General Dealers fitting your own supplied parts

[306maxi]

If the part is knackered/faulty and need to come back off we get paid again

Which is fair enough, if you supply the parts and labour you should warranty both, if the part fails and was customer supplied then you shouldn't have to warranty your labour. Fair enough IMHO

 

[306maxi]

recommending unnecessary work results if proven in dismissal, I read a watchdog report the other night Also only 1 complaint per 1000 customers, thats well past dealer standard!

Problem is and I'm not trying to be rude to the OP here, most people who go to Kwik Fit and trust them probably won't have the confidence to challenge their decision or won't ask for the parts back.

Anyhoo my brakes started grinding tonight when cornering I reckon something's a bit sticky so I might just change the discs and pads anyway.

 

[T14086]

if when cornering (especially hard cornering) could just be back plates rubbing...take it to kwik-fit

 

[306maxi]

if when cornering (especially hard cornering) could just be back plates rubbing...take it to kwik-fit

It's low speed rubbing. Veeeery low speed rubbing.

 

[Andy Monty]

check the thin tin heat shields behind the discs

 

[oncepastthepost]

This was Kwik Fit, do you honestly think they did anything more than just look at the brakes?

In all fairness to KF, he didn't just look at it. I suppose if they were as sinister as I thought he could've told me the rear ones where shot as well but he didn't.

I did see him using a micrometer/caliper to measure the thickness but I didn't read the measurement.

OP- what did they say the disc and lowest pad thickness was?

He told me the front ones were 19?? And that that was over the limit??

Which is fair enough, if you supply the parts and labour you should warranty both, if the part fails and was customer supplied then you shouldn't have to warranty your labour. Fair enough IMHO

This is a valid point. Dealers could just do the work and not guarantee. It's that balance for dealers between making 'some' money on just labour or none at all because they won't fit customer supplied parts.

Problem is and I'm not trying to be rude to the OP here, most people who go to Kwik Fit and trust them probably won't have the confidence to challenge their decision...

No offence taken 306maxi - I would've thought most people would go straight to the dealer and then failing that go to KF. A smaller minority would do the research themselves and go indi. As this is my first car I'm trying to build up my knowledge and car ownership experience. In all fairness, the thing that attracted me to KF was the 'free' brake service.

Now the question on everyone's lips is if the dealer offered a free brake inspection service would they also be inclined to say "you need to replace the discs"

 

[306maxi]

The limit for the front discs is 20.2mm

 

[T14086]

last time I saw a tech use a micrometer on brake discs at a dealership was.......from memory around 1999-2000 at a ford garage.

 

[loveshandbags]

So, I've recently picked up my 500 and loving it. It's a 1.4 sport 08 plate, 20k mileage. (Pics as soon as the sun comes out). I'm new to all this so please bear with me - this being my first car.

Took it to the local kwikfit for a free brake service and they tell me the front discs will need replacing - the warning light hasn't come on yet. They quoted £260 parts and labour.

I've done my research on the forum and I'm going with 306maxi's advice and found some brembos from www.nextdaybrakes.com (~£100) and before i place my order I ring my local dealer to see how much they would charge to fit them. I got the 'we will not fit parts that you supply. We only fit our own parts.'. They are charging £160 parts and labour.

Is it common that dealers will only fit parts they supply? Am I labouring under the misapprehension that you could source your own parts and dealers could/would/should fit? Do some dealers fit your own supplied parts and others don't?

Thanks

Some very interesting posts to-date and I would agree with all before me and your choice of pads and discs. I've gone back to your original posting to get a 'handle' on the problem. What I see is a 3 year old 500 out of warranty with low mileage 20K miles. From having had a '08 1.4 Sport 39K miles that was 'driven' the fronts were fine but the rear discs were due a change on the next service (sticky caliper caused this). I get the impression that your discs & pads are probably OK but you would like to make a little improvement give to your new motor.
http://www.ebcbrakes.com/automotive_product_news/best_brake_pads_2.shtml

On Kwik Fit doing a supply & fit I get the impression that the parts they use are inferior to OEM and from one member on here who had it done - the pads were prone to squealing just like my OH's Alfa 147 was after a pad change. It's one thing for a brake pad to squeal if it can stop you faster but not if it just has the same performance or worse.

