Installer scratched up ALL 4 of my 666M wheel while taking it off!

[dawei213]

I took my car into the recommend tirerack installer near me to get my VFF103 + Alpina PA4 installed. When the installer removed my 666Ms, he not only scratched one, but ALL 4 of my wheels. And it's just not small scratches....take a look at the two rears!




The two fronts have some horizontal scratches (no pictures) but all four have been marred.

The front of one of the rears has this:


The shop offer to get all 4 reconditioned but I'm very hesitant due to color matching, especially with the one with the front scratch. I know what most would want and what I would want (full replacement) but just wanting to see how easy would it be to color match the black and concerns with integrity of the new paint?

It's the one with the front damage that I feel no one will be able to color match. I've read through a few threads and with wheel repairs and saw people have issues.

Thanks!

[chetman7]

Bummer. I've never seen that before


To answer your questions. I would have them all refinished on the face side

The dark clear they use from the factory is hard to replicate as BMW shifted production to a different factory so even if you buy OEM, there is a slight chance the dark clear may be slightly different between lots. Best bet is to have them all refinished so they all will match

[knightarmor]

Wow that looks lousy. I know it's just the machine holding marks but they could have taken more care so that wouldn't happen. I wouldn't use those guys again.

[dawei213]

so you guys wont have concerns with refinishing of the wheels? I've never had wheels refinished so I don't know how well the paint holds up. the wheels has just 1.2k miles so they're pretty much new. It sucks to have something so preventable like this to happen. it looks like the installer dragged the wheel across the top of the rotor heat shield.

[LOW4LYF]

Hmmmm... I would those amateurs not even let check my tire pressure anymore to be honest.

You can damage one wheel, I get it... But not all four.
Get the wheels fixed, choose your own facility and bill them.

[instarand]

Originally Posted by dawei213

I took my car into the recommend tirerack installer near me to get my VFF103 + Alpina PA4 installed. When the installer removed my 666Ms, he not only scratched one, but ALL 4 of my wheels. And it's just not small scratches....take a look at the two rears!




The two fronts have some horizontal scratches (no pictures) but all four have been marred.

The front of one of the rears has this:


The shop offer to get all 4 reconditioned but I'm very hesitant due to color matching, especially with the one with the front scratch. I know what most would want and what I would want (full replacement) but just wanting to see how easy would it be to color match the black and concerns with integrity of the new paint?

It's the one with the front damage that I feel no one will be able to color match. I've read through a few threads and with wheel repairs and saw people have issues.

Thanks!

I realize this reply isn't answering your question... and I'm sorry that happened. Really stinks.

Personally, I would only bring wheels like the 666's and tires that are very low profile only to a dealer or an independent specialist that works on exotic cars. I located a Ferrari specialist near me and he does super expensive wheels all the time. They know how to be very careful.

The tirerack recommended installers are generic places usually that pump out wheel changes like a factory. And for average wheels and tires they do a good job. But working on expensive sports car wheels with super low profile tires is a very different thing vs your average Camry that you can bring anywhere worry free.

Good luck with getting resolution here.

[NYBulldog]

Wow that's some bullshit.

[dawei213]

Originally Posted by chetman7

Bummer. I've never seen that before


To answer your questions. I would have them all refinished on the face side

The dark clear they use from the factory is hard to replicate as BMW shifted production to a different factory so even if you buy OEM, there is a slight chance the dark clear may be slightly different between lots. Best bet is to have them all refinished so they all will match

That's a good point of the factory dark clear. At this point, I may not want them to do anything. Yes the scratch is there but the potential to screw up the rest of the front on all 4's is high while refinishing them is high.

Originally Posted by LOW4LYF

Hmmmm... I would those amateurs not even let check my tire pressure anymore to be honest.

You can damage one wheel, I get it... But not all four.
Get the wheels fixed, choose your own facility and bill them.

That's a good idea! I'll find a reputable shop around and then send them the bill. I'll want to know how the shop intent to perform the repair before it's done.

Originally Posted by instarand

I realize this reply isn't answering your question... and I'm sorry that happened. Really stinks.

