A while ago I took my BMW to have it checked because I was hearing some noise coming from the rear wheels. I was told my car needed new brakes and that the noise was due to some brake components having come somewhat loose, to my rotors chipping and small metal parts coming off. I was finally also led into believing that my rear brakes might fail any time if I needed to perform an emergency stop. Cost of the brake job? $1100 [$350 labor]\r
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Do I need new brakes? Probably not! I drove the car for 1100 miles not even 15 days ago and had no problems with my brakes. The pads are still 9mm thick compared to 10mm thick when brand new. \r
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But here is the kicker! The noise was due to a broken sway-bar joint which even a monkey would have seen if he/she just bent over and looked underneath/behind the rear wheel. The broken joint is just in plain sight , and it requires no car-related experience to be identified as defective/broken [simply by comparison with a good one on the other wheel].
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