As far as batteries go, my money has always gone to Varta, Deltec (Delco Freedom when they were available) and most recently I purchased an Energizer (The 2 year warranty version) and no issues so far. The Deltec gave my late father close to 8 years service, the Varta in my Isuzu Double Cab was still going strong when I sold the car and the battery was already 4 years old. Prior to that we used SABAT. Have an Exide Silver something in my Mom's Corsa that's behaved itself so far. Brakes.... I do my own DIY here. Alfa Disks with either ATE or Ferrodo pads. Nothing else. (Except for the OEM pads for my wife's Audi to resolve a clicking noise upon applying the brakes. Brakes worked fine but the noise bugged me. Changed from the Motorrite pads that were fitted when we got it to the OEM Audi pads and the noise went away...) Tried cheap pads that promised no dust but they ended up eating discs. I don't buy "housebrand" items either no matter what story the salesman spins me. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for and I'm not saving a rand or two when it comes to brakes... As an aside, if you do a lot of short trips or your vehicle stands for long periods of time, maybe look at investing in a CTek charger. They have build in "intelligence" that will monitor your battery and perform maintenance keeping it in good condition.
