Quote:
Originally Posted by mlifxs
I'm out of warranty (78k miles) and recently had a BMW dealer in Tampa inspect my brakes. My rear back pads had 4mm and the rear rotors were 1mm above spec, which sounds a lot like your situation.
Given this, they recommended that I change the pads ASAP and if I waited too long, I might score the rotors. I asked if the rotors would last very long and they told me they should last long enough to wear through a new set of pads. So, I agreed to get the pads changed.
1mm doesn't sound like much and I'm not an expert so I'd be interested hearing other's opinions. That said, they had a chance to up-sell me on new rotors and they chose not to.
|
Not to jack the thread into a pad discussion, but the car has a brake wear system that indicates when the pads are at minimum spec and need replacement. Why not just wait until the light comes on. You have a few thousand miles after the light comes on to change the pads out.
Regarding rotors and "up selling" you them. Is the dealer going to remove the rotors, put them on a lathe and resurface them? They should. My opinion is the price difference to have the rotors "turned" is about 50% of the price of new rotors, so since the remove and replace labor is the same, why not just get new rotors, and have fresh brakes. Rotor thickness is one thing, but you also need to think about heat cycles. Your used rotors have been heat cycled many times, which affects longevity under use with the new pads. New rotors have not been heat cycled.
And why let a dealer do brakes in the first place? Their labor rates are more expensive than an independent BMW shop. Brake replacement is not rocket science, so why not go to an independent BMW shop, save some cost on labor to offset the price of new rotors (if they were to be added into the job at the dealer).