Jo gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

Mmm. That one doesn't look too clever at all. See how the friction
material appears to be starting to separate from the back plate, and
some of the edges?

I know they used a vise, took a hammer and a 0.5m lever of some sort to
it to separate two parts into the four in the photograph.

Eh?

Those are four pads. One on the inside, one on the outside of each front
brake.

Did he even know you were a student? Do you think students should be
treated differently to anybody else?

Yes he did know I was a student, because I said "I'm a skint student,
can you please give me a discount?" and he said "If you pay cash with no
receipt we can take the VAT off".

So hardly a "shifty offer", then - but more an acceptance of your request
for a discount...