Richard is going to get cross with me keep starting threads I'm sorry....
Do car brake pads seize up if a car is not used everyday? I bought a 2 year old Peu*eot 207 in July last year, it was from a dealer and had a warranty. Monday i couldn't move it and rang the dealer and said there was a problem with the brakes - he said it was likely to be something that could be covered by the warranty. Anyway the breakdown people kindly dumped it at the Dealership for me. The service Dept rang later and said the brakes had seized and that i really should drive it everyday The cost to repair it was £400 and i would have to pay! I fell out with him because i've had cars before that aren't driven everyday and they haven't seized up. I went and spoke to a neighbour who gave me the number of a chap that looks after their cars and i rang him. He went and got the car from the garage and made the repair for £185 so i was pleased. I'm sure this sort of thing is possible but i am surprised in this day and age. It doesn't help that there is a big difference between £400 and £185 - what a rip off!
Sounds like the garage guy is talking out of the wrong end of his food tube.
I take it that the car doesn't sit for a month or two without being used, ask muppet face what you are supposed to do when you go on holiday for a fortnight, pay someone to drive your car everyday
Sounds like a typical slide out from any claim on your warranty.
If I come over to look at your damp problem do you want me to go and give this guy a slap
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Hi Jo, as Foggy said unless it has stood for a month or two then the brakes should not sieze. To expect a car to be driven every day is unreasonable. I suspect maybe the car had been stood at the dealership for a number of months before you got it. £400 to sort the brakes is excessive but dealerships are always way over the top. I have had first hand experience of peugeot dealerships and their customer service is non existant. I used to have a 607 and the gearbox whent. The dealership quoted £3500 to replace the gearbox and I had to let them do it as no one else would touch it. When I whent to collect the repaired car they said "Oh yes thats plus vat" If I said I went ballistic I would be lying it was way beyond that. But I did pay the quoted price. (After they called the police) Did you get new discs and pads for £185?
As for what happened to you - i totally understand how mad you would be! You could buy another car for that price
I just couldn't get past the old couple who live opposite - they only use their Mini once a week (to go on an 8 mile round trip) and i haven't seen that being loaded onto a recovery vehicle!
Jo, go and stand in his showroom tell any perspective customers that failure to drive the car of their dreams every day invalidates the warranty and watch them change their tune.
These people talk such utter garbage,
Peugot, Renault and Citroen never come out well in the maintenance stakes as Al's story shows. Its finding someone who is willing to work on them
I am looking at a new van and the brand coming out on top at the moment is Hyundai, cheaper by far than a VW or Toyota and five year warranty or 100,000 miles, you have to have some confidence in your product to offer that. Must ask if i need to drive it every day ..............
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FH, yes dont forget to check that - it seems you have to spend less on petrol to drive aimlessly around everyday than you do on repairs! Good job Summer is on it's way - we can all go on a picnic!
Brake discs can rust very quickly if you park the car and leave it when the brakes are wet. If it was raining or you went through a big puddle shortly before parking then that can cause them to rust quite badly. I couldn't really tell how long it had been parked when this happened. It can also occur if it's parked in a place where the wind is blowing rain onto one of the wheels. Some cars do seem to do it more than others, I'm not sure why. If you look through the holes in the wheels you can probably see the brake discs. They should look shiny. If you look when it's been raining then you can often see the rust that has formed on them. It does happen to all cars but usually not a problem. Marc
redoak wrote:Brake discs can rust very quickly if you park the car and leave it when the brakes are wet. If it was raining or you went through a big puddle shortly before parking then that can cause them to rust quite badly. I couldn't really tell how long it had been parked when this happened. It can also occur if it's parked in a place where the wind is blowing rain onto one of the wheels. Some cars do seem to do it more than others, I'm not sure why. If you look through the holes in the wheels you can probably see the brake discs. They should look shiny. If you look when it's been raining then you can often see the rust that has formed on them. It does happen to all cars but usually not a problem. Marc
Slight rust from overnight rain, or even two weeks rain should burn off very quickly and not even be worried about.
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Hi Jo, "It was 2 front brake discs and 1 front pad." !! Brake pads or shoes (or drums or discs) should only ever be replaced in axle sets - in your case it should have been 2 discs and 4 pads, anything less is potentially dangerous. As to the price a pair of discs can be bought from £70 and pads for around £25/30ish. Repair times are 1.5 hours to remove and replace both discs and replacement of pads .6 hours. To me £185 sounds a tad steep. (The prices I quoted are retail by the way, not trade which will be considerably cheaper.) Dean.
I may have to grow older, but it doesn't mean I have to grow up!
Dean H wrote:Hi Jo, "It was 2 front brake discs and 1 front pad." !! Brake pads or shoes (or drums or discs) should only ever be replaced in axle sets - in your case it should have been 2 discs and 4 pads, anything less is potentially dangerous. As to the price a pair of discs can be bought from £70 and pads for around £25/30ish. Repair times are 1.5 hours to remove and replace both discs and replacement of pads .6 hours. To me £185 sounds a tad steep. (The prices I quoted are retail by the way, not trade which will be considerably cheaper.) Dean.
Good post
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Agreed, each disk has a pair of pads and all modern cars have disk brakes at the front and nearly all now have disks at the rear. Jo I can't see see any reason why pads would be replaced in an odd number. When you or a garage buy a "set" of pads its FOUR pads, thats two pairs of pads/two pads per disk.
There are two common causes for the brakes to seize up:
1 The hand brake cable outer casing has become brittle and cracked and lets in the weather, therefore the inner cable stick in the on poison, when the hand brake is released. 2 The rubber seal around the brake cylinder have corroded and the same thing happens as above.
As the pads and discs had to be replaced, that says to me that the car wasn’t road worthy. It is always a good idea to ask the dealership to give the car a brand new MOT before you purchase it. If you had done that, the vehicle would not have passed with the brakes in that condition.
People don’t realize, that though the car may have a current MOT when you purchase it. It is always wise to have another done if the MOT is over three months old.
silky wrote:There are two common causes for the brakes to seize up:
1 The hand brake cable outer casing has become brittle and cracked and lets in the weather, therefore the inner cable stick in the on poison, when the hand brake is released. 2 The rubber seal around the brake cylinder have corroded and the same thing happens as above.
As the pads and discs had to be replaced, that says to me that the car wasn’t road worthy. It is always a good idea to ask the dealership to give the car a brand new MOT before you purchase it. If you had done that, the vehicle would not have passed with the brakes in that condition.
People don’t realize, that though the car may have a current MOT when you purchase it. It is always wise to have another done if the MOT is over three months old.
The car isn't three years old yet, have a look at the OP.
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I'm sorry....
The cost to repair it was £400 and i would have to pay! I fell out with him because i've had cars before that aren't driven everyday and they haven't seized up. 
