My neighbor in Allentown called my brake job lazy because I didn't turn the rotors, so now I'm stuck on which way is right

Tyler Morgan · 2026-10-22T05:15:05.193749+00:00

Last month I did pads and rotors on my 2012 Corolla in my driveway and my neighbor across the street, who's been turning wrenches for like 30 years, walked over and told me I was being lazy for not cutting the old rotors down and reusing them. I told him new rotors were $38 each online and turning them at the shop down on Tilghman would cost me $25 plus two trips, so the math made no sense to me. He said it's not about the money, it's that aftermarket rotors can be cheap cast iron and the originals are better metal, so I should turn those instead of swapping them. That got in my head and now I'm second guessing a job I already finished, because on one hand yeah I tossed original parts that maybe had plenty of meat left. On the other hand the old ones had 90k miles and a lip you could feel with a fingernail, and I'm not trying to gamble on a rusty rotor from 2012. So what's the real deal here, is turning rotors still worth it in 2024 or is that just old school thinking that doesn't hold up anymore?

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My neighbor in Allentown called my brake job lazy because I didn't turn the rotors, so now I'm stuck on which way is right | Automotive Diy - Pinecone Attack