where do mechanics get parts to fix cars?

kingsley16

My front brake pads are worn and I want to change them myself, but i don't know where to buy new brake pads. I always see boxes of new brake pads whenever i'm at a mechanics garage, but where do they get them from?!?!

bushy...

Go to the main dealer of your make of car for brake pads.
Some non-genuine ones will work fine , but will eat up the discs prematurely .
What you save on pads , you might have to spend 2x , 3x , on discs.
And when you do change the discs , you replace the pads too.

seanybiker

autofactors should have em?

bushy...

Ah since they took the asbestos out brakepads if the pad material doesn't match the disc , the discs get eaten up.
You'd see it with some years of Honda bikes especially.

There are better pads out there than the genuine one ( ask lads rallying or racing ) but they should be the same or more expensive than standard.

If you are unlucky and get iffy ones , they may be ok at normal driving , but may not be able to handle a stop from high speed.

Robertr

Not doubting your abilities or anything but since you don't know where to get the pads are you sure you are up to the task of changing them yourself?

Not something you would want to get wrong if you know what I mean.

Myrddin

Maybe start with something which isnt crucial to safety, an interior bulb maybe

Plug

Robertr wrote: »

Not doubting your abilities or anything but since you don't know where to get the pads are you sure you are up to the task of changing them yourself?

Not something you would want to get wrong if you know what I mean.

Where can he get a spanner for the job?

kingsley16

Robertr wrote: »

Not doubting your abilities or anything but since you don't know where to get the pads are you sure you are up to the task of changing them yourself?

Not something you would want to get wrong if you know what I mean.

Well I get where you're coming from but to be honest someone can always know how to do something and not know where to get the supplies, but the thing is I don't want to be ripped off by a mechanic when it could be so much cheaper doing it myself. If anyone knows the right price I should pay to have both front pads and discs changed please let me know, because the last I asked a mechanic I was told it would cost €400. It doesn't take a car genius to know that thats a rip off.

Kartale

dont agree about being rip off, discs are quite expensive depending on car & would probably take about 2 hours to do.
Defo not DIY job considering your originals Q's

Graham_B18C

kingsley16 wrote: »

Well I get where you're coming from but to be honest someone can always know how to do something and not know where to get the supplies, but the thing is I don't want to be ripped off by a mechanic when it could be so much cheaper doing it myself. If anyone knows the right price I should pay to have both front pads and dics changed please let me know, because the last I asked a mechanic I was told it would cost €400. It doesn't take a car genius to know that thats a rip off.

:eek:400 quid?! What type of car is it? If its an old car, Consort sell em, if its a newer car you're probably better off getting genuine parts, I would of thought 70-90 quid would be a fair price. To be hosest though, I wouldn't go messing with the brake's if you don't know how, if you done them before you'd know where to buy em.

Kartale wrote: »

dont agree about being rip off, discs are quite expensive depending on car & would probably take about 2 hours to do.
Defo not DIY job considering your originals Q's

They never mentioned disks, only pads, twenty min-half hour job if know what your at

Hal1

Here we go again with genuine parts :rolleyes:. They could be mintex pads which can be bought at any motor factors and stuffed in a VW, Audi, BMW etc box and sold that way. I wouldn't do this job if I wasn't 100% sure. I have changed my own discs and pads and saved €50 - €60 on labour costs. Very satisfying doing it yourself.

Del2005

kingsley16 wrote: »

Well I get where you're coming from but to be honest someone can always know how to do something and not know where to get the supplies, but the thing is I don't want to be ripped off by a mechanic when it could be so much cheaper doing it myself. If anyone knows the right price I should pay to have both front pads and dics changed please let me know, because the last I asked a mechanic I was told it would cost €400. It doesn't take a car genius to know that thats a rip off.

What car is it that you want done? €400 could be high for a Micra or a great deal for a performance car. If the €400 for pads and discs, seems fair if it is.

Pads and discs is a big job and €400 seems reasonable. But again it all really depends on your car.

Grahamo999 wrote: »

They never mentioned disks, only pads, twenty min-half hour job if know what your at

The OP mention brakes and discs above.

I'd be wary of doing brakes pads if you don't know where to get them, then you've never done them before and for such a crucial part of the car you could be walking into a lot of trouble. Do you have a workshop/service manual for your car? Do you know the correct procedure for pushing back the pistons. And then if it does go wrong you stuck with a car you can't drive and will have to pay more then €400 to get someone out to fix the mess you made.

