Mazda dealer has cheaper line of brakes?

[johnnyh55]

I called the dealer to get a price on pads and rotors front and back for my 2007 Mazda 3 GT and for the pads he quoted me $125/front and $123/back then he said I also have another cheaper line of mazda pads which are $52 front and $52 back, do you guys know what they are?


I went with aftermarket stuff the last time I changed the brakes and they make noise when it's hot outside and it's embarassing. Also the rotors warped so I have a vibration in the brake pedal. I absolutely want to get rid of the noise so I was going to go with the more expensive ones. What do you guys think?

[staax]

The cheaper option is likely crap rotors with semi metallic pads.

Normally 1 rotor is $50 not including the pads.

If you're worried about noise with your brakes, don't get the cheap stuff.

Try rockauto.com, get all my parts there. Really great place.

[Johns 08 3 GT]

I went with aftermarket stuff the last time I changed the brakes and they make noise when it's hot outside and it's embarassing. Also the rotors warped so I have a vibration in the brake pedal. I absolutely want to get rid of the noise so I was going to go with the more expensive ones. What do you guys think?

If you don't want the noise and warped rotors, go with the good stuff from Mazda. $125 for pads, $85 each rotor.

[johnnyh55]

The cheaper option is likely crap rotors with semi metallic pads.

Normally 1 rotor is $50 not including the pads.

If you're worried about noise with your brakes, don't get the cheap stuff.

Try rockauto.com, get all my parts there. Really great place.


What brand did you get from rockauto? I am scared of doing a mistake once again do I think i'll go all mazda this time.

[staax]

Couldnt help ya with that man, I've yet to do brakes on Mazda.

I have used Raybestos as a mid-level quality on my Dakota and fathers RAV4. Quiet braking and good stopping ability.

Others may chime in with their recommendations. Rockauto is just a good auto parts place. Have a look at what they sell for your car.

[johnnyh55]

Does $547 before tax sounds about right for Mazda OEM pads and rotors all around?

[staax]

Sounds hella expensive if that's just for parts. I hope that includes installation.

[johnnyh55]

No labor, just parts. I compared it to ordering the same parts from the US and it was $415US($449CAD) from http://onlinemazdaparts.com/ so I guess it should be pretty much within range for Canada.

[Johns 08 3 GT]

Does $547 before tax sounds about right for Mazda OEM pads and rotors all around?

That would be correct for parts only.

[staax]

Wow, you would pay $200-250 for a decent aftermarket brand - not a cheap one.

If you feel happy with that price and your dealer then by all means go that route.

[tmpz]

Does $547 before tax sounds about right for Mazda OEM pads and rotors all around?

About 2-3 years ago, I got mine (2.0L) for about $410 before tax at Mazda of Toronto with TM3 discount.

It sounds a little high even without TM3 discount. But prices might have gone up over the years and also your car is 2.3L which might cost a little bit more.

[Johns 08 3 GT]

Mazda had a small price bump in the pads & rotors ($5) .

Also the bigger rotors cost more and $547 is list price. No discount.

[johnnyh55]

Well If I could be 100% sure that the an aftermarktet brand would make no noise I could go that route but I did the mistake once and don't want to do it again.

[Lux]

Dealers can sell aftermarket parts. They just can't falsify them as OEM and you have to be notified accordingly.
Therefore, the cheaper 'dealer' option is probably aftermarket crap. The same shit you buy at Parts Source.
There is no reason to go with aftermarket brakes unless you can provide tangible evidence that it is a superior product for its function (higher friction coefficient, better thermal stability, superior rigidity, etc.).
"Because it's cheaper" is not a valid reason.

[ryan2.3]

i've had these on for just over a year and about 50,000km and they've been great. Still a lot of material on the pads too.
There's quite a few other people here who have also got these and have said good things. I think someone said they ran them for 4 years. I bought mine on ebay, and i think the others they went to the actual shop in richmond hill

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/FRONT-REAR-KIT-SILVER-ZINC-Slotted-Drilled-Brake-Rotors-AND-Max-Ceramic-Pads-/321145702706?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3AMazda%7CModel%3A3&hash=item4ac5c68932&vxp=mtr&_uhb=1


http://www.ebay.ca/itm/321146210429?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

[Johns 08 3 GT]

Dealers can sell aftermarket parts. They just can't falsify them as OEM and you have to be notified accordingly.
Therefore, the cheaper 'dealer' option is probably aftermarket crap. The same shit you buy at Parts Source.
There is no reason to go with aftermarket brakes unless you can provide tangible evidence that it is a superior product for its function (higher friction coefficient, better thermal stability, superior rigidity, etc.).
"Because it's cheaper" is not a valid reason.

They are from Mazda.
http://i8.ebayimg.com/04/i/001/12/cc/ff0d_35.JPG

[Lux]

They are from Mazda.
http://i8.ebayimg.com/04/i/001/12/cc/ff0d_35.JPG
Look up the product numbers.
You'll trace it back to a cheap aftermarket supplier USA or Mexico or some shit.
Same shit from Parts Source.
Probably not made in Japan by Mazda (or Nissin, Akebono, et al).
They are not OEM.

[Kiyomi]

why would u want to cheap out on brakes? they keep you safe and from hitting walls...

[staax]

Im not saying to buy cheap brakes, I'm saying to get them elsewhere other than the dealer since you can get them for half the cost. Like Lux said, you have no idea if the pads you buy from Mazda are gonna be OEM or just rebranded aftermarket.

[barnau21]

Many parts supplier and dealers rebox their parts... The best way to shop for brakes is to look at the warranties offered with the parts. Napa has a ceramic pad that comes with a life time warranty for noise. Their premium rotors come with 18 month warranty for pulsation. I never heard any dealer offering more than a year of warranty for anything they sell.

