Hey Jeff, I've come to the conclusion that warped rotors are par for the
course.  So often it shows it's just a matter of time before the metallurgy
in the rotors is altered by constantly heating up and cooling down, just
from driving and then sitting, as well as driving them hot thru cooler rain
and water in the streets.  I've watched my own driving thru strict glasses;
watched those from older generations who do very little taking off fast or
stopping quickly; watched those driving mostly longer distances and compared
them to those who drive mostly stop-and-go.  The only difference I've really
determined is that with some, it merely takes a little longer.
   I'm sure we can hurry the process by not torquing the lugs properly;
riding the brake pedal & creating undue heat; using cheaper brake pads;
using rotors 'made in China'; and not keeping even and proper pressure in
our tires.  But again, sooner or later, it's gonna happen.  Some people even
may not notice it as much as others, or they would speak more of it than
meets our eye.
   I like disc brakes.  They are much more effective than drum brakes,
hence safer too.  They seem to fade much less than drums.  I've seen them so
hot that were they drums, they would've quit stopping long, long before.
But we still have some questions that need answers.  Until then, I'm gonna
continue enjoying their superior personalities and just overlook their
lesser characteristics.
   Whoever finds the ultimate solution deserves a Nobel Prize!  And if that
turns out to be you, please remember that you once kinda knew me--I'll
surely be bragging that WE used to discuss these issues;)   s

I bought it in 99 from the dealer. It is the SE, and does NOT have ABS.

(Long replies below)

Thanks everyone for the replies. I took it to a shop today. The owner
and I took it out for a drive on the highway to test it out. We feel
the shake in the steering wheel and the brake at 50+ mph speed (but I
guess it is not too severe after talking with the owner).

The brake pads themselves are pretty new and have lots of life left,
and he visually inspected the rotors and said the left front and rear
have some heat marks, the right side seems better. But in general the
rotors themselves looks to be in reasonable condition.

I discussed with him briefly the options and what he recommends, and
asked him if this can wait till the next maintenance. He said they
generally replace the rotor and the break pads at the same time, and
they match the pads and the rotor (so one is not significantly harder
than the other?). I get the impression that he doesn't think this is
very severe, and since the pads have a long way to go, I could drive
with this a bit more until the pads ware down a bit, and replace both
the front rotor and pads if this gets too annoying or I feel I don't
have good breaking power anymore...

The place is fairly reputable and my impression with the owner is
fairly positive. Didn't try to convince me that it's a big problem and
I need to replace it now, which I might have, so I left without paying
anything. The place is in pretty upscale neighborhood where I work, so
I got the feeling they are not that interested in resurface the
existing rotor to fix it, which he said he doesn't feel the labor
money is worth it.

My personal take on this is, when I replaced my break pads a year ago,
I bought the pads from Kragen (their expensive ceramic pads), and just
had someone replaced it, without sanding the rotors. The new pads and
old rotors may have caused this warping effect to accelerate, and
after about a year of use it becomes apparent. Perhaps the new pads
also didn't match my rotor? (I have the original rotors and the car
have 100k on it. The OEM break pads were replaced at 80k mile).

The owner said they usually put German made rotor and Japanese made
ceramic break pads, and said replacing the front would be about $400+.

So my options are

- keep driving until the problem becomes too annoying, and replace the
 whole front set.

- find another shop that will re-surface the front rotor? Is it worth
 spending the money on a rotor that already have 100k mile on it?

- find a shop that will try to find the cause of the wrapped rotor? I
 am guessing that since there's not a lot of money being made here,
 many shops won't go this route. Anyone have recommendations for San
 Jose, CA area?

Thanks!

Raymond