Should I get genuine Audi pads, or cheaper alternatives?

GolfBravo

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

Do Audi really employ engineers to work on their cars, if so i can fully understand why their costs are so high.
Most dealerships employ mechanics or technicians of various grades.

No. Would you really expect a qualified engineer to work at a dealership replacing brake pads?

Audi engineer sounds better than Audi mechanic. And Audi specialist sounds better than Audi apprentice.

Edelman

Whatever.
Double the value of front and rear pads fitted, for just the front and rear Pagid's. Is that worth it?
And approx £40 per hour compared with £80-£90 per hour for Audi 'person'. Is that worth it?

espresso

Edelman wrote: »

Whatever.
Double the value of front and rear pads fitted, for just the front and rear Pagid's. Is that worth it?
And approx £40 per hour compared with £80-£90 per hour for Audi 'person'. Is that worth it?

Why are you still asking! Read this post here where you have answered your own question.

Edelman

Huh?
It's not been answered. People are talking about Pagid, but I have suggested the miles I did from my old pair.

Crikey people are so touchy here.

GolfBravo

Just ring your local mechanic and ask for OEM parts - they have their trade catalogues and prices, should definitely be able to get the correct parts at good price. Pagid or Mintex (same company), Bosch, etc. all OEM are worth the money. It's not about how long they last for, it's about how effective they are at braking. Compared to "genuine" Audi parts you're saving hundreds of £ anyway.

Joe_Horner

Edelman wrote: »

Yes I know. I don't use gears to slow personally, only if the weather means braking can be hazardous (ice).

But if my previous pads at £151 for front and rear fitted lasted since Jul 09, is it worth DOUBLE that value, before labour?

"Quality" has very little to do with how long a brake pad lasts. Some of the cheap Chinese ones can last a hell of a lot longer than better quality ones. They might fade quicker with repeated hard use and they'll trash your disks because they're too hard for the disk's temper, but they'll last almost forever because they wear the disks instead of the pads.

In very rough terms, a soft pad will stop you with less pedal pressure and be much kinder on your disks but won't last so well. A hard pad will need more pedal pressure for the same brake effect, wear your disks faster, but last longer themselves. It's not quite that simple but it's always a trade-off to some extent between soft / grippy / gentle on disks / low life and hard / less grippy / hard on disks / long life. Any type (even the cheap Chinese ones) will stop you perfectly well.

The Audi pads and disks are simply what Audi have decided is the best trade-off. In deciding that they include considerations like effective stopping, lack of fade, enough life to keep the customers happy, and potential for profits. One of those profit potentials is replacement disks with every (or every other) pad set.

In an effective and well designed system there's no reason why a disk shouldn't last for 4 or even 5 sets of pads. But if the manufacturer can get customers accustomed to the idea that "OEM quality" parts need new disks with every other set of pads, who benefits?

So don't get hung up on what the manufacturer specifies, and see what your garage can do on any of the established brands - Mintex, Ferodo and so on. These companies survive PURELY on the quality of their brake products because that's all they do. Bosch are also good, but they're a more general parts company so their reputation doesn't rest only on their friction products.

missile

When my Audi needs service, I go to Audi. They give me good service and a nice courtesy car.

CKhalvashi

Edelman wrote: »

Hi.
I have an 2005 Audi A6 2.7Tdi Quattro Auto.
My pads and discs need replacing.
Got a quote from a local garage of £270.
Another garage quoted £330.

Audi themselves quoted..... £720!! They say of course they will be genuine Audi parts, fitted by Audi engineers.

I don't know if I will have the car in 3 years: maybe I will. Who knows. They also say the Audi ones should last at least 25,000 miles on the front.

My last pads were from the "another garage", and were £151 for the front and rear pads only. This was in July 09. I'd say they lasted 20k miles is, as I don't do many miles now.

So - here's a question mostly directed at mechanics, but anyone with a view, should I spend £260 up the road and job done. Or fork out nearly three times the price for actual Audi parts? Or would that just be nutso??

25k from a set of pads? :eek:...The last pair I bought did just over 70k (although about 70% of my driving is motorway)

I’ve always popped ours into Dagenham Motors/Lexus Woodford if it’s needed anything done to it, as I know I can then turn round and claim from them if anything goes wrong. A large franchise is easier to chase than a small-time dealer, however both of ours are under 3 years old and coincidently still under warranty.

It’s up to how comfortable you feel leaving your car with a garage, not us, however I’d still run mine into a main dealer.

CK

Destination_..._?

I used to take my Audi to not any garage off course , but a good independent specialist garage no complaints about there work or any problems with the car after. And saved money aswell .
Don't get sucked into this main dealer is reliable and good for your car .

Edelman

Joe: Thanks. Very good points made there. Best to just call them, ask who they use, and what better quality ones they have (if the ones they are offering are a cheaper brand).

And I can well understand that difference between soft and hard pads against the discs.

Missile: I don't take my car to Audi for a service as quite simply, I don't need to. My garage (not audi) is about 5 minutes away. Very convenience. Very clean customer area. Friendly staff. And thus far, the car has always come out very well. I'm not into paying Audi's labour costs when a local garage does the same thing for less, and it's all signed off in the book. And many years ago I was told that servicing stamped by a dealer is ok, and yes it can HELP to sell the car easier, but it doesn't stop someone buying, if it is seen to be serviced regularly.

It's mostly down to costs. And just because you have an Audi, doesn't mean you have to spend their costs on things.

CKHalvashi - good heavens what brand did you use? And reading back on the previous writer - were they too hard?

Sgt Pepper - get lost. You are not offering anything constructive here. You are just trying to bully.