Need new front brakes and rotors... dealer or Canadian Tire?

[Carnage]

I went to Canadian Tire yesterday to get my valve stems replaced and my wheels rebalanced and rotated since my chrome valve caps seized to the stems and were unmovable.

Then while I was checking out my car while it was up, I noticed my front brakes are less then 20%. I spoke with the mechanic and he said they'd just hardly pass safety.

I want to change them, he quoted me around $400 for both. I've never changed my brakes before I have no idea what do look for, or what to do, or even where to go for the best job.

Can anyone give me any advice please?

[peterm15]

Buy your brakes and change them yourself.
You can either go with performance type brakes from one of the sponsors. ( eg hawk pads), oem from the dealers, or aftermarket oem replacement from places like CT ( hotspot auto parts sell the same stuff for much less)

Search here or google to figure out how to change them. As long as you have basic tools its pretty easy. Better yet get a friend to help who has done it before.

If you still don't want to, buy the parts and go to jimmy, highline, or another mechanic.

[stevenma188]

I do NOT recommend Canadian Tire.
If you don't want to do it yourself, look at one of the recommended shops on this forum: Igarage, StreetPerformance, JR Auto, Ridgeway, etc etc.

[goodcase]

I was in the same position as you, my front pads were at 3mm and I needed to replace my rotors. The dealership wanted around $500 to do it but that was $500 I didn't have. I ended up changing my pads and rotors myself. I'd never done it before but after looking up how to's and a couple of youtube videos I felt confident that I would be able to do it. I bought OEM rotors and pads that came to ~$320. It took me almost 3 hours (i was sick and wasnt working fast) but I saved $200.

[JonsMazda]

$320 for front rotors and brakepads? Kinda pricey...

[Shinglez]

I'm just going to trust that everyone in this thread is saying NEITHER.

Use sponsors! That's why they're here :)

[goodcase]

$320 for front rotors and brakepads? Kinda pricey...

Front set of pads were $130 and each rotor was $93. I could have got them cheaper. But I live in Burlington and the time and gas spent driving to get them at a cheaper price wasn't worth it to me.

[tmpz]

Front set of pads were $130 and each rotor was $93. I could have got them cheaper. But I live in Burlington and the time and gas spent driving to get them at a cheaper price wasn't worth it to me.

You can get front rotors and front pads from Joe@MoT for about $215 before tax.

[silverstarmazda]

canadian tire is a cheat when it comes to automotive service. hell, they cheat theyre own employees too. how do you think they got so big.

[goodcase]

You can get front rotors and front pads from Joe@MoT for about $215 before tax.

Again, I didn't want to drive to Toronto to pick them up.

[cwp_sedan]

Again, I didn't want to drive to Toronto to pick them up.

There are other dealerships too.

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?22298-Select-amp-Mountain-Mazda

17% off parts at Select and Mountain Mazda.

[dentinger]

I want to change them, he quoted me around $400 for both. I've never changed my brakes before I have no idea what do look for, or what to do, or even where to go for the best job.



Buy your brakes and change them yourself.

yea, that's a smart move...


canadian tire is a cheat when it comes to automotive service. hell, they cheat theyre own employees too. how do you think they got so big.

as a two time Canadian Tire employee, comments like this really piss me off. sure, some are terrible, others are fantastic. people need to realize we dont employ the bottom mechanics that cant get employed anywhere else. ive worked with ex-ford, gm, honda, etc employees.
unfortunately, it's the terrible Canadian Tire's *cough! burlington CT cough!* that give others a bad rap.

if i still lived in ontario, i'd gladly help you out with the brakes.

[silverstarmazda]

yea, that's a smart move...



as a two time Canadian Tire employee, comments like this really piss me off. sure, some are terrible, others are fantastic. people need to realize we dont employ the bottom mechanics that cant get employed anywhere else. ive worked with ex-ford, gm, honda, etc employees.
unfortunately, it's the terrible Canadian Tire's *cough! burlington CT cough!* that give others a bad rap.

if i still lived in ontario, i'd gladly help you out with the brakes.

servicing cars? you should check your pay check from back then. i can almost guarantee you thats theres a couple dollars missing in every paycheck. and it all adds up.

[dentinger]

like i said, as much as i loved working there, things werent working out the way i wanted them too.

[Cab0oze]

Huh?
20% is not dead..... depending on your driving style that could last another 2 years? How long have you had the car? Orig. owner? Garages always try and bullshit you on this stuff hoping that you'll just panic and pay them to do the job. They dont want to risk you driving for another year and going to a different garage and having THEM tell you the exact same thing and getting your business.

Secondly, check one of the many online car parts stores that offer pricematching and free shipping in canada on orders over 50-75 bucks. They have everything from OEM replacement to performance products. Just do a tiny bit of research to make sure the prices are good.
ex.
http://www.autopartsway.ca
http://www.autopartsfreak.com
http://www.autopartseh.com
http://www.primechoiceautoparts.ca
etc

Secondly, if you're not going to the track and the car is your regular DD, don't waste money on 'performance' products, in most cases they are no better than OEM. Just find the best balance between quality and price. Don't buy brake pads that are made by a brandname that nobody has heard of. With that said, also keep in mind that canadian tire recommends using ATE products (which when I was shopping for brakes for my gf, I had never heard of), so if its good enough for CT to risk putting on everyone's cars, its good enough for you.... so maybe research a bit, post up some possibilities and let people give you feedback.

