New brake pads/discs and handbrake adjust after service

jodiesmitham

Hi all,

Had my Almera serviced today by Kwik Fit and suddenly I am faced with loads of 'urgent' things I need to replace.

The car is around 4 years old and these are the costs of things i need fixing urgently, so I am told:

Front discs - £145
Front pads - £60
Handbrake adjust - £50

Are these reasonable prices or should I replace them elsewhere?

Many thanks!

jimbo_the_jetset

For a start don't trust a word they say, get a second opinion. Which will either say they are ok or at the worst will give you a much cheaper price.

I would expect discs and pads for around £120-140. £50 for a handbrake adjust is also probably expensive, unless they plan to fully strip down the rear drums clean up and adjust.

Ask friends/family for a recommended garage or even phone a few up and ask their price for discs and pads. Have you had the car long? When were the pads last changed, many miles since then, do the brakes feel poor?

darich

Personally I'd go to a local garage rather than Kwik Fit regardless of the prices.
Front discs -£145 - depends on price of discs. Probably an hour per side so possibly not too bad but like I said - depends on price of discs.
Pads - £60 - seems steep for what I presume will be be normal (i mean non-high performance) pads.
Handbrake adjust - £50 - if it's purely adjusting it then it's way over the top at £50. It'll be a 10minute job at most.

skiddlydiddly

Almera Brembo discs on ebay for £60-70 a pair and Ferodo pads from £25-40.I'd fit them yourself, know you have decent items on and save £100.
If Kwikfit are using similar quality items its not too bad as £50 a side is probably works out at 2 hours labour.I'd still do it myself though as its one of the simpler jobs on a car requiring minimal tools.

Kilty_2

I had front AND rears done on a N16 Almera for £100 parts + £50 labour.

£50 to adjust the handbrake is ludicrous

chrisfreelander54

Hi there, just a quick bit of advice.

I normally do all my own repairs, and I always eurocarparts (do a google saerch) for all my spares.

Go to there website and pop your full reg into the yell reg plate type box as this will then bring up your car details and all prices of parts for your car, this way you have an idea of parts cost then its just a case of finding a local reputable garage with a good hourly rate.

You will find most small garages uae thses for parts and they also get a trade discount too.

Kilty_2

Also - I thought handbrake adjustment was a service item, why is it extra?

johnnyroper

biggest piece of advice anyone can offer is never use crap fit they will always find something wrong as they are a bunch of con artists.

as for the items they say are urgent find yourself a decent indipendant garage and get them to take a look before you do anything,certainly dont let the crap fit crowd do the work.

jodiesmitham

Thanks everyone.

The handbrake adjustment was not included in the service, according to the Kwik Fit website. I had a feeling these costs were pretty high.

Cheers.

TiTheRev

Im just shocked that your exhaust, battery and shock absorbers were ok!

Kwik-Fit (used to) have a deal with Partco where they get all their parts supplied at ridiculous discount and off the shelf for instant fit. We used to sell them (Lucas) Disc and pad sets for £40ish and they would be passed on to the customer at between 300-500% mark up.

Firstly, don't trust the diagnosis, KF are HEAVILY targetted and bonused for 'extras', so will take every opportunity to upsell a job, and secondly, if they are still using Partco dont trust the quality of the supplied parts. We used to supply our local KF with 15-20 sets of brakes a week, and easily get 5/6 back under warranty. Lucas was the better quality parts in the Partco range, so (personally) I'd not trust any aftermarket brand for something as important as brakes.

Incyder

I wouldn't let quik fit even touch my tailpipe.

My mate went there for an exhaust, they said it will take about an hour so go shopping and come back, he did as he had wife, kid, mother in law there. They told him his CAT was damaged and had put a new one on and wanted £300 plus the exhaust. He said where is the old one and they said in that big skip somewhere, we have lobbed it in amongst all the crap. Stupid idiot paid it, there was nowt wrong with the cat it had only passed an mot 3 weeks earlier.
Don't go back, you had a lucky escape.