Personally, I would only bring wheels like the 666's and tires that are very low profile only to a dealer or an independent specialist that works on exotic cars. I located a Ferrari specialist near me and he does super expensive wheels all the time. They know how to be very careful.

The tirerack recommended installers are generic places usually that pump out wheel changes like a factory. And for average wheels and tires they do a good job. But working on expensive sports car wheels with super low profile tires is a very different thing vs your average Camry that you can bring anywhere worry free.

Good luck with getting resolution here.

I've seen this shop before. It's pretty big and they always have performance cars coming in and out, though mostly American, Challengers/Mustangs/Cameros/etc, so I figure they must know what they're doing.

[FirstF80InSpace]

Wow, I don't even think twice about scratching the interior of the wheel when I change my wheels myself during seasonal changeovers. I should be more careful with future wheel swaps. Those scratches are horrible.

[dawei213]

Originally Posted by FirstF80InSpace

Wow, I don't even think twice about scratching the interior of the wheel when I change my wheels myself during seasonal changeovers. I should be more careful with future wheel swaps. Those scratches are horrible.

It's probably because you use a wheel hanger right? So ideally you wouldn't or scratch up the inner barrel like this. I used a wheel hanger on my old Audi and never had an issue with installing or removing wheels.

[Poiseuille]

Originally Posted by dawei213

so you guys wont have concerns with refinishing of the wheels? I've never had wheels refinished so I don't know how well the paint holds up. the wheels has just 1.2k miles so they're pretty much new. It sucks to have something so preventable like this to happen. it looks like the installer dragged the wheel across the top of the rotor heat shield.

Just thought I'd respond to this because that post reads like you're thinking of having these wheels painted. Regardless of who's paying, paint is a bad idea due to the harsh chemical/temperature environment these wheels live in, not to mention how often we clean them.
Media blast followed by powder coat is the only way to go, plus there's a whole rainbow of colors and finishes to choose from.
Cost will be about +/- $500 depending on where you live. Just explain to whatever cannibal did this to your wheels that it's $500 for powder coat or $5000 for new wheels.

These wheels used to be black==>

[gunsmoker]

Been there myself years ago. I never go to independent tire shops for new tire installation. Always go to the dealership. I buy tires off tirerack and have them shipped to my house. Last time I brought tires to the dealership, they said they could match the price so next time I'll talk to them before buying the tires.

[Poiseuille]

I've been buying tires from tire-rack for two decades, and I will buy from them in the future. However, I learned early on that tire-rack installer "recommendations" are worth exactly zero. On two different cars, a couple years apart, two different "recommended" installers scratched up two sets of wheels. Not as bad as yours for sure, and in those days my wheels weren't new like yours, but bad enough to ruin my day each time.
So for the last several sets I've done my own research, found competent installers with all Hunter equipment and have had no problems since.

[darkbluemn]

How much you paid for installing? If you paid something less than $120 (or anything lower than 1 hour labor of luxury performance shop rate of your local), scratches are expected. The dealership will absolutely scratch your wheel that's proven from lots of people.

My suggestion is just let it go, it's not big deal, scratching your wheel is ok. If you go to shop a lot and doing performance upgrade, you will see more serious problems the shop will do to your car. Shop is shop, they earn money nothing more than that, if you want perfection, do everything yourself (well you will also damage something by accident or improper use of tools).

If you want your wheel in perfect condition, find a luxury performance shop, pay $200 for installation. Additionally refinish your wheel every 2 years, and ceramic coat them.

[PshhhhhMW]

This is one of my worst fears. A few years ago on my Audi, I was lucky that when I brought my BBS wheels to the tire shops here in Los Angeles, they were honest enough to tell me they didn't have the proper equipment to guarantee that they wouldn't damage the wheel. I'm sorry it happened to you OP. Hope they dont give you any trouble repairing them.

[dawei213]

Originally Posted by Poiseuille

Just thought I'd respond to this because that post reads like you're thinking of having these wheels painted. Regardless of who's paying, paint is a bad idea due to the harsh chemical/temperature environment these wheels live in, not to mention how often we clean them.
Media blast followed by powder coat is the only way to go, plus there's a whole rainbow of colors and finishes to choose from.
Cost will be about +/- $500 depending on where you live. Just explain to whatever cannibal did this to your wheels that it's $500 for powder coat or $5000 for new wheels.

