VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap?

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Mon 27 Feb 2012 19:56
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - Matt@

Had cause to buy 2 x rear brake discs (non vented ) for a Bora and got them via Ebay. I bought a known make (Brembo) and they cost me £25 for the pair delivered free.

Working the sums out for these discs - the supplier got paid £25 from which he takes away 20% vat (£5.00) then he has to take away postage cost (say £5.00) then he takes away a minimal profit (say £3.00 each = £6.00) which means he's paid about £4.50 each for the discs.

If my back of a fag packet calculations are rightish, how come these things can be supplied/ made so cheaply?!

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Mon 27 Feb 2012 22:26
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - bathtub tom

>>how come these things can be supplied/ made so cheaply?

I hope you don't find out when you fit them.

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Mon 27 Feb 2012 22:51
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - AlexT

They're just round pieces of metal with holes in them, probably made in some poor country where 1 pound = 10 local currency and shipped here by the truckloads. I doubt they're actually from Germany.

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Mon 27 Feb 2012 23:03
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - gordonbennet

Car parts i will only buy from a reputable source and then a decent brand..

I'm sure there were cases recently of counterfiet brake shoes and pads coming from a certain online auction site.

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Mon 27 Feb 2012 23:41
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - Matt@
these people www.nextdaybrakes.com/ are selling what they deem genuine Brembo rear discs for £25 pair so a bit confused about this....
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Mon 27 Feb 2012 23:42
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - jamie745

I'm more than happy to save money on car parts, i'll happily buy a cheap wing mirror made by some poor Bangladeshi with clothes made out of leaves.

However that mindset does not apply to brakes. Not an area where i like to save money. Thats an area where i like to spend money.

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Sun 4 Mar 2012 03:49
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - AlexT

I agree with spending money on good pads, all the cables, the fluid, and other things, but the disk? As long as it's metal, it'll do! when it wears out, just get another.

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Tue 28 Feb 2012 03:26
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - 1litregolfeater

Yes they're just lumps of steel, that's about the right price.

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Tue 28 Feb 2012 09:09
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - ChannelZ

£25 would have got you a pair of APEC discs at your local motorfactors, and they're made in the UK.

I replaced front discs and pads on my Mondeo with APEC parts for less than £50, 25k ago and they're still less than half worn. The rears were replaced by a garage with cheap tat, and they're knackered already after only 10k.

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Tue 28 Feb 2012 09:15
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - madf

Disks are THE classic volume manufactured part.

Bought in the millions, design is often standardised over models in the range...which means costs per unit of R&D and tooling are minimised.

Manufacture is simple. A simple casting, machined on automated machinery, placed on a coveyor and auto packed. Minimal human intervention.

Sold by the thousand each week..

That's why disks for Fords and VW are cheap.

Simples.

Edited by madf on 28/02/2012 at 09:16

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Tue 28 Feb 2012 09:42
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - ChannelZ

Modern discs seem to wear as quick, or quicker than pads now too.

All the Vauxhalls I had, discs needed changed the same time as the factory fit pads, usually around 30k. APEC replacements were still on the cars when I sold them, usually 50k+

Worst one was the Vectra, got it at 16k and it needed rear pads and discs (metal on metal) at 16.5k. Needed pads again at 30k. Really bad for wear rear pads, that car.

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Wed 29 Feb 2012 23:11
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - MrEckerslikefromRamsbottom

With the banning of asbestos brake pads, today's brake pads are often made from sintered metal and it seems that the way to make them work (and in my opinion they now work better than the old asbestos) is to class the discs as 'sacrificial'. We now have to accept that the disc and pads wear out together. I find I can get a set of matching discs and pads for my Fiesta for less than fifty quid on e-Bay, so there's no point me paying over £200 for Ford to change 'em! So I'm on Mintex 'Brake-in-a-Box' and I like them. I usually get just over 60k miles out of the Fiesta front brakes. Now done 150k miles and I fitted the Mintex set at 120k. Perhaps I have a slight leaning towards Mintex as I used to use M20 shoes and Minifin drums on my Minis all those years ago!

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Fri 2 Mar 2012 01:07
VW Bora 1.6 - brake discs - why so cheap? - 1litregolfeater

If they lasted you'd never buy new ones, or get fed up and get a new car.

I drive for economy these days, helped by bus lanes, speed cams, the price of fuel, and my general malevolence, and find I don't need the brakes much. Much more relaxing, just keep an eye in the mirror for impending road rage.

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