'53 zafira 1600 petrol front brake discs

my car has just had its MOT and i've got an advisory note that the front
brake discs are "slightly worn (3.5.1h)"
i've been advised to replace them and the pads
the cars done 64000 miles.

is this "normal" wear ?
how much should the work cost ?
can i do it myself ?

many thanks for any info

dB

 

If this is it's first set I will be amazed - they have lasted well.
Takes an hour to do tops - I don't know how good you are at car diy but
these are easy to change but if you have any doubts take it to a garage.

 

I never saw a Zafira - and was unaware there were many cars with disk
brakes in 1954.
But, supposing you got the date wrong, disk brake pads are usually
reasonably easy to change, if you have a hydraulic jack and a safety
jack and something to ease the brake calliper open to release the pads.

However, if the comment is that the pads were so worn that they munged
the disks themselves, that's either a spin in the lathe, or a disk
replacement job. That's still not a major deal....

Brian W

 

Tit!! Everybody (including you) knows the OP meant a - -53 - - - plate, i.e
a car registered in late 2003 or early 2004. Please don't try to be clever
as it makes you look stupid!!

John

 

Hi sonny,

I live in Oklahoma.
Who were you calling a tit? hehe....

Brian W

 

that'll explain it then
thanks for the "help" anyway

dB

 

thanks for the info
any idea how much a garage would charge for the job ?

dB

 

Modern non-asbestos pads are so hard they tend to wear the disks out
much quicker than the old days, 60K sounds fair for a set of front
disks now. They're not super difficult to DIY but I wouldn't DIY it if
I wasn't confident.

 

From memory I had front and back disks chnaged on SWMBO's Zafira a
couple of years back and it was about 250 quid ish parts and labour -
pads changed at the same time.

 

OK thanks for that
seems to agree with what the local garage quoted

dB

 

I am sure you can get it cheaper than that - Vauxhall dealers do a brake
disc/pad kit that is good value. Have you tried them?

 

Brian!
Let me enlighten you about the UK's vehicle licensing system.
Our licensing system is a national system, but administered at local
level. A car is allocated a "registration number" when it is sold to its
first owner. This number stays with the car throughout its life (unless
a subsequent owner buys a "personal" number for the car).
Since September 2001 the number has consisted of 2 letters followed by 2
numbers followed by 3 letters in the form AB12CDE. The first two letters
denote the area of the car's first registration, the two numbers form a
marker for the time period of the car's first registration, then the
last three letters are the individual identifier for the car.
The number sequence is what appears to have confused you. When this
scheme was introduced in September 2001, the numbers used at first were
"51".Six months later, in March 2002, the numbers changed to "02", then
in Sept. 2002 to "52",in March 2003 to "03", then September 2003 saw the
numbers changed to "53" and the sequence carries on until now. Current
new cars have "09" as the number, but from Sept 1st, it will change to "59"!
Thus, a "53" Zafira (a MPV- I believe they're known as "minivans" in the
USA-you know, those things soccer moms drive!)(A Minivan is something
else in the UK- you remember the BMC/Austin/Morris Mini? Think of a
Panel van-yes really- based on those! That's what we call a minivan.)
is a Zafira first registered between Sept. '03 and March '04.
Hope this aids international understanding!
I could tell you about the system we used before this one, but I think
it would probably be easier to get someone to explain the rules of cricket!
Gaz.

 

That was a kind note. Helpful too.

I bought my first vehicle in 1956: a 1936 Beeza 250 side valve.
A girder frame and a "hard tail" - at least that's what they call
Harleys with a rigid back end. Thirty quid if I remember.
Its registration was CCV445. I couldn't tell much from that. But a
later mini with a registration ending with a letter E stood for a 1967
model if I remember. This wasn't very explicit, so this new system you
describe seems more transparent. Thanks for describing it.

Brian W