Thanks for the acknowledgement on following thread on brake pads but there has been a bit of an update from another discussion where there's a some worry about the impact on insurance.
This URL link is good for an impartial comparison of different makes (for an FTO) but does not apply to the 500 since the Yellows do better than the Reds (500 is lighter) but the Mintexs come out really well.

My understanding is that Brembo do not make brake pads - there are sourced from Mintex - so the Brembo pads seem a very good choice.

On the topic of upgraded brake pads don't do much - well the esseesse model in the 500 do 'High Performance brake pads' - don't know what make they are - but they appear to be Brembos (Mintex ?) and this is set for a A500 on on ebay. (unfortunately they don't do a performance set for the std 500). They would be priced around the same as EBC Greenstuff and half the price of the Ferado 2500. I haven't checked out the Ferado 1500 but jnoiles rates them high and they're cheap but you would need to check their E rating which is explained here. An 'old' discs one could be very tempted to use Yellows from EBC despite not having an E rating but you might need some alp descents to justify them.

On the other forums quite a few came to the conclusion that if you were upgrading the discs they would go for EBC grooved discs - I would inform the insurance of this and give evidence of the squeeky rear disc problem (design flaw) - the grooved discs stop the build up of glaze on the pads. This might prevent an increase in your premium for a boy racer modification. Still you can't go wrong with your Brembo disc choice.

Also if you're doing a wee upgrade on the brakes don't forget to put some decent brake fluid in (Mintex do some decent stuff) and some nice braided brake hoses (TMC Motorsport) which will make the most of the calipers 'bite'. Unless of course the service history shows that the brake fluid has been changed in the last 2 years.

 

[306maxi]

I very much doubt Brembo not doing pads tbh.

 

[loveshandbags]

I very much doubt Brembo not doing pads tbh.

When I checked out Brembo's website they mentioned Ferodo...
http://www.oppracing.com/pages/brembo_high_performance_build_better_brake_system/
One of the advantages of a Brembo HP caliper is that pads are included in the price of the caliper. This is a major cost savings for you.....Another great choice for brake pads is Ferodo, a leader in friction materials. ...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055816901
Post 7

So if it's not Mintex the Brembo pads might just be Ferodo 1500.

 

[306maxi]

Nowhere does it actually say that Ferodo or Mintex make the pads.... That oppracing site merely says that the (bike) calipers include pads and that another good choice is Ferodo.

So at the moment Brembo pads = Brembo pads.

Whilst some people might say that Brembo pads are Ferodo's or Mintex, that's just heresay and tbh forum talk is just forum talk.

 

[loveshandbags]

Nowhere does it actually say that Ferodo or Mintex make the pads.... That oppracing site merely says that the (bike) calipers include pads and that another good choice is Ferodo.

So at the moment Brembo pads = Brembo pads.

Whilst some people might say that Brembo pads are Ferodo's or Mintex, that's just heresay and tbh forum talk is just forum talk.

If is unusual for a Supplier like Brembo to mention Ferodo on their web site so I get the impression that they are more focused on the actual calipers than the pads. It is quite common for some companies to 'buy in' products and put their own branding on them. Someone with an inside track on this maybe able to enlighten us. On the reference site that I gave above that would just be one of many that would have the same opinion. If I was buying a Brembo pad I would be paying for the name - I haven't seen any comparison test with Brembo pads and I have posted quite a few tests to-date.

 

[306maxi]

If is unusual for a Supplier like Brembo to mention Ferodo on their web site so I get the impression that they are more focused on the actual calipers than the pads. It is quite common for some companies to 'buy in' products and put their own branding on them. Someone with an inside track on this maybe able to enlighten us. On the reference site that I gave above that would just be one of many that would have the same opinion. If I was buying a Brembo pad I would be paying for the name - I haven't seen any comparison test with Brembo pads and I have posted quite a few tests to-date.

