When it comes to oil/filters,tires and suspension parts/shocks just about all of the top names are available at brick and mortars.. i dont understand why brake pads Raybestos/Bendix/Akebono/Bosch/Brembo etc etc are almost exclusively online only.
Every brick and mortar sells house brand pads almost exclusively.. I think I can get Wagner at Advance auto but that is the only brand name that i know of that is carried at brick and mortars.. and even at that they are twice as expensive as online.
I just recently purchased Raybestos EHT pads .. however on Amazon there are no reviews nor ebay nor on rockauto which are the top 3 places that i would buy them online.
If you go on Raybestos website its pretty much their best pad...but you cannot buy them anywhere but online.
Does Raybestos make so much money with house brands that they do not care about name recognition? Same goes for the other name brands.
Raybestos motto "the best in brakes" should read- 'the best online brakes'? You could stop at every brake shop in america and not get Raybestos brakes unless the shop owner buys them online correct?
Tires and oil are pretty simple- the big brand names are in your face everywhere you go.. they are wear items that get repeat business... i would think brakes would fit in there at least near the same category.
As of this moment if i were to have to change brakes today i would have a choice of Proformer, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Premium, Ultra Premium and Max. The big brand names would not make a dollar unless by chance they made the house pad that i chose. I guess i could try the dealer as well, but also what are the chances that the big brand name made those brakes?
To end my rant my gut said either NAPA Ultra Premium pads or the top of the line Raybestos Element 3. Why my gut? there are no tests nor analysis of either pad..just wording on a website. Both are made in China.. so perhaps i can drive with confidence knowing that they must use some kind of hazardous material that is banned in the USA that will help me stop faster and make less dust and last longer than a Silver pad which was made in Mexico or Indonesia.
I wont post my review of these pads even if they are the best pads i have ever used. I think they should be kept secret as marketed and sold only for sale to guys who read obscure reviews on the innerwebs and wait 4 days for the mailman to arrive with a sketchy priority mail box.
Every brick and mortar sells house brand pads almost exclusively.. I think I can get Wagner at Advance auto but that is the only brand name that i know of that is carried at brick and mortars.. and even at that they are twice as expensive as online.
I just recently purchased Raybestos EHT pads .. however on Amazon there are no reviews nor ebay nor on rockauto which are the top 3 places that i would buy them online.
If you go on Raybestos website its pretty much their best pad...but you cannot buy them anywhere but online.
Does Raybestos make so much money with house brands that they do not care about name recognition? Same goes for the other name brands.
Raybestos motto "the best in brakes" should read- 'the best online brakes'? You could stop at every brake shop in america and not get Raybestos brakes unless the shop owner buys them online correct?
Tires and oil are pretty simple- the big brand names are in your face everywhere you go.. they are wear items that get repeat business... i would think brakes would fit in there at least near the same category.
As of this moment if i were to have to change brakes today i would have a choice of Proformer, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Premium, Ultra Premium and Max. The big brand names would not make a dollar unless by chance they made the house pad that i chose. I guess i could try the dealer as well, but also what are the chances that the big brand name made those brakes?
To end my rant my gut said either NAPA Ultra Premium pads or the top of the line Raybestos Element 3. Why my gut? there are no tests nor analysis of either pad..just wording on a website. Both are made in China.. so perhaps i can drive with confidence knowing that they must use some kind of hazardous material that is banned in the USA that will help me stop faster and make less dust and last longer than a Silver pad which was made in Mexico or Indonesia.
I wont post my review of these pads even if they are the best pads i have ever used. I think they should be kept secret as marketed and sold only for sale to guys who read obscure reviews on the innerwebs and wait 4 days for the mailman to arrive with a sketchy priority mail box.