My nephew just returned from Iraq (2nd time) and his wife was suppose to drive his new (2005) BMW occasionally.,

Well, she didn't and the rotors rusted to the pads I guess from what I am told. He took it to SEARS (I know, I know) and they quoted about $2K for the work.

He got the car in FLA. Does anyone outthere know of a foreign shop in Jacksonville NC, around Camp Lejune where he won't get ripped off? thanks to all...

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71 220D 169K wrecked
83 240D 118K sweet 4 speed
91 350SDL (one of the 60% good engines) 156K
84 300d (loaner to my sister) 189K
79 300SD (partswagen)
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68 280s GASSER!!! under construction now
85 300sd 310K miles winter beater car retired
93 300d 2.5 turbo 168K wife's car
83 280SL euro 5 speed 155K
69 250S newest project 54K

Well, the only guy I know in the Jacksonville area who works on imports (with any degree of success) is A.V. Jones's West Park Tire and Auto. He may or may not take the job, (he worked on MB'S and Corvettes for me but they were 95 and back models), but if he does, be sure to deal with him. One of his sons (Curtis) is okay, but the other one (Kendall) is a little far out. His phone number is (910)-455-1755. They are probably your best bet, as far as a good price. They might take a little while, though. If he refuses, the nearest BMW Dealers are in Kinston and Wilmington, which, if you do have to have it towed, Tony's Foreign Cars in Wilmington, on Market Street, (910)-392-9993, can do the job, but it probably won't be cheap (but cheaper than 2k). They charge about 65 an hour, and do good work. I bought my 560 from them. I haven't ever heard of a set of pads rusting to the rotors, if he gets it to either of these shops, the fix might be less involved than that. And being a 2005, shouldn't he be able to get the Warranty to cover it?
God Bless, Dave.

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Hell, I will come down from New York and fix his brakes for $2,000. Now I will ask some stupid questions. Is the emergency brake off? Have you tried putting it in gear to try and gently brake the pads loose? How did he take it to Sears if the pads are rusted to the rotors? Have you tried using the cars jack to jack up one wheel at a time to see which wheels are frozen? Have you tried looking on a BMW forum to see if this is a common problem that someone has figured out a simple solution for?

The only real advice I can give is to never get closer to a Sears automotive department than driving through the parking lot. They are scumbags. They had a class action lawsuit against them a few years back because of their sleezy practices.

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Doug

1987 300TD x 3
2005 E320CDI

i would just drive it.

the rusty rotors are harmless. use of them will polish them and probably will be fine.

tom w

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..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

This got to be a joke, the rotors are steel, the brake pads are composite, I can see the pistons taking a set but they have boots. The slight out of round will free them in a couple of rotations. There is nothing anything to rust to. As another post stated, the emergecy cable could rust in the sheath, I doubt it. Sears knows less than PepBoys and Jiffy lube. If it sat out for years with the emergency on, it might not retract.

On some occasions ( washing the car on Friday & letting it sit until Monday ), I have seen pads slightly " frozen " to the rotors.
They normally release with a " thunk ".
In extreme cases ( very little lining left on the pads ), I've also seen the padmaterial seperating from the backing plates.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

I agree with Tom. I have a couple of cars that I have let set for months at a time. One car- the brakes stay the same, but on my 89' Pontiac Grand Safari wagon, they (rotors) will tend to rust. The first few times I press the brakes, it will grab a little bit, but after a few miles, the rust cleans itself off.

I cannot imagine anyone charging $2000 for this. Its outlandish!

Ironically every generic chain shop I go to charges in excess what my skilled local mechanic does and in some cases more than the dealership. They in most cases are just ripping people off and trying to pay for their shiny store fronts and high end ad budgets.

This is a late model BMW right? Take it to BMW. They cover EVERYTHING short of wiper blades to tires on their warranty INCLUDING service under their warranty program. Just mention your rather astonished that your expensive car with the latest technology would do such a thing and its likely they will explain to you why it happened and fix it out of good will. If not they will likely just charge you a small fee to fix it.

Yeah, I forgot about that.... the car should still be under warranty.

Jacksonville, N.C. is full of shops ready to feed off unsuspecting Marines - anything from furniture shops, surplus shops, pawn shops, rental centers, garages, used car lots, used tire shops. Without the Marines at Lejune they simply would not be there. I suspect that anybody quoting $2 grand for brake work because of rust on the disks falls in that category.

There are also some shops that don't fit in that category, but it can be hard to tell.

Get pictures and post them. You'll get loads of free advice. I'd imagine that you just need to drive the rust off, but without seeing I can't be sure.

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Thanks for all the help for my nephew. THere is more to this story than I first reported.

He is a 24 yr old E4 Lance Corporal with 2 tours of Iraq and 2 purple hearts under his belt. He bought a used 1999 320IS BMW before his last tour. His wife bought a new 2005 BMW, model of which I don't know. The 2005 is under warrenty, so my sister gave me the wrong BMW. I sent him the names of the places around Lejune that he can visit.

(Sigh), I don't know how a young couple can afford two BMW's on a E4's rate, even with housing, dependants and subsistance. It's a totally different war and generation. (Although my nephew did correrctly point out that when I got back from VietNam in 1971, I had a new Corvette waiting for me that I bought though the PX in Bien Hoa. I told him it cost $5,031.00, and I was a First Lt. at the time)

Thanks again, and happy motoring to ALL in '07

__________________
71 220D 169K wrecked
83 240D 118K sweet 4 speed
91 350SDL (one of the 60% good engines) 156K
84 300d (loaner to my sister) 189K
79 300SD (partswagen)
86 420SEL partswagen
70 220d (partswagen)
68 280s GASSER!!! under construction now
85 300sd 310K miles winter beater car retired
93 300d 2.5 turbo 168K wife's car
83 280SL euro 5 speed 155K
69 250S newest project 54K

This BMW is a 2005? Then BMW covers everything for the first 4 years and 50k miles. Bring it to BMW don't screw around with Sears.


The brakes should free right up if he just drives it a bit.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

1999/2005 does not make any difference they cant rust together. They find classics in barns and tow them after 20 30 years. It does not compute.....

No, I think he is referring to the 1999 model. His wife told him the wrong one.

Still, even if it was a 1979, I do not see any problem with rusted brake rotors. As mentioned, driving it a few miles should wear it off. IF the brakes are sticking however, it may be something like the calipers or something.

It may not compute for you, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. After a 6 month cruise, came back to find not only my car but my friends CJ7 with frozen brakes. I was able to rock mine back and forth enough to break them loose, but for his, we needed three people and his engine's (power) to break his free.