Rotors within spec and not replaced.

Originally Posted by BLT

Thank you so much for your input, this is exactly what I thought. I plan on talking to the SA this afternoon and see if we can reach some sort of common ground.

The way I understand it is that brake rotors and pads are the friction pieces of the braking system. Brakes work by converting kinetic energy into thermal energy. If the rotor is too thin it overheats during extended hard braking and transfers that heat through the pads into the calipers boiling the brake fluid at that causes brake fade. I now have pads that can last another 40K miles working on rotors that may only last 2 or 3 thousand more miles.

What I don't know is if the indicator light will show when the rotors are below spec now that the pads and sensors have been replaced. One more thing, I have always been told that you can not re-use the pads on new rotors. The theory is they will transfer impurities and grit from the old rotor to the new ones and cause grooving and premature ware.

Regarding the Ferrari we were admiring my wives ex CEO brand new 430 Scuderia at Sears Point raceway last spring during an open trace event only to see him ball it up in trun 1 half way into his first session, it damn near made me cry. They are awesome machines.

The rotor thickness is not monitored and will not trigger any electronic warning. You can re-use good pads with new rotors. I have never known a problem to result. If the pads were noise free before the new rotors they will be noise free when properly seated in to the new rotors.

Originally Posted by DSXMachina

Hey BLT. Scroll UP to post 38 at 1 p.m. this afternoon. You missed it.
I disagree with Hack. That's not the way to run a business and that is why I get paid by customers who are told warrantee work would be done at no cost at the dealership. They dislike the dealer so much that they would rather pay me than take the car back and get it done for free. It is good for me that dealerships do treat people the way Hack suggests.
You should have been called and given the option as to what would you would like to do. End of discussion.

Oh no, I agree with you. If you're running an independent shop where you get paid regardless. Unfortunately, if you do run a dealership service department, there's not much choice...You get paid for the parts that you return to BMW, and you get paid whether that brake job took 40 minutes or 3 hours waiting on the lift, for 30 minute labor.

I take my car to my indie buddy down the street too for warranty work sometimes if I don't feel like the hassle of having to explain to the dealership what I need to have done, or have them half-@ssedly butcher a simple transmission and diff oil change because the mechanics aren't trained to do this stuff regularly, since BMW stopped paying for transmission and diff oil changes. The only time I go to the dealerships now are for recalls and the regular "free" maintenance stuff I already paid for when I bought the car.

But it is what it is. The ONLY way for a dealership to make money on these type of repairs, is to get customers in and out and off the lift as soon as possible. I'm not advocating it as a good business practice, and it's not. And that's the primary reason my indie shop buddy, who was the senior master mechanic at a local BMW dealership quit his somewhat well paid job to start his own business, because he doesn't like to treat his customers that way either. But from having some visibility into how dealership service departments are run, I can not blame them for doing business the way they do business.

Like I said, $150 in parts is the cost of hiring 2.5 porters for a day. Leaving said customer's car on the lift to call him about paying for the part, is the amount of time that they could get another warranty/maintenance service claim completed and billed to BMW NA. It's just business for most dealerships, where as for an indie shop, it's ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS.

Tell me if you don't agree.

Originally Posted by The HACK

But it is what it is. The ONLY way for a dealership to make money on these type of repairs, is to get customers in and out and off the lift as soon as possible. I'm not advocating it as a good business practice, and it's not. And that's the primary reason my indie shop buddy, who was the senior master mechanic at a local BMW dealership quit his somewhat well paid job to start his own business, because he doesn't like to treat his customers that way either. But from having some visibility into how dealership service departments are run, I can not blame them for doing business the way they do business.

Like I said, $150 in parts is the cost of hiring 2.5 porters for a day. Leaving said customer's car on the lift to call him about paying for the part, is the amount of time that they could get another warranty/maintenance service claim completed and billed to BMW NA. It's just business for most dealerships, where as for an indie shop, it's ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS.

Tell me if you don't agree.

The only thing I disagree with is that our car was in the shop for over 5 days waiting for parts. This dealer is currently trying to rebuild its customer base that was wiped out last year due to a union dispute. The garage was shut down for over 6 months.

I had asked for a quote for extending the warrantee for another two years, they didn’t even bother giving me a quote. By being absolutely technically correct about the rotor being within spec they have lost a customer, relationships are important for dealerships too.

Originally Posted by BLT

The only thing I disagree with is that our car was in the shop for over 5 days waiting for parts. This dealer is currently trying to rebuild its customer base that was wiped out last year due to a union dispute. The garage was shut down for over 6 months.

I had asked for a quote for extending the warrantee for another two years, they didn’t even bother giving me a quote. By being absolutely technically correct about the rotor being within spec they have lost a customer, relationships are important for dealerships too.

your warranty was about to be out. don't most people go to indies after the warranty period.

Originally Posted by BLT

I just took our car in for it's final checkup maintenance under the 4-year warrantee. They replaced the brake pads and sensors but did not replace the rotor because they were within specifications.

Same thing happened to me. Indy mechanic told me BMW doesn't replace rotors on the "maint plan" but will recommend it if you are paying full price. He said it should be criminal not to replace rotors every time you do the pads.

Certainly does not leave a favorable impression of BMW, continuously cutting corners with new gimmicks like run flats, oil changes, and now shoddy brake jobs.

delete

Originally Posted by Boraxo

Same thing happened to me. Indy mechanic told me BMW doesn't replace rotors on the "maint plan" but will recommend it if you are paying full price. He said it should be criminal not to replace rotors every time you do the pads.

Certainly does not leave a favorable impression of BMW, continuously cutting corners with new gimmicks like run flats, oil changes, and now shoddy brake jobs.

rotors are not needed everytime you do pads, that is just old school mentality. I am going on my 3rd set of rear pads on my X5 and the rotors are still in spec (never been cut) after 74k miles. They may not look new but perform as intended.

sorry to hear