[censored] from RockAuto and Centric

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The first weekend of March, we installed Centric 120 Series rotors and StopTech pads on my brother's 2008 BMW 528xi. The stuff was purchased from RockAuto. Rotors were $69/each, pads were $70, and shipping was $29.

The job went fine and everything seemed good initially, but a shudder developed and got to the point where my brother took it in to the dealer whose technician(s) concluded that the rotors were badly warped and had to be replaced.

We contacted RockAuto and they won't do squat. Their response was as follows:

After explaining the situation to technician at Centric I was informed that "warping" is not covered under warranty. The following information was given to me by the technician at Centric:

Rotors do not "warp," they develop "thickness variations" because of things going on with the pad friction material and the rotors. The pad does not distribute an even layer on the rotor. He said mentioned many reasons, one of which was installation issues. If the rotor is installed with excessive run out, it will create vibration in the pedal. He said that run out on a rotor should not exceed 0.0002 of an inch. Measuring run out is done by using a dial indicator that spins around the rotor to give the measurement.

Because any credit for warranty returns would need to be issued directly from the manufacturer, we will not be able to issue you any credit in any form. If you have any further questions about Centric's policy, you can find out more information on their website. If you would like to contact them, they have a link on the contact us page of their website (http://www.centricparts.com/index.php?option=com_qcontacts&view=contact&id=2&Itemid=60) where you can email them or call. Unfortunately there is nothing further we can do on our end about this issue, as Centric's warranty covers material and workmanship flaws and states that unless there was a casting flaw in the rotors which is not the case in your situation, they are not covered under warranty.


In other words they're telling us to [censored] off. It seems like Centric's so-called warranty doesn't cover squat.

This was my first RockAuto purchase and first purchase of Centric products. I doubt I'll ever use either one again.

What do you guys think? Am I gettin boned?
 
At what point did they develop the pulsation? First test drive? Days? Weeks?

If there's a chance it's pad deposits, I'd do two or three full bed-in "sets" first

60mph. HARD stop (80-90% of max) to 5 mph. Repeat nine times in immediate succesion. You will be smelling cooking brakes at this point. Then drive on freeway for 10 minutes. Don't stop with brakes applied until they are cooled.

Reapeat procedure once or twice.
 
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Originally Posted By: E365
At what point did they develop the pulsation. First test drive? Days? Weeks?

It became noticeable within a week and progressed in an exponential kind of way.
 
Yes your are getting positively reamed. I had a set of rotors from O'reilly (their BrakeBest brand) that warped and they exchanged them no sweat.

Just out of curiosity, were the high end rotors Chinese manufactured? Chinese steel has virtually no quality control. Sometimes you get lucky and they are OK, most times not.

BTW: The Brake Best rotors cause me less trouble than the Wagner one have. Go figure........
 
That company has no warranty.They print nothing with a warranty on it.They pride themselves on designing all their own products,but have them made in China,and most pads do not exceed an EE rating (FF is best).I have heard good things about their products,but seemingly their prices are rather low as compared to other name brands.Makes one wonder.Anyone with any other reviews?
 
Maybe buy some Brembo blanks from TireRack.

I would not call the credit card company. Those rotors were not the best choice for that BMW.
 
Do the credit card thing. You have a warranty of merchantability, ie, it should work.

If enough people do it to rockauto, they'll stop carrying junk brands like Centric.
 
One of the reasons I bought many brake pads and rotors from Amazon is their customer services. I think within 3 months after you bought brake parts and it turns out to be defective you can easily return for full credit.
 
You'll probably never know if the rotors were defective, damaged during shipping, or improperly installed. If they were damaged due to use extreme operating conditions you probably already know that and if they were damaged by a mechanical fault in the brake system you'll find about that eventually. A great many brake rotors are damaged during shipping or due to improper installation so without any clear indication of a manufacturing defect (a crack or an opened void would do the trick) I can see where they wouldn't want to credit you for a product that may very have been just fine the way they made it.

In your situation I would do this:
Remove the rotors and thoroughly clean the rotor to hub mating surface, coat that surface with oil, then put it back on. Have the rotors turned at a shop that uses an on-car lathe. Look for any cracks on the rotors and if any are found contact the vendor immediately. Use some sandpaper (maybe 120 to 180 grit) to sand the pads in the radial direction (perpendicular to the direction of motion relative to the rotors) a bit. Follow the break in procedure recommended by the manufacturer of the brake pads. Cross your fingers, but don't expect any problems.

This will be much less expensive than buying another set of rotors and will be much easier than trying to get a refund.
 
I have run into this buck passing before with on line sellers and manufacturers. I got dorked on an aledged lifetime warranty radiator that failed at 13 months. Never used that seller or manufacturer again. I went to a local radiator shop and bought a replacement for about the same price.
 
even tho centric won't warrenty it, it would be good customer service if rock auto at least ate the purchase price and gave you store credit.

I would call rockauto again and see if you can speak with a manager.
 
That's why you should have just gotten BMW rotors, aftermarket brake parts on German cars will do that, I have seen it again and again.

Or at least rotors from a good company like ATE.
 
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Originally Posted By: yonyon
You'll probably never know if the rotors were defective, damaged during shipping, or improperly installed. If they were damaged due to use extreme operating conditions you probably already know that and if they were damaged by a mechanical fault in the brake system you'll find about that eventually.

They weren't damaged due to extreme operating conditions. The car is a simple daily driver. And the BMW technician(s) confirmed that everything was properly installed and that there are no problems with the brake system. Just rotors with excessive runout.

As Texan4Life suggests, I'll probably try calling RockAuto again (i.e. tomorrow if I have time) and see if I can reason with someone. Beyond that, it sounds like my next step should be to contact American Express and contest the charge, cancel the payment, or however that works.
 
Were you able to notice the weight difference between the new and the old rotors? If they were less beefy that the OEM, the chances are they have warped.
 
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