A quick chat with the cashier at our local auto parts store made me question everything I knew about brake pads

I was grabbing a $25 set of ceramic pads for my 2010 Camry and the guy behind the counter just shook his head. He said he's seen more rotors warped by cheap ceramics than any other pad type in the 12 years he's worked there. It hit different because he wasn't trying to upsell me, he was just tired of seeing people come back with problems a month later. Has anyone else had a random conversation like that completely change how you shop for car parts?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicew6820d ago

More rotors warped by cheap ceramics" actually it's usually cheap pad material that transfers unevenly, not the pad itself.

norathomas20d ago

Hold up, are you saying it's more about the MATERIAL quality than the pad TYPE itself? Cause that makes a lot more sense than what I've been hearing from guys at the counter, but then how do you even tell the difference between a GOOD cheap pad and a BAD cheap pad when they're all sitting on the same shelf? I've been buying whatever's on sale this whole time and I'm starting to wonder if I've been screwing myself over.

king.stella20d ago

Wait, isn't the packaging usually useless for figuring that out though? I've had "premium" store brand pads that were junk and cheapies that worked great. Honestly, you kinda just have to try a couple and see what happens, or ask around on here what people actually run.