Brake pads & discs cost.

For most cars, front pads and discs replaced together cost £130–£340 per axle fitted at a UK independent garage in 2026, with rear axles usually £20–£40 cheaper. Pads-only jobs cost less, but once discs are worn, scored or heavily corroded, pads and discs are replaced as a pair on the axle — worn discs ruin new pads quickly. Small cars sit at the lower end and premium models at the top. Pick your model above for a model-specific figure.

Not always. If the discs are within their minimum thickness, unscored and not corroded, a pads-only change is fine. But discs wear too, and fitting new pads to worn or lipped discs shortens the pads' life and can cause judder — which is why garages usually quote pads-and-discs per axle once the discs are marginal. DVSA MOT rules fail discs that are significantly or seriously weakened, and surface corrosion on little-used rear discs is one of the most common MOT advisories.

On cars with an electronic parking brake (EPB), the rear calipers are wound in electronically, so changing rear pads needs the EPB put into a service/retraction mode — usually with a diagnostic tool. It adds a little time and means the job isn't a simple DIY, which is reflected in rear-axle quotes on EPB-equipped cars. Front brakes are unaffected.

Drums enclose brake shoes inside a rotating drum and are common on the rear of smaller or older cars — cheap, long-lasting, but a fiddlier job when they do need work. Discs use pads squeezed against an exposed rotor, as on the front. Drum shoes often last a very long time; on some small cars the rear drum also houses the wheel bearing, so a drum job and a bearing job can overlap. Your model page above shows which setup your car has.