From: mann@eskimo.celestial.com (Tom Mann)
Newsgroups: seattle.general,uw.general
Subject: Re: recommendation on brake repair?
Summary: Brake pads old and new
Date: 4 Oct 92 12:18:06 GMT
Distribution: seattle
Organization: -> ESKIMO NORTH (206) For-Ever <-

In article <1992Oct02.210702.13880@nds.com>, tom@nds.com (Tom Williamson) writes:
> 
> The only input I have regarding this subject is a warning about Midas and 
> their "Lifetime Guarantee" for the brake work they do.
> 
> [deleted stuff] 
>
> I had them do the work and everything worked as it should.  The down side to 
> this story is that after putting another 60K miles on the old Blaze, I noticed 
> that the brakes weren't getting me stopped like they should.  I went back to 
> Midas to have the brakes done again. 
> 
> [deleted stuff] 
> 
> Here is my summary of what I call the "Midas Scam":
> 
> The first time you take your car in for brakes (usually the pads) they replace 
> them with pads that are considerably harder than the original equipment.  In 
> fact they are harder than the metal that your brake drums or rotors are made 
> of.  The net result is that now instead of your pads wearing out, you are 
> grinding down your drums or rotors.  Of course you will take you car back to 
> them for the next brake job because of the guarantee.  They usually end up 
> doing the more expensive work and the customer gets screwed!  When your car 
> is up on the rack and they break the news to you, it is usually easiest to 
> just have them deal with it instead of having them put everything back together and going out to start shopping for the best deal.  Please bear in mind that 
> brake pads (by design) are supposed to be softer than the drums or rotors.  
> That is so that they wear out rather than the much more expensive drums or 
> rotors.
> 
> 
> If anyone out there feels that I have the wrong opinion about this matter, I 
> would really like to hear about it.  Also, I would be interested in hearing 
> about other shops that do good work, as I still need to have the brakes redone.
> 
I'm not gonna say you're wrong but there is another side to it. 
For years, brake pads/shoes were made of an asbestos compound and they 
worked pretty good... problem is, there is a lot of pressure to
stop all use of asbestos. What is generally used is what are called
semi-metalics and yes, they are VERY hard. In addition to the
hard brake pads, a lot of car makers are using drums and rotors that
can only be resurfaced once, at best. Net effect is that you get
stuck buying drums and rotors. This isn't all bad... most cars
I work on (rice rockets) the price of a new rotor is ~$25.00 versus
about $20.00 for new ones. Drums are a little more pricey.
What I don't like about Midas (and there are worse places, believe me)
is they don't tell you about this situation. The bottom line is that
a brake job is now going for around $500.00 or more for some cars;
at least that's what we were getting last time I worked in a local shop.

My advice for the consumer (besides Caveat Emptor) is to find an independant
shop who does good work - there are a handful around.

Of the franchises, I've had pretty good relations with Dan Fast in Kirkland.
-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom "Old" Mann KD9NL/7 Kirkland, Wash.     

I don't do drugs, don't do DOS and definitely do not do Windows.
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