cloverfield

I had my pads changed yesterday at a very reputable (5 star yelp) indy shop here in LA and when I got home I noticed that there are chips around the pins in the calipers. See photo. Is this normal in the eyes of 'routine maintenance' or should I be pissed if this was done hastily and sloppily?

This is the first time pads have ever been changed on the car, and I've never noticed them before.

940*

The oil leak and the chip? Please state which shop did this because that's not acceptable. I would flip out and make sure the shop takes care of it.

I'm in LA as well, would like to know the shop that did your work so I wont run into them

Quadcammer

honestly, one errant hit and that could happen. I spose they could have touched them up.

not really a big deal imho

cloverfield

Haha, two responses at each end of the spectrum.

I'm not going to name the shop till I talk to the owner and see what they'll do. It's in that response where the customer service and reputation is solidified (or vacated.)

The oil/dirt/grime is probably just there from use, and I'm not worried about that. The chipped paint does bother me, however. And I can't find any place online that offers caliper touch up paint in the AMG silver color. Anyone know of a vendor?

m a x i m u s

That is weird, sorry to hear that youre having problems with them. Ive never noticed any issues when I go there. In fact, they always wipe my wheels down after doing work requiring wheel removal. I would go tell them and see what they say.

cloverfield

I think the problem is that the shop is ridiculously popular and is constantly flooded with business.

I went to get a coffee while they were working on it and came back surprised to see they were changing the pads in the middle of the shop using a floor jack to swap the pads - something I could have done myself in my driveway.

It could be that their popularity is causing a shift in the quality of their work, and this is too expensive a car to be used as a guinea pig.

SaphGreyC63

Please don't tell me you went to this guy.....

cloverfield

LOL...Hilarious!

abcut973

Another good excuse to get your calipers painted !

I am Jeff

OMFG....he's hilarious! He does foreign transmissions too!! I'm definitely going to let him work on my 7 speed. lolz

Harold1898

I would definitely upend them. As an aside, how many miles/kms did you get out of your brake pads?

m a x i m u s

Holy cow, that is so whack. Lol.

cloverfield

17,500 mi/28160 km but the fronts still had a bit of meat left on them - I changed them to get rid of the squeak. The rears were nearly gone.

KJI3jflarryfe93

this shop owner looks like he's got a twinbrother in supermarket killer from the movie Cobra

schmick325

Give it 6 months and that paint will be peeling and it will look even worse.

I'd get it done, but probably just brush touch it as its in a spot no one will ever notice.

JonMBZ

They damaged your car while servicing it and are liable. Regardless of how popular they are they are still half assing a job putting it on a floor jack as if they don't have time to rack your car. Sounds like they were trying to do it as soon as possible and if they are a good shop they should take care of it to your approval. Maybe they will slow it down next time they are working on a 80k car.

plague

Id make them fix that for sure. Doesnt matter whether its a mercedes or a civic, care should be taken when your car is being worked upon. I always tell places that I know every mark on the car so dont add any lol. And when it comes down to it, it is a high end car, and they should expect you inspect your car after their work is complete. Lack of patience and care is what certainly caused that and it should not be permitted.

INDY_WHITE_C63

Same thing happened to mine when I got my pads/rotors replaced and it definitely bothered me! Upon speaking with the dealer about the issue they said they would touch them up for me but would not be able to replace them. The reason it happens is the pins get seized up and they have to beat them out. They even had to replace my pins because they were damaged from all the beating it took to remove them.
The dealer I go to has gone out of their way multiple times to take care of me so I continue to use them for my service... and upon the touchup it didn't look as bad.

tomespo

If you could have done it yourself in your driveway then why didn't you? If they change them using a floor jack or a lift it doesn't matter since either way it's getting done. To hold up a lift in a busy shop for brake pads is a bit dumb IMO. About the chip I don't really see it as a big deal

roadtalontsi

id be pissed. You'd be suprised how shotty some of the "reputable" shops are. Ultimately its like any place. You have over achievers and half-assers that dont give a ****. It really just matters who you get that day. Find a good tech and always have them and only them work on it.

m a x i m u s

maybe it's him. this is LA after all.

NCBob

Exactly. Just finished painting my Calipers red and put on AMG curved decals. Used the G-2 kit. Got a few exrea decals if anybody is interested.
Looks great.

ZephyrAMG

I had my SUV wheels gouged on my brand new 2010 and I went back and showed them and they admitted to the guy using the wrong hex lug and replaced all my wheels for brand new ones.

I have a rock chip on my caliper that looks like yours, but a rock did it and it doesn't bother me because wear and tear will happen.

But if a shop ADDS damage to your car, no reason you have a right to complain. It's like if you go to the doctor and they make you MORE sick....its called malpractice and their a repercussions...

Quadcammer

terrible analogy (and thats ignoring the horrible use of "their" as opposed to "there")

If the shop had forgot to put in the new pads, the analogy may work, but really to call this malpractice because of a tiny chip a few MM from where they had to whack the pins with a drift? come on.

ZephyrAMG

Good call. My mistake, I was typing and talking to my staff at the same time. I would of made a mention about the wrong "there" vs "their" too...

You could use any analogy...getting your shirt laundered and they put more stains on it. Getting your roof fixed and they leave a hole. Etc, etc, etc...

Point is you take something in to get repaired, and they damaged it further in the process. That's negligence...

I'll be sure to watch my spelling and grammar now that I know you are trolling our subforum...