Need to change brakes on my 06 Montana. Will cheap brake parts do the job?

So, I just posted a similar question to the Impala forum. But it seems like everytime in the past, when I use cheap brake parts, my brakes always end up thumpy after a few weeks. 2 brake jobs ago on my car, I went to a brake specialty shop and bought whatever they use when they perform brake jobs and that brake job lasted about 2 years before they got thumpy. After 2 years, I haven't had the same luck and sometimes my brakes are thumpy... (I asked in the other forum why only sometimes my brakes are thumpy and sometimes they stop like a dream...)

But I guess over the years too, I've been researching about what to do to make sure brakes don't go thumpy... suggestions are to make sure the hub is absolutely clean... take a wire brush or wire wheel to the hub to make sure it's clean so the rotor is 100% square to the hub so the pads hit it evenly and the other trick I've learned is to always tighten the wheels with torque wrench to the proper torque seeing the wheel is what holds the rotor on and if it's not evenly tight, then it could be out of square with the caliper and then get warped.

So, 7 years ago before the brake job I did that was the best brake job I've ever done, I didn't know those tricks, so I'm wondering if it's why I had such bad experiences with cheap brake rotors and pads.

So I guess I'm posing the question because money is tight and if I could go to autozone and get the cheap parts at half the cost I could get the parts at the brake shop, I should save the money... but I don't want to do that if the brakes are just going to get thumpy in 2 months. If most cheap brakes start going bad soon, then I better spend the extra money and do it right the first time.

Even if going to autozone, they have their good, better and best brake pads... there has to be a reason why people buy the best over the good ones and why people pay extra for better rotors.... but I also can't imagine everyone that buys the cheap stuff just has thumpy crapy brakes on their cars.

i dont use autozone so i cant tell ya, most places have independent part stores and they often sell quality parts and stand behind what they sell,big name chains seem to lack in service and quality, so i would stick with mid grade reguardless of the supplier, u dont want the cheapest thing out there and there is no need to go over board either, hope it helps

Sometimes, it's just a crap shoot......

You can use the cheaper stuff and luck out....can buy the good stuff, and have problems.....

The MAIN THING, is proper installation.....

I was with a friend who went to get an oil change and tire rotation.....no one makes money on these jobs....they make money on selling jobs, when the car is in the air.....I do the same thing....but it will be something the car actually needs...

Guy comes up to my friend and says, you need front pads and rotors.....pads have plenty of pad left, and rotors have hardly discernable grooving....car has 23K miles....I asked my friend if the car had a pulsation or was making noise....he said no....I said you don't need a brake job....now the tech becomes adament, that his brakes are going to fail him, and insisted they should be replaced, now....I asked him, how thick are the rotors? He said he didn't know, but in this case he wouldn't turn them.....I asked why, and he said he could just tell by looking at them....."You're a better man than me Gunga Din"....now for the best part...

He rotates the tires, and then proceeds to tighten the lug nuts in a circle with an impact gun.....a grab another tech there, and ask him to watch the second tire...he does the same thing.....

I go up to the guy and tell him to stop....I ask him is this how he puts lug nuts on? He says, "What are you talking about?"

I say, "Do you know what a star pattern is?" He insisted he did a star pattern.....I said, "You are here to fix problems, not create problems."

He didn't have a torque stick.....I said you can either take those lugs off, and snug them up in a star pattern and then use a torque wrench, or I'll call the Service Manager over....but by now the SM came over and was telling me, I have to get out of the bay so his guy can finish the job......

We watched from the garage door, and the guy did as WE SUGGESTED...

Don't know if this was normal for this guy, or he was just pissed.....but guys like this make the rest of us look bad....

My friend pays his bill, and the SM says that's his best guy....probably makes the shop a lot of money on upsells....

But improper technique on lugs can cause a pulsation in the not to distant future.....

So Dorlow, you have found out, a brake job involves more than just slapping pads and rotors on a car.....good for you....