Volkswagen Repair: VW Jetta 2003 GLX, rear rotors, vw jetta

Question
Paul,

I recently had my jetta at the vw dealer for the 32,000km inspection.

They advised that the rear brake pads were down to 5% and needed replacing. They also recommended replacing the rotors as 90% of the time the used rotors would not match up with the new brake pads and cause noise.

Is this really the case ?
Would the resulting noise be unsafe or just annoying ?

Answer
Dirk,

Pull off the rear wheels and check the brakes yourself, I can't imagine that the rear brakes could be wornout at 32,000 km.  The rotors should be relatively smooth, and if you look at the pads from the rear, you should see 5 mm or more of braking material, and that is acceptable. A bit of rust on the rear rotors is OK as well.
If you decide to have the pads replaced I would agree that you should change the rotors as well.

Good Luck,

Paul