Can't I just take them to a popular brake/muffler chain like Midas or something and then tell them to resurface them? Or should I be afraid and **** about it? How much dough should I be asked to pay when I hand the rotors right to them?

 

I've never had good luck with resurfacing. New rotors are not expensive and the peace of mind you get with new ones is worth the few extra dollars IMHO.
That said, any place with experience should be able to resurface your rotors properly.

 

As long as they meet the minimum thickness (cast in the rotor on the back), they should be fine.

What to look for: one of the "new" re-surfacing machines. It doesn't just cut them in a circular cut, it cuts them at a random angle. The cutter head turns in a small circle while the rotor turns also. If you can't find that. Make sure you use a random orbit sander to smooth out the grooves left from the cutting. This will make a better surface to "bed-in" the pads.

 

Really? I got my Maxima rotors resurfaced once and they were smooth for a long time. I think it was probably around 2001/2002 when I got them resurfaced and they were great all the way till early last year. There was so much noise at that point, though, that I got new pads and rotors all around. Spent more than 500 bucks on all that stuff. Then the labor to get a buddy of mine to put that stuff on. I should have done it myself. I think the Nissan people may have been full of crap telling me that they were all below spec. And then I didn't even let them do the work. They quoted $950. Can you believe that? I was like, Sorry for going OT.

 

I think the machine used on my maxima rotors back 5 or 6 years ago was one of these. I remember seeing the rotor and thinking, "man that doesn't look smooth at all." But the car stopped smoothly and quietly. I'll definitely ask about this. But that's all I probably can do, though.

 

Remember the 03 & 04 rotors wear fast. Minimum thickness is .886inches. If you are close don't even try it because you'll be under spec very soon.

 

And if anyone wants more than $20 bucks apiece, laugh and walk out.

 

Most certainly! I was thinking $15.00 each. I got this done maybe 6 years ago on a pair of rotors and I think it was 12 or 13 bucks each. I was just assuming there's nowhere I can get it that cheap anymore and I was wondering just how expensive that service has gotten. To think that there are people charing $20 for that now? Wow. I should buy a machine and just do that. Three or four pairs of rotors a day would be a nice supplement.

 

I go to PepBoys and have them turned for $6 each if I take them in.

 

Why are you having your rotors turned? If you are changing the pads and currently do not suffer from vibrations or any pulsating from applying the brakes...you probably do not need to have the rotors turned.

 

Yeah, it would be pretty silly to get my rotors turned with no vibration.

 

OK...so I stated the obvious...sorry I just have had so many people act shocked that I replace my pads before without resurfacing the rotors. You would think I broke one of the ten automotive commandments or something.

 

Now, that's crazy. Some folks act as if rotors on a car that has had no problems whatsoever with shaking could some how screw up new pads.

 

Shaking brakes are not always an indication that the rotors need to be turned. Sometimes concentric grooves wear in the rotors. The old pads have corresponding grooves worn into them, so everything works great with no shaking, but when you install new pads, they come into contact with only the tops of the ridges and not the entire rotor, until they fully seat and contact the valley of the groove. If the grooves are severe, you may want to consider turning the rotors or braking ability will be decreased for a while.