How well do you care for your vehicle? If you are like most folks, you might not think twice about car care unless your vehicle starts to break down. While car care can seem difficult for many people to master, the fact of the matter is that it is important to think long and hard about what you want and how you want your car to appear later on. I started making taking care of my cars a priority years ago, and the difference it made in my life was amazing. I was able to really streamline auto care in a new way, and it felt amazing. On this website, find out great tips for looking after the cars that you love.
Is Your Brake Light On?
How long has your brake light been on? Probably longer than you want to admit, right? Maybe you've even started stopping further back, to compensate for your brakes starting to degrade.
Listen, it's understandable to want to put off vehicle service. It's expensive, and time-consuming, and often kind of stressful. But you know how important brakes are to your safety, as well as the safety of others. Additionally, if you take too long to replace your brake pads, your rotors may become damaged and also need to be replaced. Rotors are more expensive parts and are more labor-intensive to replace, which can double or triple your service costs.
The first thing you might want to do if your brake light just came on is to check your brake fluid reservoir. While newer cars tend to have more specific indicators, in older cars the brake light will come on if either the brake fluid is low or the brake pads are degrading. Brake fluid is relatively inexpensive, and most brake fluid reservoirs are translucent with line indicators, so you don't even have to mess with a dipstick to check it. If your brake fluid levels are fine (or, if upon topping them up, the light remains on) it's time to get your brakes replaced.
Now, most shops charge a fairly standard rate for replacement depending on how extensive the repair job is. In all honesty, unless your vehicle brake pads are very cheap and accessible (thereby reducing parts and labor costs) a couple hundred dollars is probably around what you're looking at for having your brakes replaced at shops with less standardized rates. It actually may end up being more, if you have a vehicle where parts are difficult to get.
To be very straightforward about it, though, even if it costs $500, having your vehicle stop when you need it to stop is an extremely important thing and, therefore, is worth paying money for. This cannot be understated. It is a safety issue. And it's probably not that bad, not yet, but you'd be surprised how quickly your brakes can degrade when they're already in such shoddy condition. Again, you could do damage to the rotor or calipers (another expensive bit to replace), but you can also do damage to the outside of your vehicle, other people's vehicles, and other people if you don't have working brakes. It's worth the money, time, and stress.
For more information on brake repair and replacement, reach out to a local auto shop.