i have a fiat punto mrk2 and its an 03 plate it recently passed its mot and all is well but lately i hear this slight screeching sound as i brake..its not hugely loud but its enough to irritate me i recently had 2 new front tyres fitted and the car realligned or something as it was leaning to one side and causing baldness on my tyre..will it be the brake pads and if so how much is this gonna be...also just to go on a bit...my drivers side lock has broken it will open but not lock how much will this set me back

thanks

elaine78 , with the sreeching brake noise it could just be brake pad dust build up im the brakes-not dangerous just annoying i'd recomend asking around for a local machanic to be recommended to you for the brakes to be checked all round,its shouldnt take em that long, as for the price i could say really i had the rear brakes changed on my Marea 20v by a local machanic for £43, £33pads,£10 labour-took him about 20mins!!. The tyre alignment would'v been the tracking, it keep the car running straight ,prevents the car pulling to either side, stops destroying the tyres,and saves petrol.If your in East London/Brentwood id have a machanic to recommend to you.
Joker

or simply the possibility its been snowing for the last few days and grit and salt on the roads which is prone for making brakes squeek