IS250 discs and pads

[Razor61]

I've just bought a set of IS250 front discs/pads - £118.80 and front caliper slide pin kit - £32.88 plus delivery from LPD. I think that's pretty good for Lexus OEM parts.

[Vlady]

I wish my were even half price of it! Lexus wants just under £500 for front disc and pads!

Good price! Where did you get these parts from?

[Razor61]

Lexus Parts Direct:

Genuine Lexus Parts Direct To Your Door | Lexus Parts Direct

[Mr Vlad]

How come you didn't try Halfords? Just looked and vented discs with pads just over £80. Brand Pagid which I had on a Ford mondeo titanium x sport (flying machine compared to the is250) plus lifetime guarantee. There's too much negatively about Halfords but I've been using them 30 years no issues. 

[Razor61]

39 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

How come you didn't try Halfords? Just looked and vented discs with pads just over £80. Brand Pagid which I had on a Ford mondeo titanium x sport (flying machine compared to the is250) plus lifetime guarantee. There's too much negatively about Halfords but I've been using them 30 years no issues. 

I use Halfords for lots and lots of stuff and have used Halfords for parts on cars I've had down the years without any problem at all, I'm personally not negative about Halfords and will continue to use them if appropriate considering cost and availability. To be honest I've never thought about Halfords for discs and pads, don't know why.

For brakes I prefer to buy Lexus OEM stuff for a Lexus if at all possible but it's just my preference. The list price for Lexus front discs and pads is around £240 for the parts I believe so from LPD at the moment they are half price @ £118. So £40 more for Lexus OEM compared to, for example, £80 for Pagid from Halfords. I'm not saying Lexus discs and pads are better/worse/same as Pagid and I've used them for other family members cars over the past few years without a problem. If I had to pay £240 for Lexus discs and pads then I would think about Pagid or some other make maybe, Brakes International for example which is normally my first port of call if OEM brake stuff is too costly as they are close to where I live. I have a 2003 IS200 as well and for that car I will probably buy aftermarket discs and pads when the time comes, I've just purchased 2 x recon front calipers from Brakes international for it. If I think the discs and pads need replacing when I fit them I will be looking at Halfords, Brakes International, ECP, Autodoc, eBay and the rest to get the best deal.

[Linas.P]

When it comes to Lexus OEM brakes on IS250, to be honest they are not the best. By design and the OEM parts themselves are not amazing. 

The real solution is to get IS350 brakes retrofitted, but if you keeping IS250 brakes (as I am sure 99% of people do) then I would say all aftermarket components are just as good if not better than OEM. I generally get brembo disks and pads just because they cheaper - they are not better than OEM but certainly not worse. brembo pads are about in the middle between OEM standard pads and OEM low dust pads.

Generally, when it comes to IS250 most of OEM parts are best, but brakes are exception. Other items could include engine oil and various bulbs around the car - simply because technology has moved on since car was made and there are better alternatives now.

[Linas.P]

On a separate note - Halfrauds! 😁

 @Mr Vlad - it may depend on particular centre you have local to you, all Halfrauds I used around the London left me aftertaste of fraudulent activity and lack of basic understanding about the cars. Almost every-time they tried to pull something beyond just up-sales and all the way into fraudulent. The worst bit is that they knew so little about the cars that they could not even do it in sophisticated enough way without making it total cringe.

Just one example - like 4 years ago I did A/C bacterial clean on my old IS250 and asked them to do "free-40 point" winter check. I knew exactly what is wrong with the car e.g. rear pads were close to limit. Initially the guy scared me and I thought maybe they have indeed found something major - £698 for car which really in my opinion just needed rear pads, but when I looked to the list and I realised it is total BS. They come up with list of issues, but none them were true - they said my tyres needs changing because of uneven wear (IS250 tends to scrub inner edges) and they quoted me £256 for front tyres (£128 each), then they said 1 parking light is blown and quoted £22 to change it, they quoted £140 for Battery replacement because they said it failed the tests and they said front brake disks are lipped and advised £280 for front pads and disks.

Just for fun asked what tyres they are offering for £128 each as I have paid ~£78 for Dunlop RT2's and he said "same Dunlop as you have", then in quote they printed "SP Sport 01" which is much cheaper and inferior tyre. Then I said ok could you show me on the car what is wrong - so we walked in and he didn't even know which car is IS250. We looked to front brakes and they were fine - it was little bit of the lip, but when I asked about the overall thickness he agreed that front brakes don't really need changing. Then I showed him rear pads and he said "sorry we missed it, but we can add it to the bill ( I mean c'mon 😁)". Then we looked at the tyres and they were good 6mm across 75% of thread, but he still insisted they need changing. Finally, the Battery - it was halfrauds own brand with 3 years warranty, the Battery was manufactured ~28month ago so obviously still in warranty, but when I pointed it out he refused to replace it under warranty because it was Halfrauds retail who sold it and no them (halfraud autoservices).

