Joe Boulay

In October of 2013 6587 miles and 2 years ago I replaced the brake rotors and pads on a 2004 Cadillac Deville to pass state inspection. As you can see from the picture it is not to hard to figure out which brake rotor is the old one and which one is the new. Again the customer brings the car in two years later and guess what? Yup needs rear brakes again. Why? This car needs rear brakes again because it has only been driven 274 miles a month for the past two years. One of the worst things you can do is not drive your car as it was designed to do. This Cadillac has relatively low 67,000 miles and one might be seduced by the low mileage if the car went up for sale. Rusted brake rotors are only one result of many that can surface on an older car that sits idle more than its driven. Here are some more items that can be affected

Old brake rotor on left new brake rotor on right

negatively by time. 1) Dry rotted tires. 2) Dry rotted drive and timing belts. 3) Badly rusted exhaust systems due to internal condensation build up. 4) Ethanol problems due to stagnant fuel. 5) Rodent infestation and chewed electrical wiring. 6) Condensation build up in the engine oil. 7)  Structural rust underneath car. 8) Rusted  brake lines and fuel lines.

If you happen to stumble upon a used car with unusually low mileage be careful and have it looked at before you buy it. Oh yeah and by the way it would not hurt if you clicked on the link on the home page of my site and got yourself a copy of my book “If that car could talk” How to locate and maintain a good used car. Wink wink nudge nudge.