Brakes - Dealer Vs. Muffler and Brake Stores

Soon I need to have my pads replaced on my 2000 Ultra. The dealer price is way higher than muffler and brake chains such as Midas, Meineke, etc. For the front pads they want $170 and for the rear $200. The chains want $200 total.

Has anyone here used any of the chains? Can they really do the right job on the PAs? The dealer claims that only GM pads are the right ones; they couldn't really explain the huge price difference other than to say that it is a specialized skill to work on higher end Buicks.

All comments most welcome! :)

Well... I am not the most prolific of posters, and I may not have a lot of credibility, but I would say neither.

I have had the best luck with a garage that does general car repair. We have one where the wife of the owner drives an older PA, and the repairs he has done for me on my '96 PA and my '98 PA are done correctly and at a fair price. They worked on a Lasabre of mine before my wife crunched it.

I have had bad luck in general with dealers, and I buy my cars used in part to avoid them.

I am also cheap.

I second a general garage. They maybe more likely to use quailty brake parts such as, but not limited to bendix/raybetos and they will probably guarantee the pads for life and just charge you labor the next time out. Even going to napa to buy the top of the line pads will be appox. $100.00 total for both front and rear. You want the best brake materials on the GM cars, just saves you time and money replacing them in the future. Good luck.

I've had my pads replaced twice on my 99 Ultra. The first time I had a Goodyear place do it and felt ripped off by the $$$ amount (probably less than a dealer, but not much). The Goodyear guys also insisted on turning the rotors even though I asked them to change them. Sure enough, one was warped in no time and I had to replace them anyway. The next time I had a local garage do it and had them use ceramic pads so my front wheels wouldn't be black all of the time. Still no trouble, and they still work great. I would recommend a reputable shop and ceramic pads, though I can't make a brand recommendation, as I don't know that much about the various pads and manufacturers.
If you're looking for a horror story, I once had a local guy replace the brake cylinders in my 93 PA after I let someone else drive it and they left the parking brake on. Not too long after that, I totaled it when my right rear wheel locked up going into a corner (and didn't unlock when I let off the brakes). The totalling was my fault because I panicked and wouldn't touch the brakes trying to correct after hitting the corner too fast for not braking (the brake light came on as the wheel locked up, and in the moment, I decided braking was a bad idea because another wheel might lock, looking back, obviously two locked wheels would have been better than 3 not-braking ones). Regardless, since the wheel didn't unlock the entire time, I believe the cylinder was defective or something. However, that isn't the local shop's fault, even if insisting on a better brand might have prevented it.

Whatever you do make sure they use quality brake pads. If you don't you brakes will warp. That's a guarentee. Don't use duralast pads either. I hate those with a passion. I now have wagner queit stop pad and bendix rotors om my front brakes. They're very quiet and don't leave hardly any brake dust.

Just want to toss a comment out there..

Dealership parts can be very expensive, and not always as good as aftermarket..

We do some automotive work, and get great discounts from a certain parts store as we buy quite a bit from them... Most of the time for and brakes we do we will use Wagner parts( Mid Grade )..

I even have these very parts on my 95 Pontiac Transport and am impressed with them.. Friends Bonneville also has those parts and is happy with them... We use them due to the great prices we get, but at the same time they are good quality parts as opposed to the Advance or autozone parts...

With the chain store you will want to be careful.. They may be charging you $100 for parts they paid $20 for...

So I have to say if you know of a mom and pop operation that has good word of mouth they may be the way to go in terms of price and quality parts.. Do your research locally as you may find a very good and reasonable shop..:)

I just ran into the same predicament. I ended up going to a family mechanic who owns a custom wheel and tire shop. He's serviced my vehicle before for tires, alignments, etc. I got new rotors and pads for the front on my 97 PA and it cost me $205. Not a bad deal. He uses quality parts and guarantees his parts for a lifetime. I'd agree with what was said above. Find a local garage, figure out what parts he is using, and get it done there. Good luck.

Thank you all for your most helpful information. I will be putting it to good use shortly.