Does anyone know how long the rotors usually last under pretty normal driving. I had my car in the shop for something else and the mechanic saw the rotors and said they looked like they are in terrible shape. I have approx. 25000 miles on the car. Is it time for replacement?

 

It all depends upon the type of driving you do. If you drive mostly highway miles they can easily last the life of the car. Repeated heavy braking in the city could require turning them (to eliminate surface variations) in the 30K-50K range but they should not be worn out. Heavy track use can destroy rotors in less than a thousand track miles but is probably not an issue here. The shop manual has specs for minimal thickness and runout, so you can be objective on the subject. If the car is stopping smoothly and you do not put it through heavy braking regularly, I would guess than you don't have a rotor problem.. other than the rust which just looks bad.

 

Do the high dollar cad plated rotors last any longer?

 

It also depends partly on how you drive and how you stop. If you heat the rotors up and stop with your foot on the brake, one spot on the rotor (where the pad is) will cool faster than the rest of the rotor and it'll warp. If you let it roll a little instead of stopping dead with your foot on the brake, it'll help the rotor to cool more evenly.

I have Cad plated rotors and now after about 6 months, they look the same as any other rotor would.

I crew for a number of racecars and we've found the only thing that makes a difference to rotor life (It sounded like a crock to us too but after getting 3 times the use out of a set of rotors than we used to, I preach that these things work) http://www.frozenrotors.com/