Hi,

I've got the brake pads worn warning light coming up on my A3 1.8T.

I was thinking of going to Kwik fit (local garage) to get the brake pads replaced, and possibly the brake discs too. But a few people have said that kwik fit are no good for this, and that I should go to an Audi dealer.

Does anyone have any experiences on changing brake pads? Anyone know how much an audi dealer would charge to replace brake pads and discs?

 

I'd obtain a repair quote first.
Then make sure the parts by the local shop are real match - dealers will not (do not know) who is the manufacturer of parts, they state: Audi. (I often ask them for "Audi" tires..)
Once you have the quote, match the parts to online sources, there is a quite confusion among suppliers and shops in regards to some simple things.
Pagit, Textar, TWR are the OEM (Germany) brake components suppliers. Brembo disks are the least expensive among the good ones....
I have to do my brakes this weekend (complete front and rear), ordered parts.
Be aware that shops make more money on parts than on labor.For complete brake job:-independant shop -950-dealers - 1350- chains - Midas, Speedy, etc. -1300-1800Once they hiar "Audi" the perception is that the owner is at least a doctor or a lawer...block of $$$ instead of jack in the trunk
Take care,

 

Kwik Fit are in my opinion a bunch of cowboys. If you are planning on visiting a dealer, try Skoda, they are a lot cheaper than Audi and you get the same service, albeit a Skoda loan car rather than an Audi. VW are also cheaper than Audi but more than Skoda!

However, changing brake pads is prettysimple. Take off the wheel, undo the locating bolt/screw on the disc hub, unscrew caliper (2 places), remove disc, replace, bleed. Done!

I usually tend to replace both the discs and pads together, as it will take some time for new pads to mate to an old disc.

 

audi was going to charge me 600 dollars just for my rear brake pads, and to resurface them! i asked how much just the part was, and he told me it was 90 bucks for the part, and the rest was labor! i was disgusted by this lol, and they also told me that i would ONLY be able to get them done at the audi dealer. it was all bullsh*t. i think im just going to change them myself.

 

I agree, and would not use Kwik Fit. I had my 1.8T serviced a few weeks ago and Audi suggested I have the front discs and pads changed as they were 80% worn. They quoted £260 inc. part, labour, VAT. I am going to get some the pads and discs from EBC online (£90) and fit them myself. I've never had problems with EBC.

But you could try Skoda, they will be quite a lot cheaper, although some garages refuse to provide parts quotes unless you can give them the equivalent Skoda part number... Depends how much they want your business. But changing front discs and pads is pretty simple, get a Haynes manual if you are not sure.

 

You could also just order the actual Audi parts online(usually much cheaper this way), ship them to you house, take them and car to dealer and they will charge you labor to install them. I used to do it all the time with my VW Trg (dang thing ate rotors like a monkey to a banana! )