Conclusion, I said that the tyres he is offering are at best £70 and they are not the same as mine, he then suddenly offered to discount them to £101 each, but obviously I still rejected it. I rejected point about brakes, they refused to replace Battery under their own warranty and then the last thing was the parking light for £22. I was like - "what £22 for a W2W bulb which costs £2?!" and he was "yes but it takes time to fit it under all the trays etc."Then, I said - "ok I don't want it then, if you want take it out" 😁 And then he said - "never mind I will add this as complimentary then (sure complimentary 😁)". The thing is I have fitted LED parking lights and could not believe it was blown. Later I checked at home on and it was still LED bulb, meaning they have not changed it and just try to defraud me by £22 for work thing which was never required nor carried out!

And here is the thing - I am used to mechanics trying to up-sell for repairs which are not strictly necessary e.g. Lexus Dealer does that on brake disks almost every time. But at least I expect mechanic to familiar with the car and find real issues. If the then try to up-sale me from there it goes back to my knowledge as owner what to accept and what not - it is not great but I am kind of expecting that. However, Halfrauds repeatedly failed to find real issues and tried to charge me for work which was not carried out and not even needed. And this is not one centre - this is like 4-5 different centres throughout multiple years, same for Kwik-frauds... the only difference I only visited them twice.

[scudney]

Rightly or  Wrongly for me Halfords for certain things like polishes, shampoos etc for servicing  nah,I leave that with my trusted local independent garage 😀👍

[Linas.P]

19 minutes ago, scudney said:

Rightly or  Wrongly for me Halfords for certain things like polishes, shampoos etc 

Interesting - because I always find these particular things to be at least double the price compared to specialist suppliers... and on top of that usually they have only very poor quality "supermarket" stuff like Autoglym, Turtle or Meguiars. Obviously, all 3 companies have few decent products e.g. I remember Autoglym UHD Wax was on sale for £20 in halfrauds, and it is decent wax just not worth £49, but that is more like exception and not the rule - majority of their stuff is overpriced or outright doesn't work. 

[Mr Vlad]

Blimey Linas I know about your experience with Halfords. Yes it depends on who runs the gaf and the staff. My local one is a better. They're all in to cars and all have old cars modded up. Yes Razor its a preferential thing where you buy your parts from.

[Linas.P]

Likewise I have seen some positive comments about certain halfords centres, but it seems they are few and far between. I am not even going to tell the story of how they were fixing my A/C 😁 that is a good one as well.

The other thing - I know that you can get like 50% off if you have their trade card, which just goes to show how overpriced are their products generally. 

[Razor61]

I have only used Halfords for parts (in the past) and accessories quite a lot if the price is right. Also sometimes it's convenient to use Halfords even though they may be more expensive. 

Just my 2 pence worth regarding Halfords Autocentres. The only time I've used a Halfords Autocentre was when I needed a 'Vanos' fitted on a BMW E36 M3 around 8 years ago, it's a specialist job and I attempted it but failed. You may think why use Halfords then and not a BMW main dealer or BMW specialist? The reason was that I used a BMW specialist on Nile Street in Bolton quite a few times over the years, they were very very good, and when I struggled with fitting the Vanos I contacted them only to find out Halfords had taken over and it was now a Halfords Autocentre. At the time the personnel were pretty much the same including BMW specialists so I had the work done and they did a great job. This Autocentre is still there and going off the reviews it seems to be a 'good one'. So there are some good Halfords Autocentres around as Linas has said. 

[normski2]

Hi

Don't know if you need any guidance, but if you were, here are a couple of guides from quite a while back for brakes/discs on the 250.

 

[Razor61]

Thanks Normski, I'll have a look. If the bits arrive I'll be doing it at the weekend.

[Linas.P]

Yeah, replacing disks and pads is quite simple. I am not the best mechanic, but even for me it takes 15 minutes per corner at most. 

The only thing to focus on is to make sure you clean the hubs well to and that disks fit straight. In theory maintenance manual says you should use micrometer to make sure disk tracks correctly and rotate disk if not, in practice however I have never seen even Lexus dealer doing it.

[Razor61]

Yep, discs and pads are normally straightforward (assuming the calipers are not knackered) and I've lost count of how many I've done over the years...................I have plenty of brake cleaner, wet and dry abrasive paper and a good wire brush. I also have a gauge to check for any run out but I've not used it in a long long time. If the weather is ok I may paint the brake disc cover/plate things while the discs are off.

When I get a car the first things I check/sort out are discs/pads/callipers, replace or clean up as needed and also oil and filter change (if it hasn't just been done) then sort out other things as and when needed.

