Hi guys,
So i just bought an 07 Enthusiast with 37k miles and i had a mechanic come with me to inspect the vehicle and he said that everything was in great condition.

I bought the car and went to a mechanic shop to do a full inspection (they specialize in Nissans) on the vehicle. I got a call saying that i need to:

replace front brakes (30%-40-% life left) and front rotors.
replace rear brakes (10% life left) and rear rotors.

Now im thinking, isnt 30%-40% of life left on my front brakes good for another... while? I drive 5 miles/day on my car.. who would agree with me that i shouldn't change the front brakes?

The rear brakes 10% life left, thats pushing it or still drivable? Again, i barely drive on the freeway as my school/work is super close.

Now the rotors, I have no idea about them but after reading deeper on the forums, i noticed that not too many people replace rotors at all, and definitely not after less than 40k miles. Again, im not a mechanic or am i good at these things but i am getting better.

The car was owned by 1 owner prior to me buying it, a guy with a family who used it as a work car. Im sure he was not a racer... i met the guy!

Any advice would be great!
replacements of both would cost me around 700$... not cheap!

Thanks

 

This is one of the best money saving tools you can own. Easy to use. You decide if rotors can be turned or must be replaced. No more "20 percent left" nonsense.

This forum is filled with smart advice for drivers. For brakes remember the 2 mm rule:

Maximum rotor wear - 2 mm
Minimum brake pad thickness - 2 mm.

Easy isn't it.

 

Simple to do, and if you have a man card it will cost you around $200 and 2 hours to change all the brakes yourself. If you want to run another set of pads on the rotors you have now, it will be less than $70 and take about 1 hour.

 

I don't see how the rear pads could be gone after 37k miles.

 

My rear pads didnt last that long.. 25k miles? Fronts last a little longer.

 

Easy, depends on the car and depends on the driver. The stock rear pads are the size of postage stamps, they wear fast. My 05 base wears rear pads out in about 25k, my 03 touring wore them out equally to the front, my friends 04 auto tears up rear pads(TCS) my other friends 05 auto tears thru rear brembo pads.

 

If you are just going to do a pad slap (pad change only) then at least clean up the rotors as they do tend to groove a bit after wear, thus; grooving the new pads once installed.

To answer your question is the mechanic being reasonable, I say YES. 10% on the rear is pushing your luck, let it go metal to metal and you'll create a whole new world of costs instead of just biting the minimal bullet (all things proportional considering you just bought an 07 Z)

Keep up on your maintenance as its a lot cheaper than repairing things when they go out completely and cause possible catastrophic failures.

 

Changing the rotors after 37k miles... L-O-L Everyone is out to make a buck.

This is a daily driver, not a track car. Change the rear pads. Check the fronts in a bit and change when needed. I would highly doubt your rotors are warped or grooved (especially since the pads haven't worn all the way through)

 

In the end, what really matters is how much risk are you willing to take on. Low pads, sure I can wait 6 months to a year. What happens if you forget about it, or don't have the cash a year from now to do it. Rotors warped or cracked - will you be inspecting the car regularly to make sure such problems don't arise?

 

You just spent at least 16-17k on a car, granted you may have financed it.

Take the most common advice and at the LEAST get your rears taken care of. If you have a friend with some air tools it'll make the job go a lot faster and it should take less than two hours to do the rears...if that.

Here is a link to some Hawk HPS pads. Get what you need and do the change yourself. In the end you will be happy, trust me.

 

Man I hate how everyone get's so caught up on how many miles the car has on it. I have had cars come in with 17K on them with completely shot clutches.

Seen a 20K car come in the other day with pads worn down to the indicators and yes they rotors were grooved... mileage doesn't mean everything when it comes to wear. Exactly what I was saying that DavesZ#3 reiterated, spend the small amount of dough now and save big in the future.

Everyone is out to make a buck... not wo much, I think the mechanic was actually looking out for him, is the job a DIY type of thing?
Sure if you have basic tools and a little know how, if not ask a friend and learn or just bite the bullet and have your trusted mechanic do the work.

 

wear items are not mileage specific, every car is different, everyone drives different, harder/softer, heavier/lighter on the brakes etc..

we can't tell you if the mechanic is blowing smoke up your butt, we can't inspect the rotors/pads.

 

+1 on the ignoring the mileage aspect. What do you think that phrase "your actual mileage may vary" means?

At 50K miles, I'm on my 5th set of brake pads and 3rd set of rotors, plus the last ones have been resurfaced twice. Autocross and track days will do that to ya.

You use a caliper or micrometer to measure actual thickness remaining in pads and rotors and replace based on that.

 

As everyone has already said it depends on the driver... I go through 4 sets of rear tires a year, 2 sets of fronts, and a set of brake pads all around once a year. I drive the car like it should be driven though, and I track and autocross... Regardless I agree 10% on the rears is close, i'd replace them now. And since your going through the effort of lifting the car, taking off the wheels... might as well do the fronts and save yourself a little effort in the future. Knowing you have new pads all around is good and should wear pretty evenly. So I say replace the rears at a minimum... maybe leave the fronts if your really strapped for cash but if you can do the fronts too, do it.

As for the rotors, while I agree a caliper is the best way to measure and make it 'official'... but if you can see, and more importantly feel a ring around the outer edge of the braking surface on the rotor then its probably time to replace them. Over time the brake pads eat away the metal, making it thinner and thinner. Eventually it gets too thin the pads to apply full pressure to when needed and your brakes will be weak.

Brakes and tires near end of life are not something to play around with, especially on a sports car which may be driven as such.

 

I dont think its reasonable to be judging the wear of the rotors and pads based on mileage alone. It depends on lots of things.

Pads wear faster if your doing more braking, same with rotors
And sometimes you can just be unlucky and get a set of rotors in which the metal composition was not set right (or whatever the hell it is) where the heat can build up in certain areas and cause warping/cracking/wear and tear.

And in my opinion if your rear brakes are actually 10%, thats kind of pushing it, for your sake and others if it gets to the metal.

So like some of the guys have said, go measure them yourself and you can be the judge.

And you could replace the rotors and pads yourself for a much better price + its a great learning experience.

There are some really good DIY's for brake/rotor replacement on this forum.

 

You guys are great, and its funny cause most of the info is the same, and it matches the info i got from my dad, who lives in europe and he went to the Nissan dealership and asked.

I've decided that im gonna replace the rear brakes ASAP, like this week.. and hold off for the rest. Also will ask the mechanic to clean up the rotors. I a actually got a free 27 point inspection in the mail today from Nissan right here in Santa Monica so I think in a month time, i'm gonna go do that and see wot they say and then really make up my mind... 27 pt inspection, from what i read- includes a check on rotors,brakes etc etc... right?

Now the next question, can you guys recommend the brakes i should buy? I have an 07 Enthusiast. I've always heard that sticking to the original is my best bet, u guys agree? I have a local Kragen-O'Reilly & Pep Boys right around the corner that carry everything; however, i trust your opinion more than the guys that work there.

Thanks!

 

For daily driver/street use, go to O-Reilly, Autozone, etc. and get some lifetime pads.

 

What dave said. Throw that 27 inspection in the trash. That means 27 ways we can try to rape you. Your mechanic just inspected the car. Why do you need it looked at again?

 

I don't know man.. we are guessing if this guy is pulling your leg or not.. Without looking at the brakes, how can we really know?

post up pictures of your pads, measure the rotors.. get your hands dirty.

 

I went through my Front Rotors with only 10K miles on the clock. I think i beat most off you guys here