We have just put our Ford in for front brake discs to be replaced, the pads were only 30% worn but they have gone and changed these as well! 

When questioned the bloke said that if changing the discs then the pads HAD to be changed at the same time. 

Is this correct? They have done other work without our consent as well

It's best practice to replace pads at the same time as discs so they bed in together evenly. 

Pads are cheap anyway and the extra labour time is negligible. 

However, they should've made that clear before doing the work.

Thank you Tom, This has not been a great 1st visit to a main dealership and we will not be returning due to them completing work without authorisation and not having parts in so some of the work we were booked in for will not be carried out.

 

To be honest, not many folk with a 2008 car go to a main dealer for service. Their 'labour' costs go towards the fancy marble floor & expensive coffee machine. Much better to seek out a reliable local independent garage for your future needs. There are plenty about, just look out for some with good online reviews...

If you always change the discs at the same time as the pads you will never encounter this problem again. Discs aren't really that expensive, if you shop around

Putting old pads on new discs is considered a big no no

Putting new pads on half worn discs is not a very good idea either as what happened to you can occur (the discs are fully worn before the new pads are, which wastes a set of pads)

3 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

To be honest, not many folk with a 2008 car go to a main dealer for service. Their 'labour' costs go towards the fancy marble floor & expensive coffee machine. Much better to seek out a reliable local independent garage for your future needs. There are plenty about, just look out for some with good online reviews...

As we are new to owning a car we were not sure who to use and conflicting reviews. We have since sourced a reputable, honest mechanic used by people we know and the outstanding work will be going to them.

If you do a bit of research, doing most of the jobs yourself is quite easy, with the right tools

Including changing discs and pads

1 minute ago, DaveT70 said:

If you do a bit of research, doing most of the jobs yourself is quite easy, with the right tools

I fear that someone who put their 16 year old car into a main dealer is probably not in the right mind set to start doing stuff themselves, we're not all mechanical wizards like you! 😁

1 minute ago, StephenFord said:

we're not all mechanical wizards like you!

Harry (Dave) Potter, a wizard of a mechanic 🤣

We all have to start somewhere

There's not much easier than front discs and pads, especially on a Ford

7 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

We all have to start somewhere

There's not much easier than front discs and pads, especially on a Ford

Speaking as someone who kak handedly totally messed that simple task up on a 1970s Datsun, I'm not so sure. Of course, I had no YouTube in those days to help (no one had invented the internet yet), no 'smartphone' to take 'before' photos, and even as a teenager had a crap memory so forgot the location of some pretty important bits LOL Still, I now know it all in theory, but it still scares me to actually do it 🤣

3 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

no 'smartphone' to take 'before' photos, and even as a teenager had a crap memory so forgot the location of some pretty important bits LOL

Surely you had a bit of paper and a pencil?  Or even a slate and chalk?  

 

(I do agree though.  Car maintenance is not for everyone.)

37 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I fear that someone who put their 16 year old car into a main dealer is probably not in the right mind set to start doing stuff themselves, we're not all mechanical wizards like you! 😁

Ah but in time I may gain the skills lol, owning a car is a learning curve and although my wife is able to inform me about what different noises mean new parts are required, she is no longer able to get mechanically hands on due to a serious illness. She used paint calliper's, apply graphics, give her previous cars 2 days worth of cleaning before shows etc but now Hetty is helping me get my wife out and about.