Looking for someplace to turn the front rotors on my '88 GT. They appear to be in decent shape with 88k miles.

Would appreciate opinions/feedback on turning these vs. replacement. The pads are also in decent shape with plenty of wear left but I decided to replace them because I don't know thier history and the car does not stop well. The back plates of the pads are painted red, they have no wear sensors, and considering the mileage, I am thinking they are not OE. The rotors still have the factory retention clips on them so my assumption is that PO replaced the pads and did not do anything with the rotors. GM dealer replaced the rear pads at 40,000 miles when I bought the car.

I was surprised several places I went said it was cheaper to throw them away and replace them.....well, actually the cost is about the same for premium rotors (eg Wagner or Delco) which seems wasteful so I would rather have them turned. I already bought Wagner TQ pads.

[This message has been edited by jazz4cash (edited 08-13-2012).]

O'Reilley's is probably the only place that will turn them, other than maybe NAPA, on an independent machine shop. I wouldn't expect there to be many of those around D.C., however. (I could be wrong, though. There are not many in the west Atlanta 'burbs, and I'd expect there to be lots of them.)

People here generally like the Wagner Thermoquiet pads.

Thanks Raydar. I don't think we have O Reillys and the little NAPA near me said no, but I will look some more.

I found an independent shop that features AC Delco replacement parts and they will do it for $42/rotor vs. 39 for new Delco rotors. Then I was at Pep Boys to buy oil for a small engine and I checked with them. I generally avoid Pep Boys and Autozone but they said they only charge $14.99 to turn rotors "if we have someone working that knows how to do it". So I just might try them.

[This message has been edited by jazz4cash (edited 08-13-2012).]

we take our service vans rotors to napa. $20 a pair last time we did them here in stafford va

Had mine done at Pep Boys.. They do a good enough job for stock reconditioning.

I looked into turning the rotors on my 88 a few years back. A quality independent repair shop that also turned rotors gave me the following information;
Cars are designed to meet government requirements for fuel economy and emissions etc. Among many other factors, reducing the weight of the car helps to improve efficiency. This is done in many areas; unibody construction instead of full frame, plastic bumpers instead of steel, using the windshield as part of the integral structure of the vehicle, and also reducing the amount of material used in brake rotors. The list goes on and on.
As a result, brake rotors are often made with the minimum amount of material needed to get the job done and reduce the overall weight of the vehicle. When these rotors are turned, they won't last as long, they can warp quickly as they are too thin to get the "job done" as originally designed. For the few extra dollars, I'd buy new rotors. Just my experience and opinion for you to consider.

Also, when doing your 88 brakes, make sure to remove the caliper slider pins, service and grease them properly, and clean any gunk/oxidation from the aluminum caliper where the pin slides. I was shocked at how seized some of mine were and the effect it has on braking. Check out the bottom of page 4 on my swap thread for pics of the problems I had with my brake pads as well. All good info for you to consider while doing your brakes.
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/122389.html

Best of luck!