I bought a 2011 mazda 2 a couple of months ago. The last couple of weeks, the brakes have been a bit squeaky. I am doing a roadtrip soon so wanted to get them checked out. Called the local mechanic and they only offered a full inspection (for $150). Is this normal? This is my first car. Wouldn’t a mechanic typically be willing to do just a brake inspection? I’m in a small town and there aren’t many other options.
Most shops will do a brake inspection for free or at least cheap, but it depends on what exactly they’re planning to do.
Personally I think I’d trust a shop that charges for inspections more than one that doesn’t. If a shop doesn’t charge for an inspection, they’re losing money unless they actually fix something. That’s incentive for them to recommend work that may not actually be required. However, a good brake inspection should take about half an hour, and $150 seems pretty steep for that amount of work.