Halford's brakes for life deal?

building_with_lego

I am a new driver, bought my car a month ago- 2009 Fiesta, MOTed the day before I bought it.

I took it to Halford's today for the free tyre and winter safety check from last week's email and, if I'm honest, expected them to find something 'wrong' with it. Turns out the front brake pads are 'beginning to wear thin' and they've recommended replacement, but can join me up to the Brakes for life scheme, where I pay once and they replace the pads on whatever car I drive for the rest of my driving career. My apologies, it's Brakes4Life.


Here's my question: considering the car was serviced in July an MOTed late November, should I be panicked into paying for replacement brake pads, or should I leave the advice to the people who have actually looked at them? Is the Brakes4life deal worthwhile? (I hear 'brakes' and panic slightly, I have to admit.) When I drive they feel sharp and the car stops when I need it to.

Thought welcome.

gilbert_and_sullivan

from their terms and conditions.

• You must carry out all other brake repairs (to brake discs, drums, cables and hydraulics) found during an inspection or service within 10 days to continue to claim the free replacement.
• We must carry out all brake pad or shoe repairs if you want to take advantage of the lifetime replacement.

So you get free pads or shoes, but you have to let them carry out all future brake work when they say it needs doing to qualify, so if they say it needs new discs @ £300, a new caliper or several @ £120+ each, brake fluid renewal @ £30/80, new master cylinder @ anything from £120 to possibly 10 times that, new rear wheel cylinders @ around £20/40 each, all plus fitting, you're bound to that if you want those free pads which are just about the cheapest item on the brake menu anyway.


IMO you are usually better off finding a good indy mechanic by recommendation, and if you find them reliable competent and trustworthy stay with them for good.

WellKnownSid

"Beginning to wear thin" - is that a metric or imperial measurement?

Brakes 4 life - sounds like my Hotpoint washing machine. It came with five years of "free" parts cover - all you paid for was the labour.

So when the brushes went, they would have been "free", just £165 "labour" to fit.

Instead I got a local chap to replace them - £40 including parts and labour.

chrisw

"This unique offer is transferable to all future cars you own - saving the average driver £1,600 over their driving lifetime!"

I've been driving for 35 years and spent nowhere near that on brakes, although I do change them myself. In fact on my own cars I think I've only ever had 3 sets of brake pads and never replaced the discs ~ £100. Even my wife's cars have only had about 3 sets of pads and a pair of discs ~ £200.

straighttalker

They'll hammer you on the price of discs, brake pipes and ancillaries.

To wind them up, I'd change my own discs, clean up the rest, clean and grease the hoses and then take it in after having done that for them to change the pads.

loskie

they should have given you a brake pad thickness measurement. Quite often they will say something like "80% worn". ie You still have 20% life left in them. For brake pads that may last 70000m that's 14000 miles life left in them.

worried_jim

Run a mile! This scheme will empty your pockets faster than a Serbian prostitute on happy hour.

salubrious

Please for your own pocket go to a more reputable garage than these lot for unbiased brake wear advice.

poppasmurf_bewdley

I'm 67 years of age and have owned a car since I was 17.

In that time, I doubt I have had more than seven or eight sets of brake pads fitted in all the cars I have owned. And I have only had to have two sets of discs fitted, the last being last week. And that's over about 25 cars. One car alone (a 2000 reg Astra) did 140,000 miles over 11 years with just two sets of pads and one set of discs replaced.

And I bet the pads Halfords told you are beginning to wear have at least 10k left in them.

Strider590

I changed my pads when the low pad warning light came on, 4 years and 50'000 miles after i'd been told they were "getting a bit low".

There's is nothing wrong with running pads down to the wear sensor, this point is at 3mm, a new pad is typically 10-12mm.

Another thing to note is that on modern cars, the brake discs are also consumable items, often needing to be replaced with the pads IF the pads are not changed too early.

building_with_lego

Thanks all, I feel that I now have a little more knowledge about brakes. I shan't be taking Halford's up on their kind offer and have already had recommendations for decent local mechanics.