Reply to all on brakes
Well, since my post a few days ago I sat down and spend some quality time doing research. I also paid a visit to a LR Dealership in Pasadena, CA (from where I bought the car).
I learned something interesting:
1. No matter how much I look for OEM parts they will not perform as well as some aftermarket parts (I did only say "SOME"). I found aftermarket parts at less cost, better performance, longer longevity and less brake dust. Actually there's quite a few brands out there. Personally I'm considering EBC as a brand but haven't decided yet.
A LR Service Tech told me after I asked him to be 100% honest with me, and I told him he is never going to change my brakes, that he himself use aftermarket brakes because they are less expensive and simply works better.
2. Installing rotors, pads and sensors is surprisingly easy. I'm not super handy but this I can figure out. There's a whole bunch of do-it-your-self on YouTube. Sure it will take a little extra time and effort the first time but I will rather pay myself than a mechanic.
3. This is the "best" part:
I had my car in for a 30K Service at a Indy shop who suppodsely is very good and has a great reputation. Well a couple of notes on that:
Land Rover states that an oil/filter change is only needed every 15K miles if using specified oil. LR in Pasadena confirmed it to me several times as I have a hard time trusting even the best synthetic oil for 15K miles/1 year.
The Indy shop (who said they used the correct oil but didn't specify it on the service records) said I should change the oil every 3K miles..... Who to trust???
Going forward I am going to change it myself every 7500 miles and will be using full synthetic 5-20. Which btw is the exact same oil I use on my racetrack motorcycle, which gets beaten up pretty good every so often. It's a bit expensive at $10-15 per qt but cheaper than going to LR Pasadena and/or paying an Indy shop to do it. The 20 minutes it takes is cozy time for me in the garage with a cup of coffee.
For the 30K miles service at the Indy Shop: They adjusted the tire air pressure, installed a new pollen filter and air filter as well as topped up all fluids. Well, I should say I paid for that. Because two days later I went to LR in Pasadena to get a leaking waterpump replaced under warranty. Check this out: LR in Pasadena did a free inspection of my car, adjusted air pressure in the ties and recommended me to replace the pollen filter.....
Who do I trust?
LR Pasadena or the Indy Shop?
LR Pasadena could really just have looked on the computer thinking my car was due for the 30K miles service that was done elsewhere two days earlier - and then have based their recommendations on that. Which would explain why they also recommended to change and top up the oil (Which I had just got changed and checked and found to be full to it's max!).
The Indy Shop could have charged me for filters etc but not actually changed it. They said they did and showed me my old air filter, which was fairly dirty. But did they truly show me my filter or just an old dirty one? I wouldn't know for sure would I?
I am by nature suspicious because I've caught service repair shops in the past screwing me over on jobs they didn't perform or did not need to perform. Like the one time I had an older Mazda 6 tuned and fully serviced by a mechanic who I trust 100% (he will not work on LR however). Next day I had a tiny issue and dropped by a Mazda dealership who fixed it for $20 and told me I needed an oil chance and showed me a dirty air filter and told me I needed it replaced. Back then I walked the mech over to me car and demanded him to open up to my air filter where the brand new from the day before was still sitting there.... That was where I lost trust in mecs.
So, the morale of this story and what I am going to do: Learn how to at a minimum check stuff myself - and try to do it myself too.
This coming weekend I will check the condition of the pollen and air filters (they should still look new as I barely will drive this week). Also, I will look at my brakes and order new ones.