cabby Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 The little symbol on my dash tells my the car wants some new front pads. Just got a quote from stealer of £98 + VAT for labour with the pads at £56 + VAT, toal of £180. I appreciate dealers have overheads but this seems steep. Should I go to an independant garage (any reccomoendations in the Bexley area welcomed - used to use a great German specialist in Chiselhurst whose details I have lost). I got a quote from AVS of £40 inc. for 'Femi' (OE ?) pads for comparison purpoes. http://www.vwspares.co.uk/a4cbrakes.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 Is your car still under the warranty period? If so, you might be better getting the stealer to do it and you can keep your FASH up-to-date and avoid any possible problems with the warranty at a later date...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 If its any help thats exactly what I was charged. Get them to check the rear pads too as the dash light only monitors wear in the front pads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 This might shed some light on the issue which was here last week - some peoples rears were wearing quicker then fronts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milo Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 Personally I wouldn't use the dealer if I thought I was being overcharged (remember I was told my dealer's labour rates were £85 + vat an hour). There is nothing wrong in using an independant as long as it is done in accordance with Audi procedures using Audi approved parts. If you do this your warranty remains unaffected. For jobs like pads I think I will go elsewhere. My choice and I'm sure there are those who won't agree!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 I'd probably waste the money and let the stealer do it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearra Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 Just out of curiosity, how many miles have you done for the pads to wear out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 I got 38k out of the front set and 45k out of the rear. Bearing in mind mine is not quattro and has a heavy 2.4 ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearra Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 So pads unlikely to be causing my brake warning to flash and bleep intermintently - only done 15,000 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milo Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 Mine was serviced at 16,000 and I was told the rears had 8-10k left in them. Fronts were fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 How's your brake fluid level? Mine was still about half-full, but the brake light kept coming on...cue Audi Assist, who topped it up and no problems since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milo Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 [ QUOTE ] So pads unlikely to be causing my brake warning to flash and bleep intermintently - only done 15,000 miles [/ QUOTE ] I think even the S4 brigade might struggle to blitz a set of pads in 15,000 miles. Although I could be wrong.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 The difference may be that I mainly do motorway mileage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chav Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 cabs are heavier... and my pads are fine after 27K. i think they were 25% worn at the front after 19K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 Give your pads a visual inspection, if they look low at the front one of the sensors could just be starting to bite. The guy who looked at my problem did this first, then cleaned around the pads and eventually topped up the brake fluid res. Apparantly, they "only put enough brake fluid in in the factory to keep you going for a while" and the sensor in the brake fluid res can be intermittent, i.e. can be exposed when even over half-full and put the brake warning light on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabby Posted February 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 The car has done around 30K. Its a 3.0 litre (so presumably heavy) and auto hence more use of brakes as no engine braking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yen77 Posted February 17, 2005 Report Share Posted February 17, 2005 in my B5 A4, I had to replace the pads once at 60K. 1 Year after that, the rear brakes seized and was stuck in the Clamp position, so much so that there was smoke coming off my rear righthand side tyre. Drove very slowly to the dealer and left it there for them to look at. They said it was not an uncommon problem in that the buildup of grime sometimes caused this. The technician said he saw a lot of them at landrover where he used to work. Personally, I'd say if the car is within 3-4 yrs old, it's worthwile getting a dealer to fix it. Any older and you'd probably consider a good independent audi mechanic. Although, having said that, these are hard to come by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted February 18, 2005 Report Share Posted February 18, 2005 Sounds painful Yen - can't believe this happens on cars of this class! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yen77 Posted February 18, 2005 Report Share Posted February 18, 2005 yeah, it was so embarassing, pulling out from the petrol station and seeing all this smoke coming off the wheel and me trying to drive slowly on the dual carriageway to the stealers which was 1 1/2 miles away hehe. the thing that chuffed me was the fact that only the week before, i had taken my car in for a service, and because i had the car for 4 years already with no glitches, i opted to take it into a non-stealer garage who claimed to specialise in audi! i did not bother to try and harass them afterwards as i figured if they were dodgy enough to not check my brakes during a service, 1) they wouldn't entertain my claim, 2) they would probably deny all knowledge and say it's part of wear and tear & not their fault. anyway, i found another garage in bridgwater. a guy who's had his one leg amputated, but races rally cars for a hobby and has a proper garage for a living. proper as in you walk in, there'd be complete engine disassemblies, pistons, the works. highly recommend this chap as he knows exactly what he's doing. he says he used to work as an audi quattro technician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmmlmmam Posted February 18, 2005 Report Share Posted February 18, 2005 I wouldn't really care who fitted the pads, it's a very basic job. What I'd be concerned about is making sure the pads are OE or a performance alternative part (eg Ferodo). Saw a programme about countfeit OE parts, it was terrifying. Awful quality bits but they'd gone to extreme lengths to replicate the manufacturers packaging (even to the level of replicating the hologram Merc use on there OE parts boxes). The only way I could feel confident I hadn't bought fake parts is to buy them from the main agent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted February 18, 2005 Report Share Posted February 18, 2005 Thats my thinking - take it to the stealer. If they feck anything up, then at least you've got some comeback... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve2 Posted February 19, 2005 Report Share Posted February 19, 2005 thats what i did last week but had to have new discs as well(high milage) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabby Posted February 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Ouch. Car went into Bexley audi yesteday and I got a call telling me that the front pads were at 10% and the rears were at 20% so advised both were changed. I agreed and am now £340 poorer...sob....sob....sob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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