Evening all

 

Just had my first service on my car after 18 months of fuss free ownership, can't fault the service from the dealer, Benfield Skoda in Newcastle, just have a question that I'm not sure about. Everything was ok with my car but on the report it said my front brake pads are 70% worn and will need replacing in 3 months, now the thing I'm confused with is that my car has only done 18500 miles, is this normal?

 

I've never had to change brake pads at this mileage before, my previous car had 36k on when I part-ex'd it for my Octy and I'd never had the pads replaced on that. The dealer has quoted £182 for the work which I think is a bit steep but I don't want to scrimp on brakes lol. Has anyone else had to change pads at this sort of mileage?

 

Mark

I've read a few reports on here of dealers 'upselling' brake replacement at services. Are you sure they are that worn? Have you looked that them yourself?

 

I've done 27,000 miles in my VRS and the brakes have never been pointed out at services to me.

 

Matt

I'm on 63k and still on original pads, car has had 4 services so far at 10,20,30 and 49k, not had any advisory on brakes yet.

Might be worthwhile getting a 2nd opinion before shelling out £182. Dealers are always looking for jobs. After my 2nd service the dealer suggested I would need new front tyres soon - surprising as they have half the depth of tread left compared to new.

Sounds like a rip off to me. Even if it said 70% remaining that's a lot of wear in 18500 miles.

Surely the best thing to do would be to pop the wheels off and have a look. Don't trust the garage at that mileage. I've been told similar before and it was complete tosh!

Gaz

My wife's 2009 seat went for software update early this year due to draining the battery. They said discs and pads needed changing. They were done 3 months earlier, with a few thousand miles on them. It was simply surface rust at the edges due to it been our "second" car and not used much.some dealers can be trusted, some can't

When I took my last (2008 regd.) Mk. 2 1.8 for its last MOT before trading in (about early Oct  2014) it had done  over 30000 miles.

The MOT was a place that only does MOT, not repairs or maintenance, i.e. have nothing to gain.

 

He said all the pads still had over 2/3rds their original thickness.

you'd hope for more miles but it does vary with driving style and stuff.  If the discs start to corrode a bit then they will eat the pads faster.  £182 sounds steep for just new pads (but then I don't use main dealers much so...maybe), does it include new discs?  perhaps the discs are the problem.  both pads and discs are very easy to spot though.  maybe go to somewhere like halfords for an inspection if you aren't confident yourself.

My current vehicle has done 74000 miles on the original Front Pads/Discs, but oddly had to have rear pads at 48,000, electronic handbrake was the explanation. ( No its not a Skoda, that arrives in 2 weeks)

Edited 28 November, 201510 yr by timbox

Dealer could not (Would not?)  give me a price for an Oil change and Inspection (2 years 20K KM)., Depends on the exact model they say,  the car is there in front of you as is the service book with the serial number check it. Loosing trust in VAG and their lack of transparency and integrity.

Dealer could not (Would not?)  give me a price for an Oil change and Inspection (2 years 20K KM)., Depends on the exact model they say,  the car is there in front of you as is the service book with the serial number check it. Loosing trust in VAG and their lack of transparency and integrity.

Thought they were laid down figures? First "major" service isn't it?

I'd certainly be after another opinion, as I've never seen a road car even ones where people are quite heavy oin their brakes go through them in less than 30k miles and most are much higher than that (Say 50-60k miles +)

My 2007 Civic used to eat rear pads and disks, the dealer put it down to the fact I was driving on fast, windy, bumpy country roads which was causing the stability control to be constantly tapping the rear brakes. Apparently if you spent all day on the motorway they lasted many times longer. 

Thought they were laid down figures? First "major" service isn't it?

I would have thought that as well, but this is Germany, service and efficiency at most large companies is a myth. I also asked for a price for parts of a wing mirror, I already had a price of € 210 for the part, he said it would cost  € 400 fitted, when I queried he said 50 for fitting the rest was the part, when I told him his parts department had quoted 210 he said "then go buy it there", he couldnt even be bothered to check till I pushed him to.

Ridiculous price - I'd buy the pass from a good motor factor and do it myself...really simple job if you know how to use a spanner!

Doesn't an octavia have warning lights when the pads become too low?

Just drive it till the light comes on then get em done. Discs and pads for 182 is reasonable IMO.

Skoda like most other manufacturers has fixed price repairs, so £182 is wrong for front pads, it's £115.

http://www.skoda.co.uk/owners/service-and-maintenance/simply-fixed/default/

I decided to ignore the garage recommendations for my brakes.

On the first service they were something like 75% worn... At 8000 miles.

Next year they were 50 ish then back up into the 70s the year after. I replaced them myself a little early (late summer) after judging that they'd be ready for replacement during the winter and didn't fancy getting by hands cold. That was around 45k miles.