Slow to brake after new brake pads--problems or just need break-in? BMW X5

zzazzles

I'm considering buying a used car from a used car dealer. Everything seems fine with the car, except that I found that the car is slow to brake...not what I expected from an X5. The dealer told me that the front brake pads are brand new. I looked and they are in fact new. However, the pad is also noticeably angled, so that one side is much closer to the rotor than the other. Also, the rotors have not been replaced/resurfaced.

My question(s) is: is this a huge red-flag? I know it is tough to assess this without driving the car, but does it sound like the brakes just need some time to break-in/bed? Or the brakes actually spongy and the fluids need to be bled? Or, are the brake pads installed poorly/incorrectly?

I am kind of in a hurry to buy a car, which I know is probably not a good idea, but I am faced with that predicament.

Thanks for any input.

stever

Here's Tire Rack's Brake Pad and Rotor Bed-In Procedures. There's lots of others on the net.

I haven't done many of these, but I do the moderate braking routine when I've changed my front discs and have never had to do anything else to have "good" brakes.

It's cheap insurance to have your indy mechanic check any used car over before purchasing. Doesn't sound like the brakes are "right" to me.

Mr_Shiftright

this is kind of a red flag, yeah. They may have done a quickie brake pad replacement without proper inspection and lubrication. This isn't a major catastrophe but it is something you're going to have to deal with if you buy the car.

I would have a pre-purchase inspection done on the car at an independent shop and pull the wheels and see exactly what is going on here. Coule be improper installation, sticking caliper guide pins, warps in the rotors---hard to say exactly.

zzazzles said:

I'm considering buying a used car from a used car dealer. Everything seems fine with the car, except that I found that the car is slow to brake...not what I expected from an X5. The dealer told me that the front brake pads are brand new. I looked and they are in fact new. However, the pad is also noticeably angled, so that one side is much closer to the rotor than the other. Also, the rotors have not been replaced/resurfaced.

My question(s) is: is this a huge red-flag? I know it is tough to assess this without driving the car, but does it sound like the brakes just need some time to break-in/bed? Or the brakes actually spongy and the fluids need to be bled? Or, are the brake pads installed poorly/incorrectly?

I am kind of in a hurry to buy a car, which I know is probably not a good idea, but I am faced with that predicament.

Thanks for any input.