I need NEW BRAKE PADS. Cheapest place to get?

rockrat

i work for the Automotive industries largest technical information provider/publisher, supplying vehicle manufacturer specifications to our traditional garage/mechanic.... so i might be able to help.

First.... do not scrimp in any way on your brakes. You have already said you know little about your car, and the brakes are their to save your life and those around you, so get them done at a reputable outlet.
Dont think that you know better than a time served mechanic based on price alone.

Kwik-fit actually are not just the "fast fit" centre of yester-year... and now-a-days have the highest of mechanical skills, training, tools and yes... information!
so, don't just dismiss them... instead ask them to explain and prove the quote they have given.
If they or any other garage are supplying quality parts, installed with expert skill all designed to ensure your safety, then that is worth a premium in my mind.

secondly, i can help by letting you know what the manufacturer states is the warranty repair time to do the discs and pads on your ford Ka.

the front discs and pads , to remove and install has a time of 42 minutes as specified by Ford.
the rear brake shoes , to check and adjust and to remove and install the rear brake drum has a total time of 60 minutes as specified by Ford.

add on the usual 6 mins drive in and out and test time , to do the full job would be a total of 1 hour and 48mins-ish.

If Kwik-fit are charging say £50 an hour plus parts + VAT, then you start to see that maybe £160 could be realistic for a skilled job to do ALL the above, though they may only be doing the front, i cant tell from your first post.

the point to my reply is that we as consumers need to have the facts before we just make price based decisions, thats why we like the food at M&S even though we know its more expensive than Netto.

I DO NOT work for any garage or Kwik-fit in any way, just thought i might be able to help a fellow MSE. Now you know the individual recommended warranty times, just ask what the hourly rate is and then add (quality) parts costs

Conor_3

R4pture wrote: »

WOW aren't you rude and rather judgemental?

This is my first car and I dont really know a great deal about cars. When I took the car to the garage for its MOT last month it went through fine and passed.
Generally speaking that meas the car is alright doesnt it?
Not just that but Im not made of money.

An MOT is an inspection which tests a certain number of items. IT STATES CLEARLY that no dismantling is done for inspection, so no it doesn't mean it is alright. An MOT is only an indication of the condition of the car at the time of the MOT test. It is no indication of the state of the car at any point after that test.

As for not made of money, if you can't afford to maintain your car properly, you shouldn't have one. I couldn't give a toss what harm you do to yourself but inevitably people who run poorly maintained cars tend to cause damage or injury to a poor innocent victim who was unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity when it all went wrong. People have died because people have neglected to service their vehicles.

goldspanners

the brakes are tested during the MOT with the use off the rolling road and dynometer.
you can have a good brake but badly worn pads,you will only realise this when you really need them for a long period on a real road.

why do the public grudge paying for a skilled mechanic to do a good job on thier vehicles,but any other trade they dont mind being ripped off.
think about it,would you lie underneath a rusty old car with rust falling into your eyes,oil over your cold numb hands which are starting to get affected by dermatitis,and a potential bomb (fuel tank) beside you when using burning gear?
its not just the time and parts involved,its the health and safety risk.

if you are given enough time to do your job you will do it properly,if you are rushed you will make mistakes and rush things especially when under time constraints.

Noodles-21

My car was in for its MOT a few weeks back and it passed, but I was advised to have my front brake pads replaced due to wear. I recieved this information on a VOSA Advisory Notice form that came attached to the MOT certificate. It states "Advisory Items 001 - Front brake pad wearing thin [3.5.1f]". So it certainly looks like some MOT testers DO check the brake pads.

