New brake discs and brake pads

[Paul2023]

Any advice from anyone with any car/ mechanical knowledge would be a great help here.
DW took her car to a local garage for an MOT. It failed on a tyre and I quote - “service brake fluctuating front”. So two reasons.

She queried what that would be to fix this and they stated they didn’t know until they investigated this. They would need to re- test the car to get it through its MOT and look at the brake fault then. But we had to wait another week before she could go back as they were fully booked .

So last Friday, she drops the car off first thing. We wait around at home until 2 pm and she still hasn’t heard anything from the garage.
I need to get to work for a late shift so I drop DW off at the garage so she can wait for her car to finished with.

DW pays the bill ( £330) and brings the car home. When I get home , I see they’ve changed the tyre ( fine ) but also changed the front brake pads and discs.

They didn’t call DW to explain what the fault was or the cost prior to doing this.

But- last year I was using DWs car and heard a horrible screeching noise. I took it to the nearest garage to have it looked at ( not the same place DW just went to ) and it needed new front brake pads and discs. They also changed the fluid (total cost £ 320).

Now , she’s only done barely 7k in the last year and I don’t see why the new brakes pads and discs would be needed to get changed. DW doesn’t have much knowledge when it comes to cars and she didn’t know that it was the same pads and discs that were changed just a year ago.

I would have politely asked the garage that DW went to explain why they needed changing again one year, but I wasn’t with her to do this.

The garage also put on a new wing mirror case , which she didn’t ask them to do , which cost £20 and is a dark grey colour and her car is silver. The wing mirror case doesn’t even match the cars colour! I could have brought a new case myself on eBay that matched. And it wasn’t even an MOT failure reason. So another cost to her bill.

Am I being unreasonable to think that the garage should have telephoned DW prior to carrying out these works? To have told her the fault and the price?

Would I have any justification in going back to the garage tomorrow to show them that the brake pads and discs were changed just a year ago and the car has only done 7k miles since? To ask them for an explanation as to why they needed changing again ?

I have receipts from the garage that changed the discs and brake pads with the date on it from last year.

The car is a 2009 Astra.

Any advice appreciated.

It depends on what the brief is, did you ask them to get the car to pass the MOT? As they have carried out the works that are required. But yes I agree they should have at least called to discuss as you may have wanted to go elsewhere.

im a bit confused, did you have to have brakes and discs twice in the same year ? If that’s the case, then I’d of thought that there’s something else that’s amis that’s causing them to fail. I would have also of thought that they would have come with a warranty that you could have queried.

New front brake discs and pads done at another garage in January 2023. This wasn’t on an MOT, it was done when I realised something was wrong when I borrowed her car.

DW just had her car MOT at another garage , so just over a year later. She only done 7k miles in that time.

There may have been a warranty on the brake discs and pads from the first place but that was just over 12 months ago. And the place she went to recently wouldn’t have known when they were last changed because they didn’t do the work there.

She gave permission for the work to be carried out when she dropped the car off but they could have atleast rang her to explain about it needing new front brake pads and discs. I thought most garages would do this ..

She didn’t know this needed doing , as they told her when it failed it’s MOT a week before that they needed to investigate the fault. They couldn’t give a price or reason until they had a look at it again on its re-test.

She was also unaware of the pads and discs being replaced last year because it was me borrowing her car who got it fixed and paid for and she has zero mechanical knowledge ( mine is zero too).

Had they have called her prior to doing the work I would have been there and could have asked them to explain why they need replacing again.

Unfortunately lots of MOT garages rip people off because almost no one measures their pads and discs. DH does! My pads are wearing down by 1mm every 5,000 miles. They'll last 50,000 miles.

So no point asking the for an explanation then ? If I can prove to them another garage changed then just one year ago ?

She gave permission for the work to be carried out when she dropped the car off

She gave permission. She should have asked for a quote first but she didn't.

She gave permission for the tyre to be changed but the garage said they wouldn’t have known what the fault was with the brakes until they put it on the ramps to investigate.

A garage would surely ring you to let you know ? Apart form anything, DW might not have had the funds to pay for a problem that she wasn’t informed about.

They could have said you need new front pads and discs and here is the price..

The fail “service brake fluctuating front” could be due to corrosion. They can become rusted if not used much and 7k a year is fairly light use. (NB Not a mechanic)

Unfortunately you don't have a contract with the garage and they don't have to talk to you at all.

Correct but an honest garage could atleast explain what the fault was , it must be backed up by their computer. If I reasonably ask them- if nothing else it could be a an underlying problem?

If they refuse point blank and say tough shit I’m perfectly entitled to leave a bad review online. They tend not to like bad reviews I’ve noticed and respond to them.

Bumping for any more advice!

On the face of it, it does sound like BS but if a caliper slide was seized it could have caused one pad to wear out and ruin the disc so not a complete impossibility. Can’t say for sure without seeing the old discs and pads though.

Bet it was Halfords? They tried to sell me new pads and discs at mot. £600. I took it away and had a local mobile mechanic do them for under £200. Con artists.

No, it was an RAC approved (apparently) independent garage. The reviews are pretty good too.

Chances are, the brake pads that were fitted last year were not the best quality so didn't last long . This happened to me once.
I agree though. The garage should have contacted your dw first