Road Emergency's | Your Brakes Are Shot

Hopefully the problem is just worn brake pads, those are the parts that push against the rotor to slow and stop you vehicle.

What it costs

Your looking at a cost between $110 and $270 bucks per axle on average. If rotors, calipers or other parts need repair or replacement, the price can jump to over $900 dollars for a complete brake job. you can use an online calculator like the one at repairpal.com or AAA's cost estimator, aaa.com/autorepair/estimate to get an idea of prices in your area.

Looking to get the best deal

If your vehicle is still covered under warranty, take it to your dealership. If it's not, just go to a local shop. A lot of folks run to the dealer for every little thing, but most things can be handled at local garages. As I mentioned before, if your vehicle is still under warranty, by all means, go the the dealer. If your vehicle is out of warranty, go to your dealer if you want, but you can find just as good and if not better service at local shops. If you don't already know a good mechanic, just ask around. Talk is cheap, and word of mouth around about good reasonably priced shops with good mechanics are out there. Also you have online reviews you can check out about specific garages, and a second opinion from a different mechanic never hurts. 

Do it yourself repairs

If your mechanically inclined, a car enthusiast, a hobbyist, and you know how to do it, you can probably change out the brake pads yourself. Even if you have the tools and have no problem doing it yourself and the brake rotors need turning, you still need to take the rotors or drums to a shop that can turn and resurface them. If that's the case and nothing else is wrong, go ahead get that done, then finish the job yourself. Regardless, any repairs you can do yourself will save you a bundle.

Check before it happens by doing preventive maintenance 

Not everybody does, but if you live in a state that has mandatory vehicle inspections. Either do it yourself or go get your vehicle checked out a few weeks before your old inspection expires. That way if your vehicle fails the test, you'll have time to shop around, order parts if needed and so on. If you hear squealing noises when you apply the brakes, it's most likely that is the sound of the metal indicators that when the pads wear down to a certain point they make contact with the rotors. That's designed to warn you that the pads are worn and need replacing.  

~Chaz~