[BLOG] Grinding Brakes... In Woman's Head?
When your 17 year old daughter says...
So... you're thinking "So what Q, just take it in and be done with it." Well, I leaving for a week long trip in which I need to drive and the van will need to be driven by my wife all week. I need this fixed real quick. I call a local automotive repair chain and see if they have time to inspect, quote, and repair my brakes. They do so I drive there and have them take a look. After an hour, they come in and hand me the quote... $450 for just the front brakes but they can do them today (yesterday). They do have a life time guaranty but I am not about to spend that much on a 8 year old, 110k Mazda MPV.
OK, so Q is looking at the clock... 3:00pm on Saturday. Sunday booked with a family engagement that cannot be avoided and a repair that has to be done by Monday. Not looking good.
If you were a betting man you'd probably bet against Q getting this done without having to drop close to $500. What you don't know is that I use to be a medium mechanic (like 12 years ago). Off I go to Autozone, walk in and have the clerk look up rotors, pads, hardware for my Van. All in stock. I grab a can of brake cleaner and anti-squeak brake pad spray. I walk out $160 lighter and on my way home.
At 4:00 pm, I pull into the driveway and begin the task of doing a front end brake job. At 6:30 pm I lower the van down and take it out for a test drive. Brakes work great and no grinding or even a squeak.
So time for the break down... $450 verses $160. I saved $290 and only 2.5 hrs of work. HA HA HA... I win. And I have a 5 year warranty on the parts too.
"The breaks are making weird sounds... like grinding."
What would you think? I thought...
"The brakes were only done 2 or 3 years ago and the van is only driven 8,000 miles a year, they cannot be bad yet. Must be a 17 year old's lack of driving experience."
So... a week or so goes by and my wife chimes in with the same complaint. So Yesterday (Saturday) I decide to play along and take the van for a test drive... OH CRAP, THE BRAKES ARE BAD. I pull into the driveway, get the floor jack out, dig around for the lug nut lock key, and remove the drivers side tire. What do I find? A trashed rotor and absolutely no brake pad. Just the metal backing against the rotor.So... you're thinking "So what Q, just take it in and be done with it." Well, I leaving for a week long trip in which I need to drive and the van will need to be driven by my wife all week. I need this fixed real quick. I call a local automotive repair chain and see if they have time to inspect, quote, and repair my brakes. They do so I drive there and have them take a look. After an hour, they come in and hand me the quote... $450 for just the front brakes but they can do them today (yesterday). They do have a life time guaranty but I am not about to spend that much on a 8 year old, 110k Mazda MPV.
OK, so Q is looking at the clock... 3:00pm on Saturday. Sunday booked with a family engagement that cannot be avoided and a repair that has to be done by Monday. Not looking good.
If you were a betting man you'd probably bet against Q getting this done without having to drop close to $500. What you don't know is that I use to be a medium mechanic (like 12 years ago). Off I go to Autozone, walk in and have the clerk look up rotors, pads, hardware for my Van. All in stock. I grab a can of brake cleaner and anti-squeak brake pad spray. I walk out $160 lighter and on my way home.
At 4:00 pm, I pull into the driveway and begin the task of doing a front end brake job. At 6:30 pm I lower the van down and take it out for a test drive. Brakes work great and no grinding or even a squeak.
So time for the break down... $450 verses $160. I saved $290 and only 2.5 hrs of work. HA HA HA... I win. And I have a 5 year warranty on the parts too.
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Comments
cheers to that