These wheels used to be black==>

That's for that advice! I didn't think about differentiating between painting and powder coating. I'll be sure to ask the right questions to the shop that'll be doing the repairs or look for an another shop and bill them.

Originally Posted by darkbluemn

How much you paid for installing? If you paid something less than $120 (or anything lower than 1 hour labor of luxury performance shop rate of your local), scratches are expected. The dealership will absolutely scratch your wheel that's proven from lots of people.

My suggestion is just let it go, it's not big deal, scratching your wheel is ok. If you go to shop a lot and doing performance upgrade, you will see more serious problems the shop will do to your car. Shop is shop, they earn money nothing more than that, if you want perfection, do everything yourself (well you will also damage something by accident or improper use of tools).

If you want your wheel in perfect condition, find a luxury performance shop, pay $200 for installation. Additionally refinish your wheel every 2 years, and ceramic coat them.

Funny thing was the first wheel I checked out, one of the front one, there is a line scratch that was about half an inch long. It's close to the back of the barrel. At first I just chaulked it up to "shit happens" sometimes. Then when I saw how screwed up the two rears were, I was not a happy man. No, I am not going to let it go. When you pay for something, you should expect a certain level of service and that includes not damaging your property while servicing it. And I ceramic coated all 4 wheels the weekend after I drove it back up from my PCD. Took it off and put it back on with no issues.

I do all the seasonal tire changes/rotations myself but I obviously can't mount and balance a tire/wheel set.

Originally Posted by PshhhhhMW

This is one of my worst fears. A few years ago on my Audi, I was lucky that when I brought my BBS wheels to the tire shops here in Los Angeles, they were honest enough to tell me they didn't have the proper equipment to guarantee that they wouldn't damage the wheel. I'm sorry it happened to you OP. Hope they dont give you any trouble repairing them.

Thanks. I will give them an opportunity to rectify the situation. I just wish there was no issue so I can just store my wheels for the winter.

[FirstF80InSpace]

Originally Posted by dawei213

It's probably because you use a wheel hanger right? So ideally you wouldn't or scratch up the inner barrel like this. I used a wheel hanger on my old Audi and never had an issue with installing or removing wheels.

Nope, no hanger at all. Just brute strength and a few cuss words while lining up the bolt holes.

[yayaya]

Had some pretty bad paint damage to one of my 666m wheels 6" nail right through tread of tire into wheel spoke. I just used the body shop my detailer recommended, did no research, took a while for them to repair but I've already forgotten which side the repaired wheel was on, I think a refinish for you will turn out fine.

[M4_GTS]

Originally Posted by Poiseuille

Just thought I'd respond to this because that post reads like you're thinking of having these wheels painted. Regardless of who's paying, paint is a bad idea due to the harsh chemical/temperature environment these wheels live in, not to mention how often we clean them.
Media blast followed by powder coat is the only way to go, plus there's a whole rainbow of colors and finishes to choose from.
Cost will be about +/- $500 depending on where you live. Just explain to whatever cannibal did this to your wheels that it's $500 for powder coat or $5000 for new wheels.

These wheels used to be black==>

BMW wheels are not powder coated, they are painted. You can find the paint code for the wheels online.

[Poiseuille]

Originally Posted by M4_GTS

BMW wheels are not powder coated, they are painted. You can find the paint code for the wheels online.

I didn't say they weren't painted from the factory, my post was directed at what sounded like OP's intention to REFINISH his wheels with paint. I stand by my suggestion that powder coat is more durable than a repaint. But, everyone makes their own choices.

[dawei213]

M4_GTS Poiseuille Appreciate your inputs. I guess when it comes painted from the factory the process is probably more durable than a repaint. The place where it's getting it repaired will powder coat it. In the end, if they can make it looks just as good and durable as OEM, that's all that matters.

[Arick]

Either a newbie or some careless work......tsk tsk!