Scuffed alloys

[marklcfc]

How bad is it to not repair them?

I am having 4 new tyres next week as I have a puncture and the other 3 are not in good condition and there's an offer on to get 4. but it bothers me a bit the alloys are a bit damaged. I've attached the worst one, the others are not as bad as this. But the price to fix them is alot, £70 per wheel minimum seems to be the rate and that price I may as well wait and get a better looking set sometime.

Will add a lot to the cost of having new tyres which I'm not that comfortable with at the moment.

 

[SRGTD]

£70 sounds about right for a refurb in a painted / powder coated finish (you’re probably looking at prices that range from £70 - £100 plus VAT). If it was me, I’d get them done as my car OCD couldn’t live with the scuffs - that’s all I’d see every time I was anywhere near the car! .

I recently had the misfortune to scuff one of my wheels - I was forced into a kerb as I was approaching a junction and a vehicle turning into the junction cut the corner and left me nowhere to go . The first time I’ve scuffed an alloy since 1987 and only the second time in 46 years of driving (the first time back in 1987 was my fault).

The scuff damage to mine was slight so I had it SMART repaired - cost me £55 and the repair was OK - not as good as a full refurb and it wouldn‘t be noticeable by anyone else and I can only see it if I inspect the wheel really carefully.

 

[BigJase88]

Depends where you go. Local place to me had an offer on £50 a wheel last summer. It is now £69 a wheel though. Powdercoated

 

[MDBB152]

Depends where you are - had one of my diamond cut ones down last year and they did a cracking job, they also do powder coating as well. Mcmillan Alloys near Hinckley did them

 

[marklcfc]

Depends where you are - had one of my diamond cut ones down last year and they did a cracking job, they also do powder coating as well. Mcmillan Alloys near Hinckley did them

That's where I'm from, I spoke to them earlier but was quoted around £280 to fix them all. For that price I may as well just buy new ones where I actually like the design for that price and sell these

 

[MDBB152]

That's where I'm from, I spoke to them earlier but was quoted around £280 to fix them all. For that price I may as well just buy new ones where I actually like the design for that price and sell these

If you don’t like the wheels on the car it’d be pointless refurbishing them - be worth keeping an eye on eBay, Facebook etc. just be aware of the lowlife scrotes who seem to lurk on Facebook marketplace

 

[marklcfc]

If you don’t like the wheels on the car it’d be pointless refurbishing them - be worth keeping an eye on eBay, Facebook etc. just be aware of the lowlife scrotes who seem to lurk on Facebook marketplace

I don't do facebook marketplace. What alloys are good for this car? I was looking at the Autec Ionik but not sure I can fork out all that money for them. Need to sort the tyres out and see where I'm at later in the year probably.

 

[MDBB152]

I don't do facebook marketplace. What alloys are good for this car? I was looking at the Autec Ionik but not sure I can fork out all that money for them. Need to sort the tyres out and see where I'm at later in the year probably.

We’ve all got different taste fella - I’ve still got the standard 19” Cupra alloys on as I like them but others have swapped them for 18’s. State of the roads at the minute seem to spend most of the time wincing as you crash into pothole after pothole

 

[BigJase88]

Why not change the colour so you feel you are actually getting something for your money.

Nice gunmetal / anthracite colour

 

[Alex667]

If you don’t like the wheels on the car it’d be pointless refurbishing them - be worth keeping an eye on eBay, Facebook etc. just be aware of the lowlife scrotes who seem to lurk on Facebook marketplace

Keep em for winter with a set of M+S tyres on for when the weather is crap and there’s salt everywhere.

 

[marklcfc]

Why not change the colour so you feel you are actually getting something for your money.

Nice gunmetal / anthracite colour

That’s what I was thinking of doing, still the price bothered me mostly as I’m having to sort tyres at the same time

 

[marklcfc]

Is it best to sort them before having new tyres or are tyres ok being removed later down the line?

I’ve got a puncture so not got much choice

 

[LeylandVCDS]

I've just had my Toledo alloys refurbed, £70 per wheel. Kept them OEM silver, want to keep car as original as possible - 14 plate with only 8k miles on clock, so needs to stay as factory. Superb job done.

If you can get them done before the new tyres, it would be better. Why risk damaging the new finish swapping tyres?

 

[Glosphil]

Decent new wheels will cost at least twice as much as refurbishing your existing wheels. Even at that price the new wheels will almost certainly be less strong than your current wheels.

 

[SRGTD]

Decent new wheels will cost at least twice as much as refurbishing your existing wheels. Even at that price the new wheels will almost certainly be less strong than your current wheels.

Agree. IMHO it’s usually false economy to buy cheap alloys - as the saying goes, buy cheap, buy twice. Many cheap alloys are likely to be poorer quality both structurally and finish-wise. Therefore, they may be more prone to cracking and buckling if hitting hazards such as potholes and raised drain covers, and if they’re diamond cut, they may succumb to the early onset of white worm corrosion.

With my aftermarket alloys, from memory they cost around £500 in 2020 (18” RC Design RC32, manufactured in Europe by Brock - a German company. Website; www.brock.de). I did quite a lot of research before I bought them as they were not as expensive as alloys I’d bought previously. They are ECE approved / TUV certified and have a five year warranty (not sure what the warranty covers though ) and they use the existing VW OEM wheel bolts. Centre bore is the ‘standard’ size (57.1) for many VAG models so no spigot rings required. Weight-wise, they weigh 10kg each which from memory is a little lighter than the OEM 18 alloys that were on the car when new. In the 27 months they‘ve been on my car, I’ve hit a few ‘hidden’ water filled potholes that just looked like puddles and they‘ve survived without any damage.

IMHO, the main downsides of aftermarket alloys are;

• most are only sold as sets of four, so if one of them sustains damage that renders it unrepairable, it’s necessary to replace all four.
• when the time comes to sell a car with aftermarket alloys, some would-be buyers are put off by the absence of the OEM alloys. For that reason, my OEM alloys are in storage and will go back on the car when I do sell it in a few years time.

 

[marklcfc]

I'll probably just keep these then, the cars almost done 60,000 miles now, and I've had issues in the last year which have took my spending upto £2,500 with these 4 new tyres. (paintwork was peeling off due to a bad job before I bought the car, before that the electrical system broke when my battery died (cost £1,200 to fix), both following the headlight needing to be replaced)

I don't want to spend more when I don't have to after all of this

 

[marklcfc]

Decided to have them repainted before getting the new tyres got done for £250

 

[BigJase88]

Good call. Very nice

 

[SRGTD]

Decided to have them repainted before getting the new tyres got done for £250

Great colour choice!

 

[oldglosracer]

Those look good. Remember to get some protection on them, such as a wheel sealant or wheel wax, stops the brake dust staining them.