New brake discs and pads.

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Audi are telling me I need new brake discs and pads all around. The have quoted about £350 including labour.

As someone who knows nothing about cars, does this sound about right?
 
If you're taking the car to Audi, I'm assuming it's relatively new, so I'd be cautious about whether the discs really need doing.

I would personally expect to replace the pads probably twice before the discs were shot.
 
Were the discs raised by the MOT (was that by Audi?) or at a separate visit to Audi?

I'd personally be inclined to seek a quick second opinion as 40,000 miles is on the low side imo unless you're routinely stamping on the brakes.
 
Slight mistake, the price is actually £380 for just the fronts.

It is on the MOT as an advisory and aon the Audi Health Check document.
 
I was gonna say, that sounds too cheap for a main dealer for all round discs and pads. Toyota quoted almost £600 for doing them all round on my girlfriend's car. I laughed, bought genuine parts online for ~£200, and did it myself.
 
Slight mistake, the price is actually £380 for just the fronts.

It is on the MOT as an advisory and aon the Audi Health Check document.

What car is it - A4?
£385 fixed price on the above site if so.


An independent garage would likely do it for around half that cost, as parts (e.g. from eurocarparts) will be ~£120-£150 and a couple of hours labour.


Edit:
40k isn't too bad for front discs on a heavy front wheel drive car (assuming it's an A4 2.0TDI or similar)
 
The last time I had to replace discs was because they had corroded from being so old, long before they were at risk of reaching minimum thickness.

I'm always a bit sceptical with recommendations to change pads and discs, as they're an easy money spinner and people don't want to chance it with the thing that stops the car hitting other things.

It doesn't say much for the quality or lifespan of modern VW parts if discs are hitting minimum thickness on a single set of pads in 40,000 miles.

If you've got a half decent independent garage I think it would be worth a second opinion before coughing up £400. Not kwik fit though, they'll tell you the rears are shot too and you need a new exhaust.

Edit - also be wary of how they report wear to you. They do things like saying "disc is at 25.5mm sir, the minimum thickness is 24mm". You panic because this sounds like nothing but what they don't tell you is the disc only started life at 26mm, so it's only 25% of the way through to the minimum really.
 
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If it's spending its life on the motorway (ie. rarely braking) I'd expect the pads to be barely approaching worn, nevermind the disc.
 
Modern discs seem to be designed to wear as quickly as the pads from quite a few cars i've seen, i'm sure i read somewhere they use far more abrasive pads now as it's better for one reason or another.

I changed the discs & pads on my Avensis at about 60k and 5 years old as they were getting quite worn, the pads could well have been the originals as they were genuine Toyota ones.
 
It doesn't say much for the quality or lifespan of modern VW parts if discs are hitting minimum thickness on a single set of pads in 40,000 miles.
Based on experience with an A3 then I'd say it is the case. Front discs lasted ~50k and front pads were 25k or thereabouts. Rears weren't much better.

Modern discs seem to be designed to wear as quickly as the pads from quite a few cars i've seen, i'm sure i read somewhere they use far more abrasive pads now as it's better for one reason or another.
Definitely the case that construction has changed, whether that translates to improved stopping power, or more likely a move away nasty materials (e.g. Asbestos) that don't necessarily last as long.

If you think 40k is bad, ask a Cooper S owner how long their discs and pads last! (was 25k I think for front discs when I had mine!)
 
my disks on my old A4 didn't last 20k, but that was down to 2 things:
Firstly milton keynes, 0-70-0 every 1km or so with those roundabouts really is not good for your car, (tyres wear hard as well especially the edges)
Secondly it was left for 18 months and they corroded to hell, once that was scrubbed off there wasnt much left on them.
Second pair had done around 30k when they were begging to be done.
 
When my car went to Bmw they told me me front pads and disc and rear pads needed doing, cost just under £700.

I checked the rear pads, they still had around half left, the fronts had around 3mm and the front discs from what I could see had no lip whatsoever. So I got my local garage to check the discs and they told me that they definitely don’t need changing, checked the bmw paper work and they had written that the front disc were down to 19mm? The discs new have around 29mm so no idea what exactly they measured.
 
I would check the discs yourself, When the car is cool have a feel and see if you feel any damage on the disc etc, also see what they generally look like, but being honest being motorway miles I would not expect new discs would be needed at 40k miles
 
You'll get a lip on the discs too, see how bad that is...

Mine needed changing on my Abarth at around 25k although they were drilled and grooved which doesn't help...
 
get yourself brembo replacements off ECP and get yourself some decent brake fluid.

it's the brake fluid that really matters in most cases. also i'd be really really surprised if discs needed doing. they usually last forever. it's pads that wear out after a couple of years.

but bigger brakes tend to last longer i've noticed. small ones wear out faster.
 
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