Another glowing review for Groove Mazda

~Barn~ · Postby **~Barn~** » Tue May 17, 2011 9:14

So for the past few oil changes and tire rotations and misc. shop visits that I've had, places (read: Firestone, Brakes Plus, Groove Mazda) have all been telling me that my front brakes are about gone. Just for the sake of window shopping, I got quotes, and both B.P and Firestone were $460+, with new rotors, labor, pads, the usual.

I figured that Groove would be right there in the same range, but as it turns out, they told me that despite what the other places said, I don't actually need new rotors, and they can resurface them. I probably would have had them do it either way, but with that bit of cost savings, and a coupon-match from McDonald Mazda, they got me done for sub-$300.

And now some 400-miles in, these binders are just as good as they've ever been, and feel excellent.

And just to top it off, they noticed some leaks in my Axle Seals, and fixed them for me for at no cost (nearly $800 worth of work), even though I've been out of warranty for a few 7 or 8 months now. Granted, I think part of the reason was that I was there recently serviced for a front transfer case leak that they repaired, and this leak wasn't mentioned/noticed/happening, but still... To volunteer that fix for me, when they could have easily told me "it's unrelated", is stand-up business. I don't know if I have ever felt more appreciated and valued for being someone's Loyal Customer, than I feel with Groove.

If you go there and talk to Spencer or Kenny in Service, tell them Brandon Muniz with the cherry mica MS6 sent you.

chromal · Postby **chromal** » Tue May 17, 2011 9:14

That is stand-up awesome. I'm glad I bought from them.

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Tue May 17, 2011 9:14

Nice. Just hope those rotors are still within spec. Sometimes they are already too thin to be machined again and should be replaced. But it's cool that they fixed the axle seals for free.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Wed May 18, 2011 9:14

erod550 wrote:Nice. Just hope those rotors are still within spec. Sometimes they are already too thin to be machined again and should be replaced. But it's cool that they fixed the axle seals for free.

~Barn~ · Postby **~Barn~** » Wed May 18, 2011 9:14

Ha!

So what happens then, if I have "less than spec" rotors on? Can the compression force cause a crack or catastrophic brake failure?

I would assume they have to be within some sort of quantifiable tolerance for Groove to get away with resurfacing them and putting me back out on the road, or possibly subject themselves to a lawsuit, if something like that happened.

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Wed May 18, 2011 9:14

Yea I'm sure they are fine or they wouldn't have done it. I'm sure the other places were fudging a little to try to get more money out of you.

chromal · Postby **chromal** » Wed May 18, 2011 9:14

Yeah, I was pretty pissed off the last tire/alignment/brake place I took my civic. The front pads had the same amount of wear remaining as the last time they were measured, and they were trying to get me to do them then and there for some completely ridiculous amount, when in fact it had all been arranged in advance only the rear drums were supposed to be serviced (they wound up charging me twice what they had quoted on the phone, mofos).

The manager was pushing, I wasn't buying it, and the actual mechanic who was standing nearby kinda cut in and said, no, they were fine, no measurable new wear, that I probably engine brake with my MT and have low wear (all true). Sketchy, but these places fleece people by implying without actually saying you have life left.

Usually you can turn rotors a few times on the mill before they're too thin. It's all spec'd out and unambiguous.

Justin · Postby **Justin** » Wed May 18, 2011 9:14

~Barn~ wrote:Ha!

So what happens then, if I have "less than spec" rotors on? Can the compression force cause a crack or catastrophic brake failure?

I would assume they have to be within some sort of quantifiable tolerance for Groove to get away with resurfacing them and putting me back out on the road, or possibly subject themselves to a lawsuit, if something like that happened.

Don't worry about it. They likely put a set of calipers on the rotors to check for spec prior to turning them. They're in for a massive lawsuit if they screw that up. Also, braking parts are overbuilt to compensate for the possibility of failure. Even if they're a little under spec they'll be fine. How many miles are on your car and are those the original rotors?

~Barn~ · Postby **~Barn~** » Wed May 18, 2011 9:14

Encouraging words are always nice to hear. =)

Justin, the car has around 50,000 miles driven, and so far as I know, the brake system was never serviced before this trip. No service records for it anyway, from the original owner anyway, and he was passed all those over to me.

dommo_g · Postby **dommo_g** » Wed May 18, 2011 9:14

Mazda offers a lower priced Value line in a lot of parts, brakes included. This often helps the dealership quote lower charges for the work. Of course, if the small shops get their parts from a Mazda dealership, they'll likely pass the savings on if they buy the value line. Depends on the dealership. When I ran parts, I liked to sell the shops the regular pads for more, unless they asked.

Was this related? I thought so. But maybe not lol

~Barn~ · Postby **~Barn~** » Thu May 19, 2011 9:14

I asked if I would be getting the same type of pads, as were coming off, and they told me that I would be. I didn't go so far as to ask for part #'s or anything like that, but "value line" or the like was never mentioned.

But I suppose if they did put V.L. pads on, I'm happy with that too, because braking is really stout.

I think in a few more years when they're used up again (and more likely due for rotors), that I'll just get a BBK and have them put that on. The saddest part, is that I don't think I realy need "better" braking performance, I just like the way those yellow Brembo calipers look. =)

Another glowing review for Groove Mazda

Another glowing review for Groove Mazda

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