1,126.22 or 696.99 to fix brakes HELP

[Kidlex01]

i brought my 2001 Grand am se 2.4L in for an oil change and when i went to pick it up they had to quotes for me one was for Generic parts and the other for GM CERTIFIED parts is it really worth paying the extra 400 just for the 1 year warranty? also my front brakes on my car have been weird ever since i bought the car and i had complained numerous times and they kept telling me they were fine but then all of a sudden my front calipers and transaxle cooler and lines need to be replaced, what is the worst case scenerio if i keep driving my car, how long should i leave them before fixing them i dont have the money to fix my brakes right now. So im looking for some suggestnes.

Thanks

[Kidlex01]

Also if im gonna spend all this money why not just buy some performance parts buy the performance calipers and then thats it let them use the rest of there parts... anyone know where i can buy performance calipers for my 2001 ga se 2.4

[Hoags]

If your front brakes are bad I would get them fixed A.S.A.P. especially since the weight of the car is over top of them. It is hard to stop that car with the rears alone. If I were you before you pay that kind of money I would call around to get some other prices, Granted they most likely will not use GM parts but if you go to a place like midas they offer a life time guarentee for replacement, it may be worth checking into. If you have a GM dealer all you are going to get is a short coverage period and they will only cover part failure, where as Midas will replace pads when they wear out. A neighbor of mine did that with a Chevy Lumina and it had a brake usage problen Midas put brakes on that car of theirs once a year until they got rid of it.

If you have your brakes done now you will at least have some time to research you preformance parts so you can build the set up you want, this way you will not have to rush. Just my 2 cents worth.

Since that brakes are wear items you do not have to go with the GM parts there are a lot of high quality manufacturers out there that you can get a better price on. My opinion. I watch and change my brakes as needed and have never used GM original parts, yes some brands ahve lasted longer than others but I went to AutoZone and they have pads with lifetime replacement so all I do is take off the worn pads and go in with my receipt and walk out with new pads, I do have to install them but I like working on the car so to me it does not matter.

Good luck,
Dan

[Kidlex01]

heres the problem where i live is in northern canada so i dont have the choice of going to midas we have the GM dealer and ford dealer and chrylser with shops then canadian tire and some other locally owned shops, so im not sure if i want to trust them unless they gurantee there work so i will call them. thanks

[GTP Dad]

Get a quote from Canadian tire. A lot of folks from Canada use them and they appear to be happy with their work. There is no way the repairs to your car should cost anywhere what they are quoting from the dealer. You could order everything you need on-line and you wouldn't have near that much in it. A good trans cooler will cost around $100 and Calipers and rotors and pads for both sides would be around $250 US of course you will have to get someone to put them on unless you do it yourself.

[Kidlex01]

Well i will no longer be posting questions about brakes, screw paying people to do it for you when you can learn to do it your self, thanks guys for all the help, Also cross drilled rotors are awesome, BUT ive had a rotor warping problem on my car have had 2 sets in 2 years thats not bad but ive spent 600 each time, now im on my 3rd set my cross drilled i did myself only cost 120$$ very nice they stop nice and smooth im very excited, but what if the pulsation comes back, and i keep warping rotors... i know it is a problem with GA's but has anyone ever solved this problem...???