The manual of my car says that if the brakes are squealing, it means that it's time to replace the brake pads. My brakes started squealing, so I took my car to the dealer for new brakes. At the end of the day, when I returned to pick up my car, the service manager said that an attendant took the car out for a drive, tested the brakes, didn't hear any squealing, and so didn't replace the pads.

For the following two days, the brakes did not squeal. Then they started squealing again. I took the car to a shop that specializes in brakes. They installed new brake pads, warning me not to press too hard on the brakes for a few days, or I'd wear them out. I followed their instructions, but one week later, the brakes started squealing again. I took my car back, and when they asked whether I had been too hard on the new brakes, I told them that I had used them lightly, as instructed. They told me to leave the car. When I returned later in the day, they said that they did not hear any squealing and, to prove it, the owner got in the car beside me while I drove around the block. The brakes did not squeal.

The next day, the brakes were squealing again, so I took the car to another repair shop and explained the problem. The mechanic, who was also the son of the owner, told me that the car needed new rotors and original, authorized factory brake pads. He said that the previous shop had used cheap, aftermarket pads, but a foreign car like mine needed factory pads. I left the car.

I picked up the car later in the day. While the mechanic had done the rotor work, he said that he had been unable to get factory pads, but that I would not have a problem because the real problem had been the rotors.

The next day, the brakes were squealing again. I took my car back to the repair shop that had done the rotor work. The owner's son dropped what he was doing and took a ride with me around the block. There was no squealing.

The next day, the brakes were squealing again. I took the car back to the rotor shop, and this time, when I stopped the car in front of the owner's son, it emitted a loud, high-pitched squeal. He shrugged his shoulders. He told me not to worry, claiming that the squeal was barely audible. The brakes were fine and the rotors were fine, he said, adding that it was perfectly safe to drive. When the time came to replace the brakes, he said that I should come back to him and he'd make sure to get the factory brake pads. I asked him how I would know when it was time to replace the brake pads if the brakes were squealing now. He told me to come back in a year. By then, he said, they'll really be squealing.

The squealing got worse and worse. A friend advised me to call her mechanic, whom she assured me was honest. I told him my story and explained that the squealing seemed worse late in the day, when the car was hot. He said that the brake pads were probably cheap and that they squeal when they're hot, because at that point they start to gel. He said that it was safe to drive on them and that I probably hadn't needed the rotor work. He told me that I would just have to get used to the squealing.

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