Last Friday I was in Al Quoz to pick up something for work, and I noticed almost every garage on the street has a sign that says certified. It made me stop and think, because my Nissan Altima has been making a grinding sound when I brake, and I know I cannot wait much longer. The car has about eighty thousand kilometres, and the pads have never been changed since I bought it second hand. My cousin says certified is just a word garages like to print. My colleague says a real certified place has trained mechanics and proper tools, and that it matters for brakes because it is about safety. So I looked online for a Certified brake pad replacement garage in Al Quoz, and every page used the same word with no proof, so I still do not know what it means. Does a garage show a paper from a brand or a training course, and is it fair to ask to see it? Do they check the discs and the brake fluid before they change the pads, or only swap the pads? Is it normal to get a written quote first, with the parts and the work listed separately? Should I ask for the old pads back, so I can see how worn they were? Also, how long does a front pad job take, and what should it cost on a normal sedan? Is a small price gap between two garages a warning sign, or is it normal? If you picked a garage in Al Quoz, please tell me how you chose it, what you paid, and what you would do differently. Easy answers help me most.