When a Mechanic Scratches your 20' rims
 

I'm in the poo.... I just took the GF's wheel that had a small puncture (small screw) to get repaired.

I stood and watched as the mechanic removed the tire, made the patch, he was friendly and explained each step.
Then he lubed up the tire and started re-fitting it.
When it came time to fit the last bead over the rim, it uses the "bulls head" on the tire changing machine.
I was looking at how close the head is to the finished surface of the rim (thinking dam its close)
Then as it tried to pull the tire over, it gouged into the rim... i almost yelled to stop... but held my tongue, as i'm not expert and didn't want to seem like a painful customer.
When finished it had gouged the rim in 3 places.

http://i60.tinypic.com/1zlumwx.jpg

This being the worst, its actually dug into the rim like a lathe!
He offered to buy a new rim. I do feel sorry for him... But i think he should have taken more care or at least understood the limitations of his machine.

Anyone know where i can get a V-spoke -
style 168 20" front rim?

Let him buy the new wheel, or at least have it refinished


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Yeah I would ask for him to have it refinished, will be cheapest outcome for him and get you back to good. Seriously though, if he was any good at his job that would not have happened. Where are you located? If in melbourne I can tell you who to go see for a repair quote.

Yes in Melb Smokey

Nice one.

I have used a few wheel places over the years.

Wheel Worx - good guy, good prices, highly disorganized - had four buckled rims re-rolled and they turned out great - but, seriously took 4 weeks; every time I called to get a status update they had no idea what I was talking about and we'd go through this whole dog n pony show.

Neway Wheels - they do a lot of work on older wheels (like wire wheels) and OEM wheels. Not really interested in aftermarket stuff. I needed one off 3 piece SSR rims repolished (had a bad experience with some acid based wheel cleaner :-(), and the bloke on the phone acted like I was asking to take a sh1t in his hat. I couldn't understand how someone could stay in business but at the same time actively be so disinterested in doing business.

Wheel Solutions Richmond - these guys are fantastic. Took the same SSR wheel as mentioned above down to them. Without going into detail, they went above and beyond to help me. They do all sorts of wheels from rebuilding expensive 3 piece motorsport wheels to repairing OEMs. They do all the European dealerships around Melbourne so will be able to closely colour match your BMW wheels. Price was more than acceptable. Customer service was second to none. Speak to Matt (owner).


Feel free to give any of them a call for a quote. They're pretty much the main wheel repairers in Melbourