Hi Jack
Would you agree:
Rotors should be replaced every 2nd or 3rd pad change. They are a wear
item, and each OEM rotor costs about $30 each.
Installation is very fast as well. The rotors probably don't need
replacement till well after 60,000 miles. The caveat to that could be
1.) they are severely scored
2.) they are severely worn due to some defect
3.) they are warped

or... they just didn't want to do the job while under warranty...

MrCooper wrote:

---

Hi Jack
Would you agree:
Rotors should be replaced every 2nd or 3rd pad change. They are a wear
item, and each OEM rotor costs about $30 each.
Installation is very fast as well. The rotors probably don't need
replacement till well after 60,000 miles. The caveat to that could be
1.) they are severely scored
2.) they are severely worn due to some defect
3.) they are warped

or... they just didn't want to do the job while under warranty...

---

How long brakes will last is a tough question. There are way too many variables to give an accurate answer. I have had brakes last as short as a week (I raced  that weekend) or as long as 25000 miles.

One thing that I have learned is that how you stop, how often, and the condition of the fluid all contribute to brake life.

As for MINI brakes the ones on the cabrio were replaced after 400 miles and Smileee's brakes have had 2 sets of OEM pads and will need rotors and pads this spring current mileage is around 80k.

The reason the cabrio's brakes were replaced so soon was the car had set for 14 months and the rotors were rusted and pitted.

Sitting for a long period of time is not good for MINI brakes. I have seen 2 MINI's and 02 and a 04 that have been in storage for the winter. The rotors on both cars were a mess from being in storage. There were large chunks of metal missing from the braking surface. You may be doing the body a favor by keep it out of winter's smuck but be prepared to have the brakes done in the spring.

I have found that the cost of parts can range from $300.00 for all four wheels using OEM parts to a couple of thousand for a full out performance kit.

Keep in mind that if you are the DIY type that MINI brakes take about 2-3 hours and require s special set of tools for the rears.

Coverage under warranty I have no idea. This is a wear part and I have understood that wear items are not covered.

I hope this answers some of your questions.

Cheers,

Jack

-- Edited by Jack07734 at 20:01, 2007-03-29

MrCooper wrote:

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Thank you both for your reply!
Now I will be able to talk to the dealership a little better.
I still feel $680 dollars for a front brake job is insane.
Thank you for the information, I appreciate it.

---

If you would like to save a few dollars and have a free Saturday I am more than happy to show you how to do a MINI brake job. I have all of the tools to do it correctly. All you need to do is suply the parts and be willing to get dirty.

Cheers,
Jack

Anita,
As a local dealer here in buffalo we will do are best to advise our customers on extending the maintenance warranty to the 4 year 50,000 miles if I feel it will benefit them, but if its a waste of the $400.00 ill tell them to hold off. When replacing the brakes under warranty there are very strict guide lines we have to follow, we cant just replace them because your warranty is ending soon, they have to be out of spec. and the old parts have to be sent into mini to be sure that did require replacement, if they find they were not out of spec the dealer then has to pay for the parts and labor, and as much as we would like to, we cant. So if you came into my dealership in December and the brakes were still in spec theres no reason why 4 months later a dealer is suggesting they be done. Remember they are not metal to metal yet, only getting close, you may get another month out of them before they are metal to metal which would put you 5 months from when the warranty ran out. The amount those brakes were used in that 5 month period I can confidently say that the brakes at the time of service in December were still in spec and could not be done under warranty. Jack07734 had his brakes done because they were indeed pitted and warped out of spec, that happened due to our fault so the dealership stepped up to the plate and paid for the replacement. Now as far as replacing the rotors with pads, I do suggest it to my customers, it is your best bang for you buck, the most expensive part is the labor, were going to charge you the same labor either way, so while its all apart spend the extra money on the rotors. Also if not the pad life may be reduces and vibrations from new pads on used rotors may occur. As far as the rear rotors they are solid, not vented and deteriorate quickly so if you do not replace the front rotors, I do highly suggest replacing the rear. I hope this helps, if not feel free to continue asking, I will do my best and guys and gals on here are a bunch of great people.

I cant say the brake job is cheap, but that is an average price for brakes, I feel the only thing they are guilty of is if the brakes are still in spec and they could not do them under warranty but knew the brakes would need replacment in the next 6-10 months they should have atleast talked to you about extending the maintenance warranty to 4 years 50,000 miles for $399.00 that would give you an additional year of brake coverage and oil changes and wipers. So if you would have replaced the front and rear brakes along with the additional oil change and wipers that year, you could have possibly saved 7-900 dollars.

As far as saving the rotors if the pads would have been replaced in december its hard to say with out seeing them, more than likely no i would have still suggested replacing the rotors as well in december.

-- Edited by TOWNEMINI at 13:48, 2007-03-30

Here is the rules I follow on rotor and pad replacement.

Pads: If the braking surface is equal to or thinner than the backing plate it is time for a new set. I have found that when they get down to that point the pads can start cracking and may fall apart.

Rotors have a minimum thickness. They may look good but when they get to thin they will warp.
Rotors should be replaced if they have deep groves are warped or pitted.
If the rotors appear to be ok I'll change only pads.

I usaly follow the following:
First time new pads and rotors
Second time pads only if rotors are ok
Third time new pads and rotors no matter how the rotors look.

That is the rule of thumb I use for brake servicing.
 
Mark please you explain what is considered out of spec. I am curious as to the official word.

Cheers,
Jack

What is safe and what is not i dont know, nor would I like to give a spec for my customers to go by and then find it was too thin to do its job and cause a accident. But under warranty the fronts are 20.4 and rear 8.4 so as you can see MINI basically says anything that has more than a few miles on it should be replaced, to push those numbers on the front would probably be ok but remember they are stoping a vehicle and saving lives. The rears being solid and not vented and more than not in poor condition i would not push those numbers. I have seen customers coming in that did not change out the rear rotors and there are large flakes of metal missing giving lots of vibration, absolutely killing the pad life and well not doing the job.

-- Edited by TOWNEMINI at 08:52, 2007-04-02

 Yes its me Mark, with getting the website up and running and all the new MINI's here with more coming in the future we all figured we should get more in touch with the community, we at this point in time are not going have any tech nights but post any questions on here or give me a call or e-mail and I will answer any questions that I can. And if I can not I will get with the tech's for the best answer we can come up with.

-- Edited by TOWNEMINI at 12:14, 2007-04-02

I recommend getting your choice of replacement parts (OEM or aftermarket) and taking Jack up his offer to help you do them yourself.  Brakes are not rocket science, especially given that Jack has all the right tools.  Jack knows his stuff - you'll be in good hands.