The front discs are worn, probably according to the 'manual' they don't need to be replaced just yet but I'm doing them anyway. I suspect the rear caliper slide pins need attention as well so I've ordered rear discs/pads and caliper slider pin kit as well. I may fit the rear discs/pads depending on what I find, don't really want to do them just yet as it's more involved with the parking brake shoes but if needed I will. If any of the calipers are sticking and need replacing that will be a job for Lexus under extended warranty, discs/pads are not covered as normal. If the calipers do need attention I wont be fitting new discs/pads of course! It will be booked into Lexus quick time.

I've also ordered a 'ProSlip Brake Lubrication Kit', I've been using Ceratec and copper grease in the past but thought I'd give it a whirl. Seems good stuff if you read all the blurb about it.

[Marleez]

I bought brembo disk and pads all round for 250 from euro car parts. I used the black friday 50% off. Bargain 

[Razor61]

10 hours ago, Marleez said:

I bought brembo disk and pads all round for 250 from euro car parts. I used the black friday 50% off. Bargain 

That is a good price, were the rear discs vented or solid?

At the moment from LPD it would be £246.07 for discs/pads all round with solid rear discs and £280.72 for discs/pads all round with vented rear discs plus £5.99 delivery. List prices are £418.96 and £493.45 respectively as far as I'm aware.

[Marleez]

5 minutes ago, Razor61 said:

That is a good price, were the rear discs vented or solid?

At the moment from LPD it would be £246.07 for discs/pads all round with solid rear discs and £280.72 for discs/pads all round with vented rear discs plus £5.99 delivery. List prices are £418.96 and £493.45 respectively as far as I'm aware.

Vented ones. 

I know now to wait for black friday to buy any expensive parts online. Yiu get good discount codes.

Maybe the next discount codes will arrive in January sales?

 

[Razor61]

18 minutes ago, Marleez said:

I know now to wait for black friday to buy any expensive parts online. Yiu get good discount codes.

Maybe the next discount codes will arrive in January sales?

As we know, with ECP and other on-line suppliers the prices vary depending on what 'discount code' is live at the time. Also there are more or less constant 'discount codes' with just a short break in between so prices are 'discounted' virtually all the time.  ECP now have the 'MID60' discount code with 'up to 45% off' and I wouldn't be surprised if they are even cheaper at the moment. Because it says 'up to 45% off' the retailer can adjust pricing whenever they want, hour by hour or even by the minute if they want to. I have some knowledge of how on-line retailing works with discount codes etc, i.e. higher price without discount code - with discount code it brings the price down to 'normal' levels. 

[Marleez]

1 minute ago, Razor61 said:

As we know, with ECP and other on-line suppliers the prices vary depending on what 'discount code' is live at the time. Also there are more or less constant 'discount codes' with just a short break in between so prices are 'discounted' virtually all the time.  ECP now have the 'MID60' discount code with 'up to 45% off' and I wouldn't be surprised if they are even cheaper at the moment. Because it says 'up to 45% off' the retailer can adjust pricing whenever they want, hour by hour or even by the minute if they want to. I have some knowledge of how on-line retailing works with discount codes etc, i.e. higher price without discount code - with discount code it brings the price down to 'normal' levels. 

What I did was I went to a garage who used ECP and gave them the screen shot. ECP matched the price of the screenshot and also got warranty because i got them from the garage. *hot tip

[Razor61]

Regarding Lexus prices and cost to fit them, below is a screenshot from Lexus website for IS250 Essential Care costs. I presume the costs are for supply and fit so they don't look that bad to me.

[Razor61]

5 minutes ago, Marleez said:

also got warranty because I got them from the garage

That's interesting, so that implies if you buy them yourself and fit them you wouldn't get the warranty or get limited warranty. I didn't realise that.

[Marleez]

1 minute ago, Razor61 said:

That's interesting, so that implies if you buy them yourself and fit them you wouldn't get the warranty or get limited warranty. I didn't realise that.

Yes. I recently found that out as well. 

[is200 Newbie]

19 hours ago, Razor61 said:

I've also ordered a 'ProSlip Brake Lubrication Kit', I've been using Ceratec and copper grease in the past but thought I'd give it a whirl. Seems good stuff if you read all the blurb about it.

Whatever you do, don't use the copper grease on the slide pins, not sure if that's your intention?. I don't know anything about Ceratec so cant offer any advice on that as not used it before so would be wrong to comment on its use. For the slide pins and this does cause a lot of comments from owners as to what they use themselves but i use the Toyota Red Rubber grease for the pins. High temp and is also a lubricant but more importantly it does not attack the runner boots on the callipers. Used it for years and years so can definitely recommend it without issue. Like i said, other owners will have their own preferences as to what to use.