brake problem

Its still under warrenty then. Take it to the dealer.

will still get charged for so called wear and tear if the pads have gone.

Maybe - but if a non-franchised repaired does the work, you may invalidate your warranty further. At the very least, you must fit only original parts

If your brakes are shot after just 8K then that's not normal wear & tear. Brakes should last a lot longer than that (unless you're boyracer type :) ). Take it to the dealer.

Depends where you live and how you drive. It's relatively easy to go through a set of front pads in that time with even relatively enthusiastic driving.

Well you're still gonna have to pay for new pads if they're gone :)

Also, i think you'll have a good case for arguing they shouldn't have gone yet!

Yes, but that type of driver doesn't usually drive a 1.2litre Fiat Punto do they? :)

IME - Yes!

Pete.

I managed about 30k out of a set of front pads on my Xantia, and Xantias are supposed to be particularly heavy on fron brake pads.

-- James

My girlfriends 1.1 Seicento has done 12,000m of solid town driving and the pads are only 50% worn. She uses the pedals in digital fashion, hence her braking is *not* smooth or gentle. I can't understand how anyone except a taxi driver could wear out a set of pads in six months, as I don't see how you could use the brakes that much in normal driving. You could probably do 50,000m in 6 months, but I still don't see how you'd wear the pads out, as most of this mileage would have to be on a motorway and brake usage would be minimal.

Stuart Sharp

I could wear them out in 8k quite easily, used to zip up and down the east lancs all night, was a right bitch

you'd just get up to 60mph and you'd be braking for the next red light/roundabout,

Pads should last longer than 8000miles - unless the calliper was seized and that should be a warranty job.

Bill