Free brake check

[Deleted User]

Thanks for your help everyone. I was hoping that the report would be accurate and they would make their money by doing the work for a higher price than others. I would then have used the report to obtain quotes for elsewhere. However, judging from the feedback on here I will just have to take it straight to a local garage for them to quote.

lookingoverIT

I took my Mazda 6 to the local Kwik Fit, I actually had a similar problem and something to do with the caliper which was frozen/locked/stuck due to the guide pin (it was a while ago). In my non-technical view they took the brakes apart and found the pin and cleaned re-greased it. It solved the problem for about a month and then it returned. They happily redid the procedure and it was fine again for another month, however given the cars age and the money pit it was turning into I decided to get rid. However, Kwik Fit didn't charge me anything for both of these free checks. I guess it comes down to the individuals at the garage and their targets as to how much pressure you may get.

Importantly, just because they say something needs doing, there's no need to get it done there and then.

kaya

I believe a few of the free check companies have in the past been found guilty of spraying a little WD40 onto shock absorbers then dragging the customer in to show them the "leak" before charging them the earth for replacements

forgotmyname

They will tell you the brakes need changing when you may have thousands of miles left.

I took a car for an MOT and they said your pads are only a few months away from needing replacing.
3 years later they were still close to needing replacing. But nowhere near the minimum limit.

Low yearly mileage and short traffic free journeys.

Find yourself a good local garage and let them service it and advise of any work that may need doing sooner rather than later.

AdrianC

craig1123 wrote: »

Thanks for your help everyone. I was hoping that the report would be accurate and they would make their money by doing the work for a higher price than others. I would then have used the report to obtain quotes for elsewhere. However, judging from the feedback on here I will just have to take it straight to a local garage for them to quote.

Much of the work to change the pads would need to be done to properly check them, anyway. Certain national chains have long been notorious for their cynical make-work scaremongering.

[Deleted User]

TeamPlum wrote: »

Some are fitted with a strip of metal designed to rub on the disc (and squeal) to alert you to the fact they need changing soon.

Would the brake pad becoming low make the brakes less effective? Braking is still as sharp as when I got the car last March. And I've driven cars before with dodgy brakes and these certainly don't feel dodgy.

AdrianC

Deleted_User wrote: »

Would the brake pad becoming low make the brakes less effective?

Not yet... but very soon? Oh, yes...

But you may well find that the brakes fade earlier in repeated hard, fast use.

harveybobbles

Buy a Yaris - they only have brakes on the front..

fred246

Brakes discs & pads are so simple to change on modern cars. I phoned up my local independent asking about price if I supplied my own parts. Their labour charge was £40 per wheel for discs & pads. I did them myself just to ensure a higher standard of workmanship but I was tempted.

fred246

If you put your number plate into eurocarparts.com you should get a price for pads & discs. I normally use the Pagid. Watch that pads are sold in pairs and discs individually. Add £40 per wheel and that is what you should be paying roughly.