~90,000 miles on original brake pads?

DominicH

I'm looking at a 2005 mk 2 Ford Focus with 87K miles on the clock. The owner from nearly new believes that it is still on its original front discs and pads, having never changed them himself. The discs have a lip but look decent, and the pads have about 3 mm left. Do you think they could be original?

rev_henry

No. If it was 2 years old at that mileage it might be believable, but not at that age.

Joe_Horner

Depending on the sort of use it's had, can't see any real reason why not.

It would need to be occasional long trips rather than local use, and would have to have been pretty well maintained against sticky callipers, but a driver who anticipates enough to avoid brakes most of the time can stretch pads to that sort of mileage without much problem on steady drives.

If they are original then it bodes pretty well for the overall sympathy the car's had over the years.

DominicH

The owner says that it has been used for daily commuting of about 15 miles, and other local duties, with occasional longer trips.

Zandoni

I see no reason to disbelieve the seller, I've done similar mileage in the past on original pads.


How does that affect your purchase?

colino

Check out the rest of the car and see where it "lives". A well maintained car with good appearance adjacent to the motorway network may well be gently used. However a city car with more hits than the Beatles is unlikely to be on original parts.

EdGasket

Quite likely original; its all down to how it has been driven. A friend of mine is still on original pads at 75K miles, they just never wear as he drives gently.

salubrious

It could well be true, but the Ford Focus isn't known for being light on front brakes. More the opposite in my experience

Unless he's had about 5 gearboxes

DominicH

OK, cards on the table. I am the owner of the car, but every word of the OP is true (even the "looking at" part - I was looking at the car through my front window at the time ). Sorry for playing with you.

It's just that every time I have the car serviced I ask them about the brakes and they never believe me when I say they are original (assuming the first owner didn't change them in the first 11 months/12,000 miles). One Ford dealer has been suggesting new brakes for the last 30,000 miles, but I'm not paying their prices so I take it to a local indy and the guy says "Why change them? They're fine."

Gearbox and clutch still in fine fettle too, AFAIK. I have to say, I'm impressed by how reliable this Focus is. The AC condenser broke once, that's it. Apart from not-brilliant fuel consumption it's a total MSE car, really cheap to own and quite nice to drive.

Strider590

My Vectra had it's original pads/discs at 60k, certain garages kept telling me they were "getting low", 3 years and 25k later the low pad light came on and I had the whole lot changed..... Now at 120k, the "new" one's are getting low again.

Problem really is certain tyre/brake/exhaust outlets have got us all into thinking our brakes only last a few years, usually with new tyres. Very much like in America where the oil change companies (yes that's really all they do) have got the majority of people thinking all cars need fresh oil every 3'000 miles.

EdGasket

The problem is that wear is not the only issue with old pads. The friction material can become detached from the backing plate due to rust and possibly seize up the disk if it wedges between the caliper bracket and disc. I have seen pad friction material breaking away from the metal back plate of brake pads. I have had rear brakes lock up entirely where the friction material broke loose from the brake shoe (which had rusted) and locked up the wheel; fortunately at low speed when reversing.

I'd say if pads are 10 years old, replace them anyway or at least make a good inspection and by the time you have removed them to do that you may as well replace them.