my tech said i may be able to get away with keeping my front rotors and only change pads.

is it worth a savings of $500?
any issues?

 

Use them until they crack

Seriously, I wouldn't get rotors until necessary.

 

Yes, I have done this before with no problem.

I usually can replace pads once then wear those pads out again and then replace both pads and rotors at that point. But you need to evaluate each time because of differing conditions and driving styles.

 

As a general rule of thumb, I do not replace rotors every time I replace pads because pads tipcally wear a lot faster than rotors. Couple of things to think about:

1) Type of pad you are using and associated wear - for example, softer pads will wear much faster but typically cause less wear on the rotor, so you can go through 2-3 sets of pads before the rotors need to be changed out.
2) Part cost vs. labor cost (providing you pay for the work done on your car) - if the cost of a rotor is less then labor to get to it twice, and you anticipate replacing the rotor before you get throgh the next set of pads, it's a good idea to replace the rotors at that time.

Performance or safety wise, I have never had any issues with this approach and the last time the shop recommended brake service on my wife's BMW X5, it saved me $900+ doing it "my way".

The brake light came on and the tech recommended replacing pads/rotors/sensors all around. I looked at the pads with a flashlight and noticed fronts still have 60% life and all of the rotors were barely worn. I ordered a set of cheap (but OEM) rear pads from eBay for $30 and spent 2hrs putting them on.

Hope that helps, TK

 

This is really simple. Replace the rotors when they need replacement. They will last a long time if you don't track your car.

 

I haven't tracked my TT yet, but this is crazy. In my old STI I would go through 4 sets of pads over a year and never once considered changing out the rotors. Is this for real?

 

No its not. The rotors last beyond multiple pad changes. These aren't crappy rotors that warp or anything like that. People who track their cars get spider cracks between the holes and have to replace them because of that.