Have a 2014 Nissan Sentra amd prob won’t replace the pads myself if they need to be done but my question is…
Is it better to have the dealer do the work or a local trusted mechanic? What’s the difference beside e dealer prob being a lot for $$. Thanks.
Are you able to speak the kings language?
Tester
You know a dealer will use oem parts, many dealers are comparable to independant shops. Look at the price, ask about things like oem or replacement parts, type of pad, you will probably need new rotors and ask about those also. I like a brake fluid flush at every brake service, another thought. Just make sure you compare apples and apples, cheap parts are often inferior to quality parts.
Thanks Barky.
That’s awfully soon for a brake job.
I’d NEVER go to the dealer for a brake job…First off…I’d do it myself. If for some reason I couldn’t do it…then I’d take it to a good independent. A good independent will be using quality parts that are as good or better then the dealers. There isn’t a automotive manufacturer I know that makes their own brake parts. They are supplied to them by one of the big brake manufacturers.
How many miles are on this 2014 already?
I can understand that 2014 car might need brake pads already
Car was probably built and sold in 2013, it’s been in use for over 2 years. I could envision such a car having 25K or 30K already, at which point the pads might be pretty thin
I’ve had good brake service at Midas. The final price was just over half of what the local Ford dealer would have charged. That does not mean that all Midas shops give good service. One Midas shop where I had a muffler installed wanted to sell me on new front springs since the car “had bottomed out”. Since I worked in construction at the time and visited many job sites the occasional bottoming was normal.
I've had good brake service at Midas. The final price was just over half of what the local Ford dealer would have charged. That does not mean that all Midas shops give good service
Midas mechanics work on Commission. The incentive to the mechanics is to find as many things wrong as possible…many times what they say is bad…are perfectly fine. They’ve been caught doing this many times in many states for decades.
Almost every mechanic on the face of the Earth works on commission no matter if it’s a chain operation, independent, or franchised car dealership.
Some dealers can be very competitive in prices for a brake job. If you have a good trusted mechanic that’s where I’d go.
Almost every mechanic on the face of the Earth works on commission no matter if it's a chain operation, independent, or franchised car dealership.
Maybe where you live…but NOT here in NH…nor in upstate NY. The national chains…YES…but the small independents…NO. They work on straight salary. Maybe the larger independents that have 5-10 mechanics. But the smaller ones I deal with…(1-2 mechanics)…NOPE.
Dealer mechanics usually work on the flat rate which is charged to the customer. If the mechanic beats the flat rate he splits the extra profit with the dealer.
My wife has a friend whose husband was a master mechanic, and he did really well. He could beat any flat rate manual time estimate.
Most of the dealers around here work on flat-rate also…the independents work on Hourly or Salary. How a garage determines the labor cost and what they pay their mechanics are completely different.
I get charged a flat-rate by the owner…but the mechanic gets paid hourly or salary.
“Almost every mechanic on the face of the Earth works on commission”
By commission, do you mean the mechanic earns a percentage of the sale, like a salesman at a department store . . . ?
The dealer I worked at paid me flat-rate, and that’s how the other dealers in my area paid.
If I upsold a big job, it merely meant I would be flagging lots of hours, and that’s its.
Please explain exactly what YOU mean by “commission”