone rusty looking.

VB

The battery is only a couple of months old and the terminals don't look rusty. Also the battery is a non-maintenance one so doesn't have any accessible water level holes, well, not that I can see anyway.

It's under guarantee so I'll ask Kwik-Fit about it when I take the car in for the brakes. I would have attached a photo but it doesn't look like it's possible to put a photo on a post unless it's already on the internet... Am I right about this or is it me being thick at 1am in the morning?

gallygirl

tomstickland wrote:

Fot a mainstream car, these are approx prices
Rear shoes - £20
Rear calipers - recon parts from motor factor £150
4 tyres from Protyre £210
cam belt parts £50
cam belt fitting £300

Total of £730 so far. Your £1000 total isn't too bad then, you might be able to make it £800 by shopping around a bit.

Thanks Tom. Don't want to go down recon route as surely they won't last as long?????? I do approx 25000 a year so could be false economy. But reassuring to know should be able to get below 1000. Will be phoning round as soon as credit card arrives.........

tomstickland

Recon items are just as good as new. You wouldn't tell the difference. They will have been shot blasted, inspected, possibly machined etc. I assume that the other items have corroded. I've fitted items from scrap yards without any problems.

tomstickland

Actually, I've just noticed that my cam belt fitting prediction is a bit high. What car is it? On some cars it's a 20 minute job.

golddustmedia

CrazyChemist wrote:

Hello :santa2:

I need a pair of brake pads for my Almera (97) and Kwik-Fit is quoting around £110 for the supply and fitting of these pads. The discs seem fine at the moment at least that's what they said when I went for a brake inspection.

Are there any other places I could look for brake pad replacement? Kwik-Fit is the only one I know about at the moment. Any help appreciated :snow_grin

CC :beer:

The last thing I want to do is promote Kwik-fit but having got a quote from them yesterday I have to tell you the silver lining to their quote...
They have a LIFETIME GUARANTEE!
I was quoted £76 for front pads on my Passat which I thought was high and was about to do them myself but I found out they guarantee the work for as long as I own the car. SO, (and I was told this by the staff) if the pads wear out they will replace them FREE of charge. I said, so if I drive 50,000 miles in a year you'll keep replacing the pads for free every 6 months. He said, "Sir, you could drive 100,000 miles in a year and have them replaced every 3 months if you want but you'll only pay once".

I'd suggest checking any small print and confirm with them but I suppose this is based on the assumption many of us don't keep a car for long or will most likely never claim.

None the less, before doing any work yourself, put a value on your time. If the parts cost £30 and the quote is £60, isn't it worth £30 not to spend 2 hours getting filthy under your car?

tomstickland

You can change brake pads in about 30 minutes.

CrazyChemist_2

I'm going in on Monday to have the front pads done, but apparently the inspection will take 20 mins, then replacement of the pads about an hour Not very Kwik if you ask me! But there isn't anywhere else that comes near their low prices, especially as I get a 10% off for being an insurance customer.

trigger_mike

I used to work for a motor factors and sold many almera parts, a set of front pads for an almera should be about £25+vat and thats made by ADL, which isnt a cheap, last 5000 miles then fall to bits make, ADL (blueprint) are the same as genune nissan parts. worth ringing aroung a few local motor factors getting prices and finds a cheap local garage to fit them for you.

Wig

Crazy chemist,

I can't believe you can't find a back street garage cheaper than kwik fit. You said "their low prices"!!! 110 pounds to fit brake pads is a rip off!

As someone just said - pads from a motor factor for your vehicle cost 25 pounds, you will easily find some small garage who will fit them for around 20 - 40 pounds personally I wouldn't pay more then 25 for fitting.

As for Kwik fits lifetime gaurantee, I just read the t&c's and one thing is clear, they haven't used "plain english". Another thing is clear they will use any excuse they can find during their inspection to find something else that needs changing, and there are plenty of reports of people being ripped off by Kwik fit with a recent thread in Vent board where someone nearly lost their car to kwikfit because kwikfit tried to say he needed new discs front and back & pads costing hundreds of pounds. When the car was finally inspected by an area manager he decided it didn't need discs all round, (well it had just passed an MOT 2 weeks earlier!).

And handbrake shoes are not covered. What's the bet that if & when OP goes to KWIK fit on Monday they somehow find lots of other things that need replacing as well as the pads?

Something they don't make clear in the t&c's is whether you have to pay for the report if you decide not to agree with their assessment. OP I strongly suggest you ask before you let them look at your car, if after they have inspected your car and you disagree, will there be any cost to you before you can drive away?

Plus most cars don't go through many sets of pads, on most cars they will last for donkeys years. If you drive 50,000 a year up and down motorways your pads will not be used much because you don't brake on motorways much. The only people who use lots of brakes are taxis and other commercial vehicles, these vehicles are of course excluded.

tomstickland

Personally, I phone up a motor factors and get a price. I think there's a specialist called Nippon motor factors, anyway any MF will be cheap.
Then I'd locate 3-4 local garages and drive round each one and ask them how much they wanted for fitting the pads.