I think the break pads on my car are getting ready to need a replacement.

I have heard that this can be done fairly easily on your own, but I have never done it before.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Should this be something I attempt on my own or leave it to the pros?

"Car Talk" has a great chart that lists common car repairs along with the risk of doing it yourself. Changing break pads is considered a medium risk to yourself & car as well as a medium level of difficulty. Here's the chart: http://www.cartalk.com/content/diy/death-matrix.html

If you do end up doing it yourself, I hear they do need to be "broken in" when you first drive it. This means that breaking ability will be more limited than usual at first.

Here is a short article about how to change break pads: http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/howto/articles/43787/article.html

You can choose varied break pads for your car on http://www.made-in-china.com/products-search/hot-china-products/ Brake_Pads.html

I wish I read this post a few days ago. I just got my break pads replaced today. Next time I will do it myself.