Bad rotors are an expensive problem. Sometimes you can save a little money and machine them and other times not. Here is how to know the difference.
Bad Rotors
When you hear some grinding when you come to a stop or your brake pedal goes so much lower than it used to, you probably need a brake job. Replacing the brake pads is not all that expensive. It is when you have bad rotors that the brake job is several hundred dollars more. This part isn’t cheap and the mechanic always recommends replacing them, why?
Your options are:
- Replace just the brake pads
- Replace the rotors too
- Have the rotors machines
- Sell the car
Why Replace Rotors?
The mechanic will always tell you to replace the rotors, not because he wants you to spend more, although that’s an attractive option for the mechanic. He wants your car to operate in the best possible way when he is done with your car repair.
If you don’t replace the rotors and you chose the option to have them machined, you can save a little cash if they are very lightly grooved. But machining won’t get the deep grooves out of the rotors. This means it’ll make a lot of noise still and it will grind up your brand-new brake pads like a kid with a bag of Halloween candy. Just say no to machining. It really is not the best option in most cases. There was a day when rotors were machined, but those days have long since passed.
For the best price and to ensure your car will have brakes that will last a long time, and have quieter stops, choose to spend a little extra on brake pads to get the ones that are quieter. And choose to replace the rotors.
Replacing Brakes
If you’re concerned about your brake wear, call for an appointment for a brake check at A1 Performance Auto Repair and we’ll take a look at them.
