So a few weeks ago I purchase a CPO 2016 Jaguar F-Type V6 (base) convertible with ~7000 miles. It's the most amazing vehicle I've ever driven, and my dealer experience was largely very positive.

However, during my initial test drive, I pointed out the rusty brake calipers (photos attached) to my salesman and asked him, "Is that normal? Will that come off?" and he said yes.

When they detailed the car to prep it for delivery, the salesman claimed they would try and get as much rust off as they could. It ended up looking the same. I guess the argument could be made that I should've refused delivery at that point, but I loved the car in every other way and the deal we'd arrived at was terrific so I was happy otherwise.

This week I brought the car in because the check engine light had come on and also to fix the vertical scratches issue that I'd noticed (and had learned about on this forum). During my many discussions with the salesman and a service manager, I asked what could be done about the rusty brake calipers. The service manager said it was "not common but not uncommon" in regions where there's a lot of moisture. She said she could have the service department wire scrub the rust, but that the one time she's done that for a customer, it came back in a month. The only other solution she suggested was painting the calipers. When I asked if they could do that at the dealership, she said they subcontract it out to a vendor and that it costs $1,200. That seemed a lot so I said I would hold off, but asked if they could scrub the calipers anyway. She came back and said that would *also* cost me if I wanted them to do it properly, but said they'd do what they could during the repairs.

In the meantime, I had done my own research and gotten four quotes from local vendors with outstanding reviews on Yelp. The quotes for painting all four calipers were $340, $400, $500 and $1075.

When I went back to pick my car up, the calipers looked the same so, again, I'm not sure they actually did anything. I asked the service manager about the various quotes, and she immediately told me I shouldn't go to one of the cheaper vendors because they might use bad paint. She said she had one customer who'd had their calipers painted, but when the paint started chipping, it got into the brakes and the customer ended up spending $5000 to fix everything. She also warned me that it would void the warranty on any components that were damaged by a bad paint job. She said at least if I did the paint job through the dealership, it would be warranted for any issues.

Later, I happened to speak with the finance manager, who I've been having a better relationship with, and he suggested I could get it done with an outside vendor and confided that their price was so high because they needed to make a profit. He recommended powder coating instead of painting. I asked him if he could recommend some vendors and he agreed, saying he'd call some friends and get back to me. He's apparently never had it done himself, but I trust him more than the service manager, who I feel has been not really treating me right. In fact, I have bent over backwards trying to be respectful and friendly with this dealership, yet I'm not sure I'm getting the customer service I should be.

I've read the threads on here and know I could paint the calipers myself, but I confess I'm not confident in my ability to do that properly.

What are my options here? I would love to get some color on the calipers, but all I really care about is getting rid of the rust. And if I have to pay $1000+ for painting or powder coating, I think I might just learn to live with the rust.

Is there really such a danger of having a bad paint job chipping or damaging my brakes/wheels? Alternatively, can anyone think of a way to have the rust cleaned without needing to pay for an expensive procedure?

Thanks so much for any feedback.

 

That looks horrible. The good news is that it's an easy fix. The dealership you're speaking with doesn't really seem to know much about anything.

You are indeed right that you could paint them or powder coat. If I were you, I'd use a G2 caliper paint kit and paint them silver. Very forgiving to paint silver on silver calipers and the G2 stuff is rock hard. If you prep it correctly, etc. it's a few hours worth of work and will look much better than what you've got going now.

Where are you located?

 

Wow, what a load of crap! Use a hi temp paint, clean and paint the calipers, repeat as necessary. Might cost $40. Powdercoating can only be done properly if you remove and disassemble the calipers. IMO, the risk of damage to the braking system caused by painting the calipers is somewhere between zero and zero.


Dave

 

Yep, remove wheel. wire brush rust, clean whole caliper, mask off areas not to be painted, then spray with a quality spray caliper paint (3 light coats). 30 mins per corner. See, the forum just saved you $1200

 

This is my main complaint with Jaguar and with a lot of other cars these days. Why make big wheels that show the brake components if you're going to cheap out and not put a decent painted or coated caliper behind it? Is it so hard or expensive to even just paint them black instead of leaving them this ugly steel gray that always becomes discolored? Nevermind that Jaguar decided to put regular old floating calipers on $100k supercharged luxury vehicles. Yes, they're massive and yes they're sometimes painted red and yes they perform perfectly fine, but they just look cheap compared to a big multi-piston fixed caliper like you see on so many other performance cars in this range, like the yellow carbon ceramics or the Alcon and Brembo setups on the older Jags. The Range Rovers have nice big Brembos...why can't Jag?

Sorry, rant over.

 

 

Episode 4: A New Hope

 

That certainly looks much better but my first thought whenever I see painted floating calipers is that the owner did it themselves, even if they came like that from the factory, like my Jaguar reds. I dunno...probably not many people notice such things but it bothers me on a car with a near $100k or above MSRP.

 

Thank you everyone for the awesome responses. I'm located in Southern California, so for what it's worth, there is some moisture here.

I probably should've stressed that I'm someone who has never taken the wheels off a car before (except once many years ago when I was changing a flat tire for a girl, and I was very motivated then). I assume the car will need to be jacked up, etc. I'll also need to figure out the right decals to get, I guess.

Hypothetically, if I decided to go with a vendor who charged in the area of ~$500 to paint them, is there anything in particular I should look out for or ask them?

Thanks again.

 

you can also wire brush the loose material off then use a rust neutralizer and prime and paint. Very easy.

 

I second the endorsement for G2 caliper paint. Have used it on several of my cars over the years. Their kits provide everything you need (including gloves and brushes)! If you can remove the wheel and know which end of the paintbrush to hold, YOU CAN DO THIS!

G2 Brake Caliper Paint Systems: G2 Brake Caliper Paint System Set

 

You will find it much easier to remove the wheel, with it jacked up off the ground.

 

Not to mention, having a jack under the car makes it easier to re-install the wheel, by far!

 

Just wanted to report back with what I hope is the conclusion to this somewhat silly "saga": Jaguar corporate sent me an email asking how my car was and I responded honestly, that I had had really good experiences with everyone I worked with at the dealership, but that there was this disappointing thing with the rusty brake calipers. They immediately opened a case for me and instructed me to contact the general manager at the dealer. The woman from corporate said, "They will take care of you, you will love your car, and you will never need to speak with me again."

I did as she said. There was some resistance - not a ton, but definitely noticeable - from both the general manager and the service manager, which I had to push through. And it took a while, but eventually they agreed to have my calipers painted free of charge.

I realize the more handy members on here are going, "Geez, I would've just painted them myself for a few bucks ages ago," but I'm not as good with taking cars apart, so this was a satisfactory solution for me.

Thanks again for everyone's feedback.

 

You should have never been sold a CPO car with rusty brake calipers and apparently JLR agreed. It is good to hear that corporate seems to provide some support to owners.

 

What they did was strictly Goodwill. The calipers having cosmetic rust on them has nothing to do with CPO. I remember when the Xtype first came out & customers complained about the rear mufflers rusting. They told us to spray it with high heat paint if the customer really complained.

 

 

Maybe my expectations are too high, but I don't think so. Cosmetics have a lot to do with why people buy cars like this. I'm glad JLR had dealer take care of it regardless.