Flipsonic

Ok all you wheel experts, I have one for you. Lexus of Pleasanton put an ugly curb rash about 2 inch long on the lip of my aftermarket wheel. The lip is polished. The service manager said he would take care of it. He said he has a guy than can fix it on the spot.

Question - Can someone really fix it on the spot? How would this be done?

I don't want to come pick it up and it doesn't look right. I want it to look exactly the way it did when I dropped it off.

Thanks,
Ben

rominl

iTrader: (4)

ben, what wheels do you have? are you sure they are polished like those on hre or iforged wheels (shiny)? or are they like those on the jdm wheels? and if it's polished (shiny), any clear coat?

if it's shiny polished surface with NO clear coat, then yes they can just "buff" and polish it out

however if clear coat, nop, they have to strip ALL clear coat, fix the rash, and then clear coat again

if it's jdm wheels, then more than likely they need to get a new wheel, coz' most jdm wheels have anodized lips, can't be fixed

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

Ben,
this is not the first incident of a dealer curbing rims. Another reason why many trust Exact Motorsports to do service and maintenance on their new cars. So much for the shameless plug.

If the curb is small and not too deep, yes it can be repaired on the spot. One of these days I will be posting a DIY on curb rash repair.

I would caution that this is not a slam dunkfix. I don't know if your rim is clear coated. If it is then it CANNOT be repaired on the spot. You should take a picture of the damage before it is done. Any issues with the workmanship of the repair can be addressed, in case you are not happy with the work.

In case they can't do the repair, there are also a couple of shops in the area that professionally do repair, clear coated or not. Rite-Way and Wheel Techniques. You can do a search for these keywords in NorCal section to read comments about them.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

Flipsonic

The wheel is called Lexion by Ray's Engineering. I guess they are anodized. Oh man! If they can't fix it and would have to get a new one, that would suck. This model has been discontinued. The scratches are deep and cannot be buffed out. If they can't fix it, they would have to make it up some other way. What gets me is I have been careful all this time, and it's someone else who damages it. Unfortunately I couldn't go to Exact on this one since the work was dealer warranty. I'm calling them right now since I dropped it off yesterday.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

can you show a close up pic of the lip and possibly the rash? i can probably give you more idea.

if they can't get ONE replacement for you, they pay for the whole set

Flipsonic

Unfortunately I don't have a pic. I will try to take one if they haven't started on it yet. I did some research and it looks that this wheel has a forged barrel/lips and they are high-polished. I didn't see anything about clear coat. What do you guys think?

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

There have been very few wheels that Wheel tech could not repair. In your case if you really love the rims and they are not replaceable, then Wheel tech is your best bet.

We really need to see the rim and the approx. location of the damage to make a better assessment though.

As far as the clear coat, as I said earlier, if they can fix it then it must not have clear coat, or it BETTER NOT have clear coat.

lightwave76

iTrader: (12)

Ben,

I'll check out your rim today if possible. There is a place in Walnut Creek called Rite Way and they did a great job on my rims. In and out the same day.

Flipsonic

Guys thanks for the responses. I have verified my wheel can be fixed by a shop. I just wanted to make sure the dealer doesn't just buff it out and hope I don't notice the difference. It will take more than just buffing it. Anyway I'll make sure they remove the tire and have it done right.

Flipsonic

Just to update you guys, I picked up my car from the dealership yesterday. When they called me that my car is ready, the SA told me the wheel looks perfect again. So I took a close look and it looks that they just grinded the lip down to hide the damage. The lip ended up being rounded when the other wheels are not. The outer lips are supposed to be straight and goes on an angle to the hub (slightly rounded). Basically, this one does not look like the others. No one will be able to tell unless I point it out. But still, I know it's there and it bugs the crap out of me. The lip of the wheel isn't even that shiny anymore compared to the rest. The service manager is willing to do anything to resolve this. These wheels have been discountinued and we cannot find a replacement. I like these wheels and don't really want different ones unless I have no other choice.

I guess I will have to pay Wheel Techniques a visit to see what they can do. Chris G., that place in Walnut Creek couldn't help me.

morris

iTrader: (2)

Go to wheel techniques if they can fix it then give the dealership the bill. Let them know up front what your plan is.

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

Wow Morris, fancy seeing you here in NorCal section !

Ben,

Are you saying they rounded off that portion, but is the rest of the lip rounded now too?

Wheel tech can return the wheel lip to the appropriate shape as well as polish it back up to the original shine, but if the whole lip is now rounded that makes it a heck of a lot harder. Who the heck did the work for the dealer? I think you have a right to know.

I can tell you wheel tech could of filled in the curbed area with aluminum and maintained the original lip shape. Whoever did the work for the dealer apparently does not have the capability that wheel tech has. Also I think it rather irresponsible for them to round off the lip without telling you in advance before it was done.

I can just hear them now saying :There's no way to remove the curb damage without rounding off the lip" WRONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Wheel Tech can round off too, but if the shape of the lip will be changed considerably, they could weld in aluminum instead.

If you decide to go to Wheel Tech, please contact me because I Need to Be There to make sure you are taken care of. The only time I ever hear a complaint about Wheel Tech is when people go there without my knowledge. I have known these guys for about 17 years now, so I always want to make sure the CL members get taken care of. 99% I don't need to oversee them, but I'd just rather be there.

Last thing, DO NOT TRUST the dealer with aftermarket rims, If you can't go to Exact, then atleast put back your stock rims.

I won't even go into stories of the dealer damaging body kits or scratching BBK calipers when installing wheels. I'm sorry, but I have very little faith with dealers. They can't reliably control and manage every employee that moves customer cars around when work is being performed.

morris

iTrader: (2)

I get around

Flipsonic

Glen,

Thanks, I may take you up on that offer when I decide on a day to trek from San Ramon to Santa Clara.

Basically, the outer lip (closet part to the tire) is now rounded and not as shiny. It's hard to tell from the pic below (pic is before the damage occured), but the part of the lip closest to the tire is flat (about .25" wide) around the rim then slightly angle to the hub. That angle to the hub is still there but the outer lip is now rounded.



You're right, they should have checked with me first before altering the look. Had I known they were doing it this way, I would have stopped them. The problem is, the dealer deals with 7 different wheel companies and just hired the one that can do it the quickest.

I went to Rite Way in Walnut Creek to see if they can fix the lip to look like the others. The guy said that is the only way it could have been fixed and he cannot make it look like the rest. He was probably the guy the dealer hired.

Yes, my mistake was to trust the dealer with my wheel. I guess I just wanted the people who caused the damage to take care of the problem. This is the first time I've had to deal with this and learned a good lesson.

So my question is - Now that the outer lip has been rounded off, can Wheel Techniques flatten it to make it look right? If that's not possible, I wouldn't even go to SC and just pursue this with the dealer in another way.


Ben

RMMGS4

iTrader: (5)

I have a 2 hour meeting coming up in 1 minute so I'll be short. Given the location, It's not where I thought and atleast the area is not that noticable as where I thought it was located.

As far as polishing the wheel back up to the level of the other rims, I think they should be able to take care of that for you.

I can understand the excuse on rounding the lip, but polishing is just a matter of workmanship standards and asking them to bring the wheel back to original condition.

Let me know how that goes.