How much are the pads ? how much is your budget for running a car?

B-Quick quoted 1,250 baht per side for new brake pads! I thought it would be like 300-500 baht. Anyway I took it in to my local mechanic guy, told him to put all new brakes and do an oil change/filter/lube. We'll see.

Normally I spend maybe 5,000 to 10,000 per year on a car, aside from the fuel.

You spent up to 10,000 PA on the KE70 wow.

Brake pads last a long time....25% would seem oK for a bit.

Struts are partly "structural" so cost more than a standard shock - they will be fitted on the front.

i'd do the shocks/struts first as the brakes sound as if they have a bit of life left. You really will find the car much nicer to drive with new shocks.

You spent up to 10,000 PA on the KE70 wow.

I'd say on average I spent less than 5,000 per year in repairs on that reliable old car, including oil changes (every six months). I stated that I consider a reasonable budget for car ownership in general, aside from fuel and insurance, to be 5-10k. I was just really lucky with the KE70.

Anyway update about the Soluna - I went ahead and bit the bullet. While I had the car in for new brakes the mechanic discovered the brake shoes and some bearings were bad, so I guess the car was a bit neglected. He offered front struts for 2,500 each and back shocks for 1,500 each, which was about as cheap as any quote I'd had so far, so since he had everything off and apart I decided to go ahead.

He just called at closing time to say the car was ready, so I'll be picking it up tomorrow and let you all know how it turned out. The total bill with the four shocks, an engine oil, oil filter, and gearbox oil change, all new brake pads and back shoes, and new rear 'bearings' totalled about 11,500 baht. Quite an investment, hope its good for a long while. Should be the only remaining thing to replace for a good long while might be the tires.

I know it's stating the obvious, but as cars get older they require more work/maintenance. It is often a case of balancing saving on capital against increase in outgoings.

however when you own an older car, I think it is essential to have one, two or eve three local mechanics or garages that you can trust to do reasonable job at a reasonable price.

As a rule of thumb, I'd say the older the car, the less you should visit the brand name repair shops and the more you should make use of local mechanics.

I've had unbelievable incompetence with both big companies and small, but in the end you save money with your local man and you deveolop a relationship with them.

Got the car back today, drives super (as one would hope and expect). Particularly out on the open highway.

That's good to hear. There is one thing you might still check.

As your tyres have been "handled" by various people during this exercise, i'd thoroughly recommend you check your tyre pressures.

There seems to be an inexplicable habit by all Thai tyre companies to OVER INFLATE tyres.

So check your tyre pressures against the manufactures recommended pressures (they are probably written on the RH door pillar) and ensure they are correct....do this yourself or they will simply over-inflate again.