I live in Northern NJ, and have an 03 Accord with 14k miles. I just know that before I hit 20k miles, my brakes will start to squeak and the steering wheel will begin to shake.

Am I best off doing this at the dealer, who will charge me in the $500 vicinity for a brake job, much like the local service station, or should I go have it done at an Autozone or Pep Boys?

 

First off, How do you know that at 20K your brakes will "squeak"? Second, unless you brake really hard, frequently, I should see no reason to need a brake job at 20K miles. Why not wait and see if your brakes start to go bad instead of worrying about it prematurely.

 

If they're gonna charge you 500 bucks for a brake job, then you need to turn their asses in to the BBB. The dealer I work for (honda) only charges 240 for a brake job, and that includes resurfacing the rotors (front only).

 

Buy a Helms manual and do it yourself. Seriously. I used to have other people do my brakes before I knew a lot about cars, but it's really fun and really worth it to do them yourself. Last time I did my brakes I did them for $30 and an hour of labor It's not very difficult at all.

 

The pads are easy enough yes....but if the rotors are warped...kinda hard to fix it yourself if they're warped. The 03's are notorious for warping rotors.

 

If they are warped...it's still cheaper to buy new rotors and put them on yourself rather than pay someone else to do it and get them resurfaced.

For new Brembo blanks and oem pads it cost me $100 diy for the front on my '99.

The 5th gen rotors are are much more of a pain in the ass with the hub over rotor design, but 6th and 7th gens are too easy to pay someone else to do it IMO.

 

I think it's easier to change the rotors than it is to change the pads. But that's my own opinion, maybe because oddly enough I've done it more.

 

Brake job is really easy to do on your own. Get some AEM pads and some Brembo blanks...Shouldn't take longer than 2 hours...

 

www.tirerack.com for parts. or autozone.
www.helminc.com for instructions aka service manual.

Go to Sears or Lowe's for some great tools for the job.
If you are really cheap you only need like 3 wrenches and a c-clamp or spreader tool. And get a jack & stands if you can.

This is the cheapest brake job, and a great investment in your car's life and your future knowledge.

In a pinch, not kosher, but you can change pads with the tire jack in the trunk, just be on good flat solid ground.