Hope that helps and good luck.

[Carnage]

I just saw all of these posts I got preoccupied with my HID and fog light install. Now I'm back onto the brakes I gotta get installed tomorrow.

Thank you all for all the help! It helped me so much.

[peterm15]

yea, that's a smart move...


I did say to search how or to get a friend to teach him.

The hardest part about changing brakes is jacking up the car and removing the tires. Otherwise it's like 4 bolts and everything slides out.

Maybe I'm just more mechanically inclined then others, but I've been teaching myself how to work on cars since I was 10. There is no better way to learn then to go ahead and do it. And with this new fangled google and YouTube, it's pretty easy to figure out how.

[kenghk]

I swear by OEM parts but the sponsors will have good alternatives but don't expect the to be as good and don't consider them an upgrade or performance part if you're car is a DD. Lastly, avoid CT parts unless you're familiar with the brands they offer and never get rotors from there....i think they make them warped right at the factory?!

[jay93]

$320 for front rotors and brakepads? Kinda pricey...



damn straight that is when i bought my cross drilled and pads i got all four for 205$ taxes in.

[t1b3r1u5]

damn straight that is when i bought my cross drilled and pads i got all four for 205$ taxes in.

That's a really good price. Who did you go to?

[gotak]

Huh?
20% is not dead..... depending on your driving style that could last another 2 years? How long have you had the car? Orig. owner? Garages always try and bullshit you on this stuff hoping that you'll just panic and pay them to do the job. They dont want to risk you driving for another year and going to a different garage and having THEM tell you the exact same thing and getting your business.

Secondly, check one of the many online car parts stores that offer pricematching and free shipping in canada on orders over 50-75 bucks. They have everything from OEM replacement to performance products. Just do a tiny bit of research to make sure the prices are good.
ex.
http://www.autopartsway.ca
http://www.autopartsfreak.com
http://www.autopartseh.com
http://www.primechoiceautoparts.ca
etc

Secondly, if you're not going to the track and the car is your regular DD, don't waste money on 'performance' products, in most cases they are no better than OEM. Just find the best balance between quality and price. Don't buy brake pads that are made by a brandname that nobody has heard of. With that said, also keep in mind that canadian tire recommends using ATE products (which when I was shopping for brakes for my gf, I had never heard of), so if its good enough for CT to risk putting on everyone's cars, its good enough for you.... so maybe research a bit, post up some possibilities and let people give you feedback.

Hope that helps and good luck.

Bingo. On one of the mazdaspeed forums in the states there was a feature post a while back about someone who's races the speed 3 in a touring car series. They open up the thread for questions to be answer by the driver and his team. One of them was did you guys modify the brakes. The answer was no the OEM brakes are more than enough.

[nguy3nha]

i order my parts from autopartsway. I ordered new front and rear brakes from them for my father's suzuki and they are excellent and were OEM fit. Changing the brake pads are really easy on disc brakes. It was a nightmare when we did the drum brakes.

[pinoy_eh]

Canadian Tire and the Dealerships are highway robbers. You can do it yourself for almost $200 including rotors and ceramic pads. There are a lot of ebaysellers from the Toronto Area and can ship the items to you for free. I service my brakes every year by myself eversince I got my 2006 GS. Currently, I have a Canadian made cross drilled rotors and Powerstop Evolution Z16 brake pads for the fronts and rears, and it only cost me $180.00 for everything.

[Booter22]

Canadian Tire and the Dealerships are highway robbers.

yep.. selling quality parts and service is such a crime.

[stefanb]

Canadian Tire and the Dealerships are highway robbers. You can do it yourself for almost $200 including rotors and ceramic pads. There are a lot of ebaysellers from the Toronto Area and can ship the items to you for free. I service my brakes every year by myself eversince I got my 2006 GS. Currently, I have a Canadian made cross drilled rotors and Powerstop Evolution Z16 brake pads for the fronts and rears, and it only cost me $180.00 for everything.

Yearly brake changes? And with that mod list....you must be at the track a lot?

[stefanb]

yep.. selling quality parts and service is such a crime.

That probably hits a nerve for you to read, but traditionally dealerships are the most expensive place to service your car (as I'm sure you know). I know why it's like that, but a lot of people don't care and just want the cheapest possible solution.

[Booter22]

lol yep, it does hit a nerve for sure. i have worked at three different canadian tires as well, as the parts manager / advisor, parts and service supervisor and just a stock person for parts. and yet people still complain that aftermarket is expensive. no one will ever be happy sadly and you get what you pay for. you can buy cheap pads and replace them every year,which will cost more for labour. or buy good pads and replacement once every 3-5 years and save money on labour. i mean its an easy call to make but as everyone will see the money they have now to spend where we all try to save a buck or two here and there but when it comes to things like wear items ( and for even a $50 difference in parts between pad options, and per rotors ) i would always go for the better of the two or three options and save the labour to replace them again and again over and over which costs more.