Or if you have a friend who's a mechanic they could help you out, but then you wouldn't have needed to ask where to get the pads.

ottostreet

I went to GSF for my brakes and pads.. 270 for everything. brilliant.

Gumbo

ottostreet wrote: »

I went to GSF for my brakes and pads.. 270 for everything. brilliant.

270e is good then factor in the labour of a mechanic fitting them and 400 doesnt seem too bad tbh.

but as said above, it all depends on what car its for.

OP let us know what car it is and i'll ask my mechanic mate what the going rate is and let you know, then you can judge what the average price is.

bushy...

ottostreet wrote: »

I went to GSF for my brakes and pads.. 270 for everything. brilliant.

Yip , but they are a "proper " supplier and since you chose them , fair to say you know what your at.

crosstownk

OP - if you know what you're at then go for it. If you don't then leave it to someone who is competent. Don't try to save a few quid at the expense of the safety of you and others.

Get yourself a Haynes manual if one is available for your car and read up on the procedure. Don't buy the cheapest pads they will most likely eat your discs and cost you more in the long run.

kingsley16

To be honest I don't even want to do it myself but when I was quoted €400 for brake pads and discs, it drove me to the option of doing it myself because at that price i'm being robbed. Anyways i've changed my mind about doing it myself cause I don't want to take any risks, but i'm not paying over €300 and that's including labour.

heres some information about my car that might make things a little easier.

Rover 200 (211)
1.1L
5 doors
1999
3 owners
nct'd till 01/11

kingsley16

Just incase you would like to know it's my 1st car and when I bought it the mechanic that came with me to check it out said the front brake pads were worn out and i'm better off changing the discs with it. I know everyone is probably thinking "oh no why a rover" and i know they are notorious for cracking or warping head gaskets, but I made sure mine was changed before i bought it and the mechanic confirmed that it was so it should be ok and besides i'm only keeping it for at least a year before I get a new 1. The only things the mechanic asked me to do was to change front pads and discs, adjust the handbrake and change the 2 front tyres (just got 4 new tyres online at tyreshop.ie for both front and rear so that's sorted and 2 more to go:)). Other than that he said everything was fine, oh and the car was being sold for €650 but I brought him down to €450 because of the 3 things I had to get fixed. I also asked the owner why he was selling the car and he told me he just got a new car and he didn't have any needs for the old one...I hope that makes things more clear now and if there is anything else you want to know please feel free to ask, but I think i've said enough lol.

cormie

Find a mechanic you can trust. I found my mechanic through this very forum, he was helping me on a thread about my van, turned out he was a mechanic, he's got all business since. He's a good 40 minute drive away, but I know he knows what he's doing and charges a fair price. He even knows that I like to get my parts delivered from the internet and has no problem doing fitting them. He saved me €170 last week over the phone with a bit of valuable knowledge too.

Mycroft H

Robertr wrote: »

Not doubting your abilities or anything but since you don't know where to get the pads are you sure you are up to the task of changing them yourself?

Not something you would want to get wrong if you know what I mean.

Hes hardly changin the cylinder head gasket or anything complicated, a set of brake pads and discs, if you get a haynes manual and follow it to the t, you will be fine.


Kingsley what you need is: axle stands (dont ever, ever trust a jack alone for holding up a car), a set of sockets, possibly allen keys (for the retaining nuts on the caliper), a large phillips head screwdriver, a vicegrips and plenty of wd40


Get yourself a haynes manual for your car. They can be got for about ten euro on ebay.


As regards parts, i'd be going for as cheap as possible. Theres no point in paying extra for genuine parts on a car your getting rid of in a year and worth c.500 euro, and they will do pretty much as good as genuine ones.

Cost of parts? Probably about twent to thirty euro for pads, and the discs would probably be a tenner or a little more each.

Dont be intimidated by doing a relativly simple job yourself, its not too hard. It will probably take about 2 hours to do and you would want to be a total gobshyte to make a mess of it as long as you follow the haynes manual.

PM me if you need any help kingsly16

Mycroft H

This is the manual: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HAYNES-ROVER-211-214-216-218-220-200-SERIES-NEW-MANUAL_W0QQitemZ140322564173QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarParts_Vehicles_Manuals_Litterature_ET?hash=item20abe0684d&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1683|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50