Excuse me if I'm wrong, but www.oppracing.com is not www.brembo.com ?

 

[loveshandbags]

Excuse me if I'm wrong, but www.oppracing.com is not www.brembo.com ?

Looking at the 2 web sites OPP appear to be a distributor representing Manufactures worldwide whilst brembo seem to be a seperate entity owing the likes of Breco, Bybre, Marchesini and Sabelt brands. It does state that Brembo operates through the AP Racing brand. Taking the example of Sabelt which Brembo appears to own - does that mean that Brembo make seats as well as brake pads.

 

[306maxi]

Looking at the 2 web sites OPP appear to be a distributor representing Manufactures worldwide whilst brembo seem to be a seperate entity owing the likes of Breco, Bybre, Marchesini and Sabelt brands. It does state that Brembo operates through the AP Racing brand. Taking the example of Sabelt which Brembo appears to own - does that mean that Brembo make seats as well as brake pads.

And? As I said before. Just because some independent site which sells brembo products recommends Ferodo products that doesn't mean that Ferodo make Brembo pads....

 

[306maxi]

check the thin tin heat shields behind the discs

Did the discs and pads today. The outer pad on the left side was nicely stuck in the grooves where it sits in the caliper the one on the other side was similarly stuck in too. Low speed grinding be gone!

Was a pretty easy job tbh.

It was exactly the same as this guide below, but obviously I had to take two extra bolts off to remove the caliper so I could get the disc off.

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-gui...-fluid-renewal-rear-cylinder-replacement.html

From memory the only tools you need are the tools you'd usually use to get the wheel off, a 12mm (I think!) ring spanner,a fairly short 17mm socket for the caliper bolts, a g clamp, some copper grease and some brake cleaner.

If you can turn a spanner you are overqualified to do the brakes on a 1.2 500! I suspect the 1.4's brakes are probably similarly easy to do Just don't choose to start doing it just before it starts raining as it makes it rather unpleasureable.

See below for a good reason why you shouldn't just trust the brake light They were the OEM brake pads and did about 28,500 miles and tbh had a fair bit of life left in them and would have lasted even longer had a couple of the pads not seized in.

 

[306maxi]

Oh yeah and I had a leaflet from Fiat a little while back offering a disc and pad change for the 1.2 for £128. The Brembo discs and pads got £44 at the moment and IMHO the hour or hour and a half I spent was well worth the £88 saving. Heck the £88 more than paid for the tool kit I bought in Costco a year or so ago

 

[loveshandbags]

And? As I said before. Just because some independent site which sells brembo products recommends Ferodo products that doesn't mean that Ferodo make Brembo pads....

Do you still believe that Brembo make their own pads ?

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2266473&postcount=16
I have already answered the question, the brembo pads are Ferodo DS1000s. Same ones that came with your Bremco BBK originally, so you should know how they perform. Unless you bought your BBK used with a diff set of pads on them.

http://forums.evolutionm.net/2909803-post6.html
Ferodo makes the stock pads for Brembo, they just relable them. The DS2500 is basically the same pad, just a little different look, but the same compound.

http://forums.evolutionm.net/2909896-post8.html
First off, Ferodo is not a small company. Check out who backs them.
http://www.ferodo.co.uk/ferodo%5Fhome/
Per these guys, Ferodo makes the stock Brembo Evo pads....
http://raceshopper.com/brembo_big_brake_kits.shtml
http://www.essexparts.com/CatalogPDF...-19~Ferodo.pdf
Only repeating what I've been told by reputable sources.

EDIT:
Came across these on ebay. I've no idea what they're like but given that they are supplying Mintex pads I would be unsure of the quality of the discs.

The Brembo pads look very similar to the packaging for the Mintex and that is where I may have created the association between Mintex & Brembo.

 

[306maxi]

Michael! don't trust everything you read on a forum!

Note that both of those forum posts are from the US, perhaps in the US Ferodo do make Brembo's pads. But until I see something official it's just forum heresay.