the_big_fact_hunt

Firstly Tomstickland.... good advice but you forgot to include undo the wheel nuts a small amount before raising the car, removing the brake master cylinder cap before pushing/winding back the pistons, as somebody may have topped the fluid up, which will probably result in the fluid being forced through the relief hole and severely damaging the paintwork, and coating the reverse side of the pads with copper grease (before fitting) to prevent brake squeal, and after replacement PUMP THE PEDAL BEFORE DRIVING as the pistons may be further away from the pads and the brakes may not work immediately as the first press of the pedal will merely push the pistons back out towards the pads, then finally road test and try the brakes. Hopefully your information was only intended as a basic guideline.
Secondly R4pture, the MOT is a test of the required items on the vehicle, it only applies at the time of the test, and cannot be used as a guarantee of the condition of the vehicle at any other time, and if the brakes work satisfactorily at the time of test they will pass. Obvious wear (where visible) will be noted or result in the refusal to issue a test certificate.
I also live in Nottingham and the cheapest place to buy good quality replacement brake pads (to my knowledge) would be Parkers on Longwall avenue (behind Pork Farms) tel 9861861, fitting is not an option for you as they are a safety fitment to your vehicle, and with your lack of knowledge, any mistakes during fitment could prove fatal to yourself or others.
£160 IS excessive for the repairs, you should ideally pay no more than around £75 at any good garage for new brake pads, and i myself would only normally charge around £20 for fitting (plus parts) and i would guess the pads would only be around £15+vat.
If you would like a good local garage recommending just ask

anewman

MOT testers will usually look at the brake pads if it is possible to see them with no dismantling. In Noodles-21's case I'd advise getting the rears checked/replaced when the fronts are done too, as chances are they're not visible.

An MOT tester failed to notice a badly rusted upper spring cup on my suspension. I noticed this later and replaced it myself, it only cost under £2 for the cup itself. Another MOT tester told me that it would have been a fail. See extent of the rusting below. I suppose it could have been covered in mud at the time so the MOT tester could not see it, hence could not fail it, despite it having safety implications. The tester was very thorough and picked up on some things I didn't think he would like the rear door opening from inside only, and the battery being held in by spring grips (which there's never been a problem with as it's held firmly and has survived heavy braking [the bolts snapped off]).


Another thing cars usually need to have done that OP may not be aware of is brake fluid renewal, usually every 2 years. It has safety implications as old brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air and loses it's efficiency. Engine oil changes are also important. Coolant renewal is also usually done every 2 years, but new funky coolants in pink purple and red colours have much longer change intervals. It's often worth getting everything done (full major service) as soon as you buy a car if the service history is missing or dubious, or the car has obviously been neglected.

Car maintenance/repairs is definitely among the four main expenses of motoring. Fuel at the top, Insurance and Car Maintenance/repairs at either 2nd or 3rd depending on costs, road tax at bottom.

To OP we all started somewhere so don't feel hard done-by. Grab yourself a Haynes manual and you'll see what should need doing and how often, even if you don't try the things in it yourself you'll know what to expect to be done by a garage, how it's done, and look like a more discerning customer who knows what their talking about.

If wanting to money save it's definitely worth looking at the Haynes and giving some of the basic things a try yourself, like oil and filter change, air filter change, coolant renewal (probably best done by popping off the bottom radiator hose than by using any coolant drain plug as damage there is difficult to fix), spark plugs, brake fluid renewal (best done with something like Gunson Eezibleed that uses pressure from a spare tyre, pumping the pedal can damage seals.) Once you have made the initial outlay on the tools (which usually cost less than paying a garage labour costs) you have them to use next time.

In addition to the Haynes, search the internet for owners forums of your car. Most have been there, done that, and share similar problems with the cars, and will help if you have a question.

Noodles-21

I'll be taking my car to Kwik-fit tomorrow morning for new front pads. They quoted me £57.50 all-in. I got a couple of more quotes, £50 and £59. But am going with Kwik-Fit because they offer a life-time warrenty on the parts.

CHR15

Let us know if they charge £57.50 without comment or try the hard sell trying to get you to pay for more work??

Noodles-21

CHR15 wrote: »

Let us know if they charge £57.50 without comment or try the hard sell trying to get you to pay for more work??

I'll post back here before 9pm tomorrow about my experience. Saying that, I took my previous car to Kwik-Fit to have part of the exhaust replaced and found them to be ok, they just did the work I asked them to do and didn't once try to sell me anything else.

That was about 3 years ago, and times change. We'll see?.wysiwyg !! background-attachment: scroll; background-repeat: repeat; background-position: 0% 0%; background-color: #ffffff; background-image: none; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal } p !! margin: 0px; }

Noodles-21

Sorry to go off topic, but does anyone have an idea why my post text is messing up?