End of Lease - Should I replace brakes and rotors?

Ask the Hackrs
1

I am scheduling my inspection soon for my end of lease return. How do the inspectors determine the brakes and rotors wear and tear? During my lease, I have replaced my rear brakes/calipers/pads/rotors once. I have not done a replacement on my front rotors and brakes, and I am worried that I might be charged by the car manufacturer for more $$$ than the actual cost of the replacement. The car is in great condition and everything SEEMS fine - although I am not a mechanic. I see some rust on my front rotors and the car doesn’t vibrate too much when I brake. If the inspector says everything is fine, should I be worried about a bill for brakes/rotors from the leasing company after returning the car?

Thanks!

2

You shouldn’t have to replace brakes and rotors during the term of a standard lease, yet alone twice!

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3

Yeah, sumpthinsup. My Jetta w/ 300K miles has OG brakes.( and plugs, everything OG but fluids, tires and filters).

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4

They won’t notice

5

Og brakes after 300k miles?
Excuse Me Mtv Vmas 2017 GIF by 2019 MTV Video Music Awards

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I don’t stop. (Seriously, 95 percent highway commute miles with almost no braking, until I hit surface streets for a few miles)

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7

This has to be a joke.

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8

All of my content is a joke. Cept when it isn’t. I have yet to do a brake job on it, but wife says the occasional EPC light that pops up tells me I need plugs at minimum, possibly a walnut shell intake blast at worse.

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9

What kind of car needed two sets of brakes over the course of a lease?

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10

whats your overage per mile .15 cents or .25? Can you pre-pay

11

The 2015 Jetta was a buy, Penfed was about 310/mo on a 72, iirc. It’s at 298K miles now, but due to no time to address the EPC light (limp mode) I’ve been commuting in the 4xE, and have already put 30K miles on it.

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12

just messing with ya. you got your moneys worth on it for sure. You drive a lot!!! I used to drive 30k/yr now i’m down to like 2500/yr

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13

Pads are a consumable, just like tires. How quickly they get consumed is YMMV: depends on how you drive and what compounds they were made of.

Driving with bald tires or worn pads just because “it’s a lease” doesn’t make any sense.

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14

After a few tickets, I joined Waze (pre-Google) and was in the top 5 percent in California for miles…and among long haul truckers! Once Google grabbed them, I quit due to tracking concerns. I had the then coveted purple monster, nym was Outtamywaze.

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15

Getting worn out brakes or bald tyres over an average 3y lease term, suggest you drive like Lewis Hamilton! Twice like Juha Kankunen

How many miles have you done?!

16

BMW made me replace the breaks about a year and a half after I leased a demo 330 in 2020. It had 29k miles or so at that point and I was in fact driving like a menace.

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17

What mystery car is this? I have never seen the back set replaced well before the front since most cars primarily use the front pads to break since they are bigger and that is where the momentum of the car is going. Unless you have some type of car that is using the rear brakes as a pseudo torque vector system.

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18

The last three new cars I’ve had all wore out rear pads before the front. pathfinder, Qx60 and S60. Rear base bias, smaller pads and rotors and also auto braking all contribute.

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19

Reminds me of that spoof clip on Kentucky Fried movie about getting the best gas mileage is important so no need to stop for other vehicles or pedestrians…just keep a smooth steady pace down the road…heh

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20

Do you have Google maps installed on your phone?