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Legal A’d

We purchased a 2007/57 Mercedes A-Class demonstrator a year ago with 7,000 miles on the clock. We have had the car serviced by the main dealer on the due date, having completed only an additional 6,500 miles, and they advised that the rear brake drums are badly rusted. The car is kept garaged and is used 3-4 times a month. The dealer has said that the rusting is due to the infrequent use and there is no record of excessive rust on their inspection at the time of the sale to us. Could you please advise whether their comments are reasonable, or whether we are being ripped off?

Asked on 18 July 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
Given your sort of use then it is to be expected that the rear brake discs would suffer severe rusting and pitting. Brake discs rust all the time. More so in winter due to salt on the road and trapped condensation inside a non-heated and non-ventilated garage. The more you drive the more the effect of braking removes surface corrosion from discs. But in normal driving the front brakes do all the work. The pads don’t touch the rear discs much unless you brake really hard from high speed. So what has happened is normal. Nevertheless, in this situation, Honda dealers have been replacing rear discs on Civics under the 3 year 90,000 mile warranty.
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