[Johns 08 3 GT]

Like Lux said, you have no idea if the pads you buy from Mazda are gonna be OEM or just rebranded aftermarket.

If you are talking about the 2nd line pads that one thing. But if you buy Mazdas first line pads they ARE NOT rebranded aftermarket.

They are made by such companies like Akebono, ATE, Brembo, etc. They are the real deal. Dealers do not rebox brake pads.

Buying a brake pad based on warranty is also silly. These work on the basis that only a few will every be replaced.
If you want to by brakes based on warranty then go to Midas. Warranty fo life yo! How do they offer a life time warranty on a part that is designed to wear out? They recoup that money in the labour that is not covered.

[barnau21]

If you are talking about the 2nd line pads that one thing. But if you buy Mazdas first line pads they ARE NOT rebranded aftermarket.

They are made by such companies like Akebono, ATE, Brembo, etc. They are the real deal. Dealers do not rebox brake pads.

Buying a brake pad based on warranty is also silly. These work on the basis that only a few will every be replaced.
If you want to by brakes based on warranty then go to Midas. Warranty fo life yo! How do they offer a life time warranty on a part that is designed to wear out? They recoup that money in the labour that is not covered.

The problem with Midas is that they use cheap brakes which cost them almost nothing, allowing them to still make money while giving you free pads for life. Napa is very different in the sense that they have a very good quality line of products (at least in my experience). I put a set of ultra premium pads & rotors from Napa on my old subaru and 2 years down the road there was still not rust on the discs and the pads were above 80%. This was after around 60,000 km of driving. Just to give you an idea, I bought that subaru with 50,000 km and the pads were just passing safety while the rotors were pulsating. I've been in the auto business for almost 9 years and I would never ever choose dealer parts over aftermarket unless I absolutely have to.

[Johns 08 3 GT]

I've been in the auto business for almost 9 years and I would never ever choose dealer parts over aftermarket unless I absolutely have to.

And there is your problem. It sounds like you have the mind set that the dealer is the stealership and is bad. But it never hurts to cross shop the dealer these days.

Most OEM's these day know they have to compete with the aftermarket pricing.

Almost all of my wholesale customers have told me on numerous occasions that the dealer have had cheaper prices than the aftermarket. (on most things)

[staax]

I too will never go to the dealer for parts unless I absolutely have to. Just my opinion and I'm happy with it.

I have never seen a dealership have competitive prices with aftermarket parts, mind you this is my first experience with Mazda but my local dealer doesn't strike me as the fair type.

If you've got a dealer that supplies you good parts at good prices then great. Not all of us have that luxury.

[barnau21]

And there is your problem. It sounds like you have the mind set that the dealer is the stealership and is bad. But it never hurts to cross shop the dealer these days.

Most OEM's these day know they have to compete with the aftermarket pricing.

Almost all of my wholesale customers have told me on numerous occasions that the dealer have had cheaper prices than the aftermarket. (on most things)


*stealership... hahaha, I haven't heard than one before!*

I compare these prices on a daily basis and you are right, the dealers have become much more competitive than a few years ago. When I did the brake job mentioned before, I paid about 150 more than I would have at the subaru dealer (4 rotors and 2 sets of pads). Worth every penny considering how great the quality of the parts was.

I also spend a lot of my day cross referencing part numbers and so far I have yet to find a part sold by the dealer that wasn't re-boxed. All the dealership parts are outsourced to a million different companies, some are the OE manufacturers, but most are not. The only car manufacturer that had real original equipment was GM back when they owned Delphi and AC Delco. Even though Brembo and Akebono make parts for the car manufacturers, they are still an aftermarket provider and if they offer an OE part vs. and aftermarket option, the aftermarket will always be of superior quality. We also have a law in Canada which states that any aftermarket parts manufacturer has to provide parts of the same quality OR BETTER than OEM. I'm sure there are still many that don't abide by that, considering it would be pretty expensive to test each aftermarket part against an OEM, but it is enough for me to stay away from the "stealership's" parts.

[dentinger]

normally you can go a bit cheaper with rotors (as most of them are just a chunk of steel), but best to go with at least a mid grade pad.

[Zuluwun]

Just adding in my 2¢ here since I just bought brakes. After cross shopping OEM rotors vs. other reputable aftermarket blanks from several different vendors, the dealership gave me the best bottom line for 4 rotors even without the TM3 discount which was a nice little bonus.

[Lux]

I also spend a lot of my day cross referencing part numbers and so far I have yet to find a part sold by the dealer that wasn't re-boxed. All the dealership parts are outsourced to a million different companies, some are the OE manufacturers, but most are not. The only car manufacturer that had real original equipment was GM back when they owned Delphi and AC Delco.
Actually, GM never really had that strong of a relationship with its suppliers... a lot of components were still outsourced (Bosch, Até, Aisin, NGK, Borg-Warner, Tremec, Continental).
That's just the nature of North American auto assembly.
Take the Chrysler 300, for instance...
Engine from Mexico, driveline from Germany, power modules from Japan, accessories from China, designed in USA, assembled in Canada.
Ever wonder why it's a piece of shit?
Toyota is the only automaker in the unique position of owning almost EVERYTHING in its Japanese supply chain.
Being in that position permits maximum engineering transparency between the assembler, supplier, and transporter.
That's EXACTLY why they make good f*cking cars.
That rule about aftermarket components meeting OEM specifications is true.
Except, the actual original equipment parts exceed their own specification by such an enormous margin that it makes the aftermarket factories look like a Vietnamese sweatshop.
There is no comparison.
Buy genuine dealer parts, whenever you can.
This is for your own benefit. Not mine.