Buying Used CRV - Lot Rust?

jennnissan

I've been to two dealers and test drove two 2014 CRV's LX under 30,000 miles. The brakes were awful on each one. Rotors were rubbing very loudly. The dealers said it was lot rust. One vehicle had been on the lot for 3 months, the other only 10 days. Are the brakes that bad on CRV's or just bad dealerships?

Mr_Shiftright

Any rust on rotors (which could be normal if the car has sat for a while) should clear itself quickly on a test drive. If the brakes continue to misbehave after a few miles of driving and a few hard stops, then something else is going on. If you have a small flashlight you should be able to see the surface of the rotors--they should be clean and smooth as ice, with no ridges or lines that could grab your fingernail.

Note: NEVER touch a brake rotor if the car has been recently driven--they can get blisteringly HOT!

If the dealer says this rubbing is "normal", ask him to take the car in to have the rotors cleaned up--being so simple and "normal", this shouldn't take him very long. If he can't present the car to you for a test drive with normal sounding brakes, then you know something isn't right and he doesn't care enough to make the sale.

isellhondas

That is a very common problem and not just on Hondas. I have noticed rust on my rotors after two days of sitting on damp days. This hurts nothing and gently riding your brakes for a half block will make this go away.

It's highly unlikely brake work will be needed at such low mileage!

osbornk1947

Many cars like my prior Kia Optima and Chevy Impala rusted more quickly than my CRV. When I bought my leftover 2004 F-150 that had sat on the dealer lot for a year, the rotors were so rusty and the tires so flatspotted that it was almost undriveable. It was fine after a day or so and some miles. The lot rust is something that is common on almost all cars and trucks.