Took advantage of Kwik fits offer for a brake inspection and lo and behold I need new front rotors and pads all for the price of £325, I told thanks but no thanks I would need to think about it.
Out of interest I phoned a dealership and asked them the cost for the same job and they were cheaper, could not believe that but they came in at £290.
I only had them checked as the car is now 8 yrs but has only done 34000 miles, so do I believe him and think that the discs are about to explode or do I just change the pads which I was half expecting to do anyway.
If you don’t have the means/knowledge to assess for yourself whether the discs need replacing, then eventually you’re going to have to trust someone. 34,000 miles is on the low side, but not an outrageously short life for front discs.
On the other hand, both of those quotes sound overpriced to me. You expect a dealer to be pricey, but Kwik Fit is just taking the mickey. At mx5parts.co.uk the parts come in at around £100 or £150 depending on whether you have standard or big brakes. And that’s for genuine Mazda parts - they also have cheaper pattern parts. I’d have thought an independent garage could come in significantly cheaper.
Doing the job doesn’t really bother me, it is the what if something happens scenario, if i get a garage to do it they have all of the kit and can cope.
I would worry about snapping a bolt head or something being stuck, I was going for ease over cost but at the prices they want to charge I might change my mind and once the weather is better give it a go.
Might change the rea pads regrdless and that will give me an idea of how the car is.
Well in 10 years at a franchised dealership (not Mazda) I’ve never seen a brake disc explode, even the ones that were rusted on would take some battering with a hammer before breaking up!
Usual Kwik-fit if you ask me. The last time I was there about a year ago, for a run flat tyre for my wives 3 series, they managed to damage the wheel and they offered to touch it up! No sorry not a chance, got a new wheel instead.
Dead easy! avoid quick fit! well know for this kind of trick.
as for working on it yourself…bear in mind your going to take more care and more time to do the work…and if the owrst should happen and you break a bolt oe somthing, you get to fix it your way, not just by replacing whatever at huge cost (to you!)
the quik fit monkey is rushing…is more likely to break somthing than you are, and is only interested in getting you out and the next job in.
mx5 brake parts are not expensive, and are fairly easy to fit. get a good workshop book (like the great enthusiasts wprkshop manual by veloce publishing …look on amazon) and you might even enjoy it!
Is there no one you can trust to have a bloody good look at them,disks pads,calipers and hand brake before you lay anything out,surely some one local on here can take a look for you,that knows what to look for?
If you were closer i’d check them for you,but they are easy to renew your self,and i’m sure there will be an how to do guide in the FAQ’s,STHT mag had a feature by roadster robbie on this subject,which was very well laid out and easy to follow some months back.
i have only one thing to say…please don’t get ripped off.
You could do a lot worse than Bilwood Garage at Scruton Near Northallerton. He has been a Sports car enthusiast all his life. He does all of the work I can’t do on both of my cars.
Thanks for all the replies, years ago as a kid I had a Spitfire, that taught me all I need to know abouts cars, I did everything on it, changed leaf springs, trunnions (there good fun) and even swapped the engine.
I am perfectly capable of doing the work it’s just I didn’t fancy it but I know now that at worst the pads are a little worn and I have plenty of time to look at it in the summer by which time I will have checked the actual size of the brakes and bought the correct parts.
I now know what I have to do wait until it gets warm take some time off and relax into something I thought I had given up, getting dirty under a car. (actually looking forward to it)
A close relative of mine took her car into KwikFit for a new tyre. The “Technician” explained to my relative that a shock absorber was leaking oil and that the exhaust had come loose from the manifold. My relative decided to have the work done there and then. While they were putting the car back on the ramp I had the sheer luck to give her a ring to discuss an unconnected matter. She told me what was happening. I told her to give the phone to a KwikFit employee. I had a brief chat with the fitter and told him not to start any work on the car. I took the car to a close friend who had a garage and he checked the items listed by Kwik Fit. NONE NEEDED DOING! In fact the cheeky little sod had sprayed WD40 on the shock absorber so it looked like it was leaking! The exhaust pipe was leak free. I would never use (Pr)ik Fit again, I’d rather walk!
In yesterdays paper there was an article stating that Kwik Fit had done a survey and that 5million motorists are failing to get brake problems fixed, and that 1.7 million have known about it for a month and not done anything about it.
But that’s OK really. They will be mostly BMW’s , Audis, Range Rovers, and assorted “Princess on Board” brat-delivery school run mobiles which are not fitted with brakes, indicators, rear view & side mirrors.
My other car is a Seat Altea, two years ago I took it to a Halfords autocentre for MOT as I had a 50% off voucher. It passed but they said my front discs were well below the manufacturer’s tolerance and should be changed (even though there was no advisory) at a cost of £195-00.
I didn’t bother as it was due a service in a couple of months, I always take it to an independent VAG garage and they told me the discs were fine (still on two years later) like the man said, beware of cheap MOT’s as they only want the chance to get some cash out of you.
Not just them, i had new disc’s and brake pads on a corsa recently…2 weeks later i took the car back to the same place as it had an oil leak, which they repaired, and at the same time did a “Health check” on the car, and told me that the front disc’s were down to 75%…it had only done about 600 miles on them, I suggested that they might be mistaken as the last ones had lasted some 45000 miles and that the car does loads of heavy braking being a driving school car, so if they were down to 75% after 600 miles then i would be seeing them again in 6 weeks for some more…these “health checks” are crap, it’s just a way to get money from you
The last time I was there about a year ago, for a run flat tyre for my wives 3 series, they managed to damage the wheel and they offered to touch it up! No sorry not a chance, got a new wheel instead.
