Quote:
Originally Posted by Brutus07
4. Often for the price difference vs pristine wheels you can afford to replace the cheapos a few times if needed. So bad pothole luck I wouldn't worry too much over. If your area has bad roads stick to smaller wheels.
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Not necessarily. One of the problems with many (not all) "cheapos" is that they are not manufactured for long. So if you buy a set of 4 XYZ wheels in 2010, expecting to keep them for the life of the car, and then break ONE wheel in 2011, there is a good chance you will have to replace ALL FOUR wheels with a different make/model, since no individual XYZ replacements are available.
So when you are doing the math, make sure you are really saving $$$ if you have to puchase SEVEN "cheapo" wheels vs. 4 high quality.
There are aftermarket wheels that usually (not always) have long manufacturing runs - many of the BBS, Breyton and HRE's fit into this category, and I am sure there are others. But for grins, look up a year-old back issue of Roundel, Car & Driver or some other mag. Go to the Tire Rack or Discount Tires Direct ad. Then see how many of the wheels available a year ago are still in stock today. (If the ad says "closeout" it's often a bad sign).
Some folks buy 5 aftermarket wheels instead of 4 just to avoid this. (Doesn't work that well if your BMW has staggered wheels like my M3 or my soon-to-be-delivered X5D with the 19's).