I have on order a set of Lexus chrome wheels for my white Ultra Luxury ES350. I paid for them with the deal we reached when we drove the car off the lot. The chrome wheels still have not arrived. NOW my wife is saying she's grown accustomed to the wheels that came with the UL package and says she doesn't want the chrome. I'm really torn about this.

I've approached my salesman to see if the dealer would agree to "trade" the value of the wheels for an extended warranty package AND a pre-paid maintenance package they were trying to sell me which covers all oil changes and maintenance for the first 50,000 miles.

The dealer hasn't got back to me yet with an answer on if they'd be willing to do that. If they refused the deal and insist we take the wheels (which won't be bad), I plan to get the car tinted. I think that'd look awesome. BUT..it's really my wife's car and she prefers to keep the wheels that came with the car.

Any thoughts/opinions from my forum friends?

I've seen only one picture posted with chrome on the 350 and you really couldn't tell how they looked. If anyone has some good clear pictures they can post of their chrome wheels, it'd be greatly appreciated. Also, for those that do have chrome, what price did you have to pay? I've heard anywhere from as little as $1200 for a set of four.....all the way up to $2900. It appears Lexus dealers have no consistency in pricing such things!

 

You have a couple of options:

(1) Keep both sets of wheels. Use a winter-tire set for road trips to areas with inclement weather.

(2) Sell one set of wheels in the local ads or on eBay.


By the way, which chrome wheels did you get? Were they the UL wheels chromed? You can actually do a chrome wheel exchange: buy the chromed versions of the stock wheel, have them shipped, trade your alloy stock wheels, send those back. There are some companies online that do this. It costs about $700 to have this exchange done.

 

You know, I'm embarrassed to say but I ordered them sight unseen. I do not believe they are the UL wheels in chrome. I'd actually kinda like that (if they were) as my wife and I both win! But no, I believe they are the stock wheels in chrome...or nearly like them. I was traveling in Palm Springs recently and stopped by the Desert Lexus there. They had one '07 ES350 with chrome and they looked more like the stock wheels to me. They quoted $2900 for them, which is $1000 more than what the 2005 ES330's sold for here in KC. That's nuts.

 

If I were in your position, I'd hold off on the chrome options. Get the prepaid service if you can.

You'll realize that after a couple of months on the market, you'll see the stock and UL wheels being chromed. PM me and I will give you some websites for businesses that can do that service for you for less money. I had my stock wheels chromed and I love them: they provide a clean look without the hassles of getting aftermarket wheels and ending up looking too racy.

 

keep in mind that the chrome set will only come with a 1 year, unlimited mile warranty..

not the 4/50,000 that is covered by the car.. only options installed with the car @ the time that you pick them up is covered by the bumber to bumper..

i would definately say try to get the dealer to work something out... cause what are they going to
do with the UL wheels?? they already have miles on them..

 

cc3308,

As you know, I too have a white ES350. I actually have the UL wheels and chrome was an option but only for the 7 spoke. I opted out because I figured I would eventually swap the wheels for aftermarket ones. After doing some research on the subject I have decided that aftermarket wheels are just not worth the hassle (possible rubbing, switching out pressure sensor, etc). I think it makes better sense to just chrome the wheels that you have (plenty of shops that will do it) which will look just as nice and eliminates the hassles of aftermarket IMO.

PhilipMST,

Please PM me with the websites you are referencing.

BTW,

The dealer was offeirng the wheels at $2500 which IMO is high since you can get fairly decent aftermarket chrome wheels in tires in a plus size (19s) for around the same amount (or possibly less).

cc3308, you should definetly tint, the white looks great with dark tint. Plus the wife will appreciate the comfort tint provides during the summe months.

CG

 

Thanks (all) for the advice. I actually had not considered chroming the current wheels that came with the Ultra Lux. That would be a win/win for both the wife and me. She likes the ones that came with the car, but I really want the chrome. I'm really at the mercy of the dealer though, as the chrome wheels were included in the deal I paid for the car.

I would think they'd just as soon want to do the swap arrangement I have proposed. After all, (as you say) I have had these wheels on the ground for two weeks and have nearly 600 miles on them. The extended warranty is a dealer provided option that is really only an insurance policy. Hopefully I won't need it and they'll not be out any money. PLUS they can sell the chrome's (due me) to someone else, for probably more money.

The dealer was supposed to have gotten back to me already. I left a message yesterday and still no reply. We'll wait to see. The ball is in their court.

Also...I agree we'll want to go ahead and tint the windows.

As for the web sites, it appears others would like to see them. If you can, please post the web links for all to see.

Thanks!