Dealer gives bad advice!

woolston · 17th January 2003, 21:47

I needed a tire replaced so I called the delearship and asked if they could do the work. The dealer said no and then advised me to go to Wheel Works. I followed their advice and boy am I sorry! I've got no less than 4 tool marks on the very outer rim of the wheel. I called the delearship and "ripped them a new one" and Wheel Works has agreed to repair the damage, but after reading several threads on wheel repair/refinishing I am not so certain that I'll be happy with the results. Any way, Wheel Works referred me to a company called Wheel Techniques. I met with their service representative. After viewing the damage the guy said that he could do the job for about $200. I told him that I dont' care about the cost since I am not paying for the repair . . . I care only about the results. He told me not to worry about it. Since my confidence was not boosted with such a flippant response, I told him that the M5 rims have a reputation for being hard to re-paint and I asked him if he knew this. He said "yah, I've done lots of them" Now, I'm really starting to get worried. I drive daily and I can go an entire month and not see another M5. Is this guy BSing me? Has anyone else in the SF bay area had Wheel Techniques repair their wheels? . . . happy with the results? Any advice would be appreciated!

jmott · 17th January 2003, 22:08

as a practical matter

if you go to places that tend to spend all day doing work on escorts that couldnt care less if their wheels are scratched a little, and it bugs you a lot, offer them a nice tip ahead of time to pay special attention to your baby.

that, or do the work yourself (unfortunately impossible for tire changes usually)

Need4Spd · 17th January 2003, 23:10

Next time try this. Buy your tires at the TireRack and have them drop shipped to your BMW dealer and have the dealer mount and balance them, and then do the alignment. They see tons more BMWs of all kinds including M5s all year round and are more likely to be careful and more knowledgeable about how to avoid damage. They're also more likely to do the alignment right for the same reason. There's no such thing as risk-free tire mounting, but this is probably as close as you can get. And if they mess up, they're more likely to want to make things right than the tire shop, and are in a position to get you new wheels if need be.

MileHiM5 · 18th January 2003, 00:00

Need4Speed absolutely has the best advice. Ship the tires right to your dealer, and the worry factor goes down dramatically!

robsbluem5 · 18th January 2003, 00:20

Timely advice for me. I'm just in the process of ordering tires from Tirerack.com and I was wondering about where to get them mounted.

Thanks guys.

Johnny D · 18th January 2003, 00:45

Just had this happen to me. I took what I thought was every precaution and they ended up with a tool mark. Well, after explaining that they can't be refinished, they agreed to replace the wheel. It was American Tire Co. I think it was just a mistake on their part. they do plenty of low profile tires on nice wheels.

The BMW dealer sends them out anyway and their price was almost double or I would have went there.

alpina b3 · 18th January 2003, 00:48

woolston,

sorry to hear about that! to be completely honest, the original finish cant be duplicated. i read an article a while back that said there were only several places in the world that are able to produce that specific finish. if i were you i would tell wheel works that you want a new wheel, but since you are at this point already, i would just do the next best thing by making it very very clear that if the finish isnt EXACTLY like that from the factory you will be charging them for a new m5 rim. once again, sorry to hear about all the trouble your going through!

Ernie

P.S. if Wheel Works starts getting squirrelly with you, call a lawyer. although it sounds like a pain, i guarantee you that you will save yourself tons of trouble by doing this. good luck!

Philip · 18th January 2003, 00:52

Wolston,

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I cannot bear the trama when you mention the name wheel Works (oh no I said it).

I bent a rim about 10 months ago and looked into where to have it fixed in the Bay Area. Two places were recommended:

http://www.wheeltechniques.com/
Wheels America 888 434-9746

You know the first. Wheels America came hightly recommended by a BMW driving instructor for what it's worth.

Your probably be happy with the repainted wheel. But will it match the other 3 rims? And the paint on it wear at the same rate? Are these 4 marks that bad? I would have it repainted, and use it as a spare if you don't like it.

Philip

Mike0804 · 18th January 2003, 00:55

Quote:

Originally posted by robsbluem5
Timely advice for me. I'm just in the process of ordering tires from Tirerack.com and I was wondering about where to get them mounted.

Thanks guys.

Rob,
Got any pics of that '64 Jag? Sounds interesting!

beetlem5 · 18th January 2003, 01:37

Hi There.

While I haven't had any work done on my M5 wheels, I have had wheel techniques repair other wheels for me on occassion. The work has always come out perfect. Everyone that I've talked to acknowledges that Wheel Techniques is one of the best in the industry. Hope it works out for you.

-bailey