front brake pads

Wig

Volcano wrote: »

Any garage that isn't an Audi dealer or is part of a national chain such as Kwik-Fit, Nationwide auto etc. Of course you probably won't get free coffee or a smarmy sales guy with clean fingernails but then you'll be less likely to get ripped off too.

If it's not the brake fluid that needs topping up (check it yourself) then doubtless it's the brake pads. Getting all 4 changed if the others are low will save you a load of cash and time too.

I wouldn't trust Kwik Fit, you'd probably leave the place with new pads, discs & tyres on all 4 corners and maybe a new pair of shocks on the front aswell.

Before I asked for all 4 sets of pads to be changed I would ask for a quote for
A - fronts only,
B - Rears only
C - Fronts and Rears,

Only if A + B was significantly more than C would I go ahead with changing fronts and Rears. It wouldn't surprise me that dealers and national chains do discounts for all 4 corners, but IMHO you wouldn't get such sales gimmicks at a local independent garage and I'd imagine the service and price you would get would be better.

goldspanners

Taajir wrote: »

The brake pad warning light on my A3 Sportback has come on......

Where's the best place to get it checked? Audi service centres charge £99 for just two (either front or back) brake pads!!

to inspect or replace? thats a fair price for a main dealer to replace front pads,i suspect once they get the wheels off they may try and charge you for discs aswell.

vaio

Equally if you insist on driving away with worn discs that will wear the pads unevenly and give sub-standard braking there is nothing they can do about it either

cyclonebri1

vaio wrote: »

Equally if you insist on driving away with worn discs that will wear the pads unevenly and give sub-standard braking there is nothing they can do about it either

This is where having a friendly, honest local garage comes into it's own. They rely on the small local clientel of repeat customers, not full page adds in the national papers, pulling floks in from far and wide for a once off rip off. :T

Ask to see the discs before they are removed from the car, even if you don't really know what you are looking for. Such might just be as dodgy as to show you crackered disc that they just "happen" to have lying around:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:;)

anewman

Someone told me kwikfit intentionally damaged their discs and caught them in the act. I have also seen some discs they removed from someone's car who requested to keep them because they had had them replaced not long before and they looked brand new apart from the surface corrosion you would expect after not being used for a while. I will never ever ever go to kwikfit. Unless I have a company car and they tell me to because then it's the companies loss and I don't really care.

cyclonebri1

anewman wrote: »

Someone told me kwikfit intentionally damaged their discs and caught them in the act. I have also seen some discs they removed from someone's car who requested to keep them because they had had them replaced not long before and they looked brand new apart from the surface corrosion you would expect after not being used for a while. I will never ever ever go to kwikfit. Unless I have a company car and they tell me to because then it's the companies loss and I don't really care.

Suprised at you for that comment anewman, ripping of someone on a private basis as against via an employer is exactly as unacceptable in my book


However there is unlimited negative feedback for KwikKrap on this and many other forums, anyone who reads this and still ventures into their grasp is beyond my comprehension:A

copier_guy

I have to use that garage for my company car.:o

Gavin83

I've only used Kiwk Fit a couple of times but I've found them alright to be honest. I got my service and MOT done there about a year ago and it sailed through both with no further issues. They did offer to change the brakes but I declined and did them myself.

Personally I'd always consider changing the brakes yourself, they are a really easy part to change, your getting the best value and parts and you know the job is done properly.

Wig

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Suprised at you for that comment anewman, ripping of someone on a private basis as against via an employer is exactly as unacceptable in my book

Unless I have a company car and they tell me to because then it's the companies loss and I don't really care.

But if his employer tells him to go to Kwik 5hit he's hardly going to refuse and risk losing his job, he might warn them that they really should move their company fleet maintenance contract to a different service agent, but at the end of the day what can he do about it?

cyclonebri1

Wig wrote: »

Unless I have a company car and they tell me to because then it's the companies loss and I don't really care.

But if his employer tells him to go to Kwik 5hit he's hardly going to refuse and risk losing his job, he might warn them that they really should move their company fleet maintenance contract to a different service agent, but at the end of the day what can he do about it?

It's the I don't care comment that didn't really seem to be typical of Anewmans moderate views, if that's the right way of putting it.

His companies loss is quite likely to become his.

Can't actually envisage any company maintenance contracts going to KwikKrap;)