Brake pads fur das auto

The Northern Monkey

*yes I know this isn't a car forum*

Anyone use Kwik Fit for their free brake check/brake pads?

I would change my pads myself, but being a peugeot there are 3 different types of pads that could have been used... this is something I won't be able to find out until I have the wheel off and old pads taken out. I don't want to get back from Halfords with some pads, get the wheel off and then the pads not fit!

Plus you get free brake pads for life if you go Kwik Fit.

I've just got no idea how much its gonna cost at Kwik Fit. The brake check is free so if they say I need pads but if its extortionate I can say no. I just can't be arsed with the hassle!

cat_with_no_tail

Superstar - Not the sintered ones though because they make too much noise. I'd go for kevlar.

The Northern Monkey

I did check, unfortunately they don't do them for peugeots

CraigXXL

Barge pole springs mind. Halfords should be able to find the right pads from your reg no or if you don't have the time go an independent garage

The Northern Monkey

itsnot not having time, its more that I have no where to change them myself

car is parked on a main road and I have nowhere to take the car to do it safely.

Problem with a 206 is that the type of caliper/shape of pad used depends on what mood the factory was in at that particular time. 2 identical cars from the same year can have a completely different brake system!

psymon

dont quick fit do some kind of free lifetime replacements after the first lot?

The Northern Monkey

psymon wrote:

dont quick fit do some kind of free lifetime replacements after the first lot?

Yea thats the possible decider.

Buy pads once, never buy them again for as long as I have the car.

Just depends how much they cost in the 1st place, which they wont tell you until you go for a brake check.

sheepsteeth

id go for the brake check, as you say, you can decide once you have been given a quote, you might even find that you dont need to change you pads at all.

The Northern Monkey

this is very true... thanks for the rational thinking Mr Sheepsconscienceteeth.

sheepsteeth

you have recieved my only rational post of the year, im off to complain about students in a minute

CraigXXL

The brake test consists of them jacking the car up removing the wheels and waiting till you come back. At this poin they go into the story of how the discs are worn out, pads need replacing and they've noticed a ball joint needs doing too. The cost will £600 sir.
I can't afford that.
No problem we can set up a card for you at 37% APR
No chance, put my car back together.
Sir, we can't do that its dangerous to put that car back on the road
Put it back together before I call the police.

When I took my car to Ford the discs were well within the limits and nothing wrong with the rear pads. Price £70 fitted. The price for all four discs and pads would have been £460.

The pads for life will just be another con job either built in to the price or tied to getting your car serviced through them too.

Go to an independent garage if you don't know one ask at your local motor factors and they will give you a name. Lots of main dealers have a rapid fit service now for brakes, exhausts etc.

Mark_K

PLEASE DONT take your car to Kwik fit to be repaired ! Take it to a proper garage where they have mechanics the know how to fix cars !!! :evil:

Pudseyp

Or save a few quid (i know you said it's difficult to do yourself) but get the pads from Euro Car Parts or GSF and pop them in yourself..only an hours job..

meanredspider

Some of the main dealers do a "quick fit" service but a local independent is your best bet. As for pad material, the "Ferodo DS Performance" pads are excellent for road cars - usually much better than OEM pads. My hobby is racing my Alfa which I prepare myself - I've learned quite a bit about brakes.

All of that said, changing pads is a 30 minute job. I don't blame you for wanting somebody else to do it - it's a vital safety item after all. Whilst you're doing it, changing the fluid is a wise thing to do if you don't know it was done in the last 3 years.

The "Lifetime" pad offer isn't really worth the bother. Most people will only change pads every 3 years or so and probably change cars almost that frequently.

nicklouse

either go to a spare parts place and get the measurements then go home and measure.
or take the wheel off and then measure and then buy.

The Northern Monkey

nicklouse wrote:

either go to a spare parts place and get the measurements then go home and measure.
or take the wheel off and then measure and then buy.

Thats the other problem... Car is parked on a main road and I have no where to take it to service myself.

nicklouse

never stopped me.

find a carpark some where. Sainsburys or Tesco even have covered levels.

meanredspider

For the aggro, especially if you don't have the right tools, getting them done isn't a bad thing to do.

I once changed the pads on the FIAT X1/9 I owned in my 20's. At the time I was mechanical maintenance foreman on a steel rolling mill. As it happens, I was sold the wrong pads by a FIAT main dealer. This was clearly their fault as the parts technician even came out to the car to check a paint number for a touch-up pen I also wanted. Anyhow, shortly afterwards I ran into the back of a truck (he didn't even notice) doing a lot of damage to my car. It transpired that the pads were wrong (far too hard a compound) and I put a claim in against the dealer. Their insurers made a big deal about the fact that I changed the pads even though:
- I was changing brake pads on cranes and other equipment as my daily job
- I was a qualified professional engineer
- the car's owner handbook showed you how to do the job (making it, to my mind, a user-serviceable part)

After 6 months of chasing and after I'd sold the car, I gave up my claim.

In the balance of cost versus peace-of-mind, getting someone professional to do brake pads still rates near the top of the list of jobs I would pay for.

submityournentries

dont got to kwikfit is my advice. i took my 205 to them to get my exhaust done. they promptly broke out the welder, cut the old one off and bent the front mount, and then discovered they didnt have the back box in stock. so i sat around for another hour or so whilst they went to get that. when that turned up they told me the quote they had given me was wrong, and it was acutally double that, about £150. to which i told them, well i can get done for 115 down the road, but i cant drive it now can i, cause youve cut it off.

to their credit they did then match the price, but they discovered that the gasket between the front and middle section needed replacing, and they didnt have that and couldnt get that. so they told me to come back the following day and they should have it and would stick me at the front of the queue and do it then.

rang them up the following day and was told yeah just come in, its here. went in. wasnt there. thankfully was then heading to pauls cycles, so was gonna be back that way in about an hour, so told them could they get it in in an hour. they said yes, so off i went and returned an hour later

they did now have it, but they said its gonna be about a 2 hour wait to fit it. to which i said okay, ill just take it and do it myself. got home and found out that they had bent the mount, meaning i could get the bolts off, but not back on.

so yes, in hindsight wish id have gone somewhere else

Tartanyak

I've had no choice other than to go to quik-fit for brake pads in the past...

They weren't bad. Maybe I was the exception, but they weren't overly expensive, didn't change anything else. They did say it was running a bit rough, plugged it into a diagnostics machine for free and I found I had a split air hose - which they helped me just tape up

It is totally hit and miss though. Most of them are not mechanics. Changing a brake pad doesn't take one. It just takes a trained monkey.

sheepsteeth

is kwik fit actually halfords?

ive been to quik fit a few times and found them to be plenty good, there arent many places open n a sunday in my experience.

Tartanyak

I don't think they are - they have national or something stuck to them now.

I also hate typin kwik, so I aim at quick, then feel bad and settle on quik a lot of the time.

The Sunday thing is what's done it for me! Or just saturday afternoon.

meanredspider

I have winter tyres on order from them and they've phoned me 3 times offering me opportunities to get them fitted quicker. Local opinions have been good. However, I have had bad experiences of this type of fast-fit place trying to upsell me. I was once told I had 3 degrees of toe-out on my car (along with some other ridiculous claims) - I confronted the manager with these and he visibly cringed and had to apologise, discounting the exhaust part I needed fitting in an emergency.

You have to go into these places with your eyes open.

submityournentries

national autocentres are the ones halfords own. they arent related to kwik fit

Andy

The Northern Monkey wrote:

then again, this isn't a car forum...

The Northern Monkey

sheepsteeth wrote:

is kwik fit actually halfords?

ive been to quik fit a few times and found them to be plenty good, there arent many places open n a sunday in my experience.

Yeah this is very true. I actually went on a stroll down where the smaller garages are round me today.... all of them shut.

What I plan on doing is go for the free brake check.
I'll pop over to Halfords while they check my brakes and get a price for replacement pads.
Return to Kwik Fit to hear the result, if its a rip off i'll tell them the cost of pads form Halfords and that I'd rather do it myself for cheaper and go from there.

If anything did need doing I always ask to be shown the problem before agreeing any work anyways.
That way they have to prove it to you.

Bit of a shame i'm not back home in Bpool. I'd have this done for a few quid in a few hours

The Northern Monkey

So... didn't go to the brake check...

Checked them myself lol.

Disks are fine, pads need replacing... Bought a trolley jack (not really needed but i've always wanted one) and copper grease from halfords for £30 and a full set of pads for £40 online...

Next week will be doing hem myself

Cheers all.