Can I stock brake rotors or brake pads for more than a year?

Question

I can get really good deal on brake rotors and brake pads in a local auto part store. This type of 50% deal won't happen quite often on good brands.

The problem is that I won't need a to change my brakes until 1-2 years from now. I am thinking to buy the parts with the good price available now, store them and use the parts in two years. Can I do that?

Can I stock brake rotors or brake pads for more than a year? Can I just store them in my garage or they need to be stored in a specific condition?

Answer 1

I see no problem with this

Brake pads won't degrade with exposure to oxygen like steel with though.

Brake discs have a lot of iron in them and have a tendency to rust. There is coating on them that prevents rust. You could wipe them down with a bit oil and wrap them to prevent oxidation but in the end, even some rust on brake rotors is not terrible. Cars sitting in rain get their rotors rusty all the time and the rust comes off on the first use of the brakes.

Again, I don't see an issue with this and now that you mention it, when I find a good deal, I'll probably do the same thing.

Thanks for a good idea.

Answer 2

Ideally you'd want to store pads and rotors packed up and in a dry place. Moreover you'd want to avoid stacking heavy stuff on rotors. In general I would keep them flat. This is to avoid warping.

Now, when mounted pads and rotors are exposed to atmospheric agents, cold, extremely hot temperatures when braking, salt, grit, rust, etc. It is therefore safe to assume that they are built to resist and shouldn't be faded (pun intended) by being stored away for a couple of years.

Answer 3

I see absolutely no shelf life issue here. But with that said...

Here's a thought. Storage costs money. You need garage and shelves and boxes and marking of boxes and ladders to get to the boxes in the back, and remembering what you did buy (out of sight is out of mind.) Place a dollar value on the storage and compare that to the potential cost savings.

Additionally, what happens when that car get stolen or wrecked in an accident next month. You are now the proud owner of brake parts you can't use. Yes you could sell those on Craigslist or Ebay or wherever, but I'm guessing you will only be getting 50% of your original purchase price.

If you really believe the price of the parts will go up, then take your money and purchase some financial stock in automotive parts companies. (My vote here.) Online trading is very cheap. And if you really want to make that money move, I'd buy a call option spread. You can easily take $100 and move it to bigger numbers.

Cash is good. Storage is a hassle. There is risk to buying something with the intent of using it later (like the car is no longer there...)