FAO a Car Mechanic/Expert re Wear on Brake Pads / Discs

LoidPhil

Hi,

I purchased a used Vauxhall Astra (59 reg) from a dealership last November. The car was due its first MOT a couple of weeks after this and so the dealer agreed to do the MOT and to resolve any issues identified therein before I completed the purchase. No issues or advisories were found.

A couple of months later the same dealership performed a full vehicle health check for me and again all checks returned as "Ok" (on a 3-point scale of "Ok", "Advisory" or "Requires Urgent Attention").

Recently the car has been making a noise that I believed was most likely brake-related, so back it went to the dealership as I took out an extended warranty at the time of purchase. They performed another vehicle health check and, this time, found that the front brake pads both "require urgent attention" and that the rear pads and discs both "require urgent attention". They have quoted me circa £300 for the work.

My question, to anybody who knows anything about car wear and tear (I sadly don't), is would you expect that such degredation of the brake pads and discs is not unreasonable over the space of 10 months and 4,500 miles of mainly "in town" driving?

From my non-expert perspective, I'm struggling to come to terms with how they could have twice inspected my brakes and come to the conclusion that they were not worn to the extent of an advisory notice, but that in a relatively short space of time they've now gone completely through the "advisory" tolerance levels and are now in the state of needing to be changed pronto.

I would like to be able to argue the point that it would be reasonable to expect the brakes to have at least been at an advisory level when they did the initial MOT before I completed the purchase, in which case I would've insisted they be replaced - I would't buy a car knowing that it was going to cost me £300 within the first 10mths. Do you think that's a reasonable argument to make?

I've approached them with my grievance and they have agreed to investigate the matter and get back to me. Of course they may hold their hands up and say this should've been spotted and sorted during the MOT, but if they don't then I'd just like an experts view of whether such degradation of the pads/discs is plausible or not? If it isn't unreasonable to expect such wear then I'll just accept it as one of the pitfalls of buying a used car.

colino

First of all, in the MOT only visual inspection is allowed, no dismantling and no messing about with garage made probes. If it passed the roller test, it passed on the brakes.
I'm actually surprised with your lack of mechanical knowledge that the garage in their earlier checks didn't try to squeeze you for early, probably premature brake servicing.
4500 miles of town driving could probably be related to 25-30000 motorway miles, very hard on the brakes and clutch and does accelerate wear.
I'd just be grateful they do concur that the grinding is the brakes and nothing more serious, but unfortunately their wear and tear will be down to you. If you have to use them for the warranty (I'm assuming it's an in-house one) time to fake a bit of cheery bonhomie and get them to go easy on the invoice.

cajef

It was a second hand car what sort of mileage had it done when you bought it, when the service and MOT were done the brakes and discs were OK, in ten months it quite possible the brakes have now worn down and need servicing, it is normal wear and tear one of the facts of life with motoring.

Iceweasel

I would say that it's quite unreasonable for brakes to go from OK to requiring immediate replacement in 4500 miles.

Different drivers put varying demands on their brakes, but I can't see How they were OK when checked that short distance ago.

I agree that the MOT does not involving checking how much life is left in the pads, but this 'Health Check' should have involved a visual inspection of both discs and pads.

To be making a noise (metal to metal) the pads must be completely worn away to nothing.

Normally they start at around a max of 10mm and are replaced at 2/3mm.

As a rule of thumb, I would expect to get around 25k miles from a set of pads even if driven hard, but lets see what other folks think for pad life on your specific model.

Jeremy Clarkson need not reply.

ILW

Iceweasel wrote: »

I would say that it's quite unreasonable for brakes to go from OK to requiring immediate replacement in 4500 miles.

Different drivers put varying demands on their brakes, but I can't see How they were OK when checked that short distance ago.

I agree that the MOT does not involving checking how much life is left in the pads, but this 'Health Check' should have involved a visual inspection of both discs and pads.

To be making a noise (metal to metal) the pads must be completely worn away to nothing.

Normally they start at around a max of 10mm and are replaced at 2/3mm.

As a rule of thumb, I would expect to get around 25k miles from a set of pads even if driven hard, but lets see what other folks think for pad life on your specific model.

Jeremy Clarkson need not reply.

Brakes can go from OK to needing replcing within a mile or two. Depends what your criteria are. Town driving and short journeys are the worst thing for pads and discs.

forgotmyname

I have worn a brand new set of pads out in 7500 miles. So 4500 miles on a used set wouldnt be out of place.

Do the discs and pads really need chaning though. Or are they being over cautious? There maybe another years worth of use if you do the same mileage next year.

Westmead_Fan

brake pads ARE checked on an MOT, anything under 1.5mm thick is a failure , it is hard to to be 100% accurate while they are on the vehicle. Our Mot tester rule of thumb is failure if the pad are about to hit or have hit the disc but advised if they are getting low.

portly1

Iceweasel wrote: »

As a rule of thumb, I would expect to get around 25k miles from a set of pads even if driven hard, but lets see what other folks think for pad life on your specific model.
.

That's about right - up to approx. 3 years/30,000 miles.

After that mileage it is always advisable to replace discs as well.

I always replace all my discs every 3 years with new pads.

Discs can wear and end up below the manufacturers min tolerance.

portly1

forgotmyname wrote: »

I have worn a brand new set of pads out in 7500 miles. So 4500 miles on a used set wouldnt be out of place.
.

Did you put new pads on an old disc? If so that may well be the reason for your early failure.

Always discs and pads, never new pads on old pitted and worn discs.
Not worth the trouble. A new set of discs every 3 years should work out about £100 a year.

cootuk

We've had a bad winter so all the salt and other stuff they throw on the roads (was it molasses last year as well?) can seriously corrode discs, especially if mainly town driving where you don't grind them from with some decent braking.

londonTiger

colino wrote: »

4500 miles of town driving could probably be related to 25-30000 motorway miles, very hard on the brakes and clutch and does accelerate wear.

I think this is often assumed to be the case but probably untrue, even on motorway you use the brakes surprisingly a lot, you have to slow down when you come across slow cars and create distance with the car in front. I think feathering the brakes at 70mph (sometimes more) will be pretty tough on the pads. I would not be surprised if it was more hard than bringing a 20mph car to a standstill.

/caveat emptor - i;ve driven motorway about 3 times in my life.