When replacing brakes, where do the non DIY members take their cars i.e. dealership, budget shops, garages, etc.? I live in Huntsville, Alabama (roll tide) and lookinjg for a place to have my brakes repaired. Thanks in advance

 

See if there is a local corvette club near you and see what they say. They should have a opinion on a good shop. Some dealerships have great vette mechanics and some don't, plus they're going to charge you a arm and leg. When I asked a price for my SUV at the dealer - $1,600 for brakes and rotors and $800 for just pads. Come on. So I took it to a local shop for much less.

 

My neighbor lured me over with a case of beer to help out with his Honda Odyssey brakes. See if there are any deals with some of the typical places like Midas etc. They usually have nice warranties as well. It is fun to learn how to replace brakes if you have never done it. The forum is always here to help.

 

Huntsville, my old home town.

I took my '89 vert to Big "O" in KY and they charged $60.00 per wheel to turn rotors and install new pads.

Just make sure they are carefull lifting. Rocker pannels and fuel lines are easy targets.

DM

 

Brakes only OEM or performance. Aftermarket have too much metal and usually end up squeaky. I also realize that OEM are expensive.

 

I'll bet if you contact your local Corvette club they'll teach you how to do it yourself for a few pizzas and beers?

 

I'd agree here, and strongly urge you to learn to do it yourself. It literally only takes a couple wrenches (lug wrench and whatever bolts are holding the caliper on). You'll need a C-clamp to compress the caliper, although I've seen it done with a lot of other stuff (wonderbars, etc).

If you don't have a club or friends available, get one of those books on how to fix up a Corvette with photos and you can probably get the whole thing done in an hour or so...it's only a little harder than changing your tire or the oil on your car.

You'll also have the opportunity to clean up the whole area, and you can paint your calipers, if that's your thing, while you've got access...it's a great cosmetic touch, cheap/easy to do, and makes cleaning up the wheelwells much easier.

It's also pretty hard to screw up...just make sure the pads are on the right way (my neighbor just did brakes on his car and put one of the pads on backwards, D'OH)...go slowly and be careful.

The first wheel you do will take a few minutes to figure out. The next 3 are 10 minutes jobs each, at most. My personal preference has always been to use new rotors, rather than having the old ones turned...it's maybe a bit wasteful, but for me, it's cheap peace of mind.

Your savings, depending on where you were going to take the car and where you buy your components should be in the hundreds of dollars...now take the money you save and use it to fix something else on the car, detail it, or take the wife/gf/so out to dinner!

Dave

 

Lots of "how to videos" on youtube that show the whole process. Front and rears that will explain the job.

 

I had absolutely zero experience with cars when I impulsively came home with an 86 vette. In the year and a half I have owned it I have replaced all rotors,pads,master cylinder, steering rack,radiator, interior just to name a few things.I had tons of help from this forum and a few books so you can do it. It is also a very cool feeling to do it yourself except when you are doing 125 on the highway and realize that you are the one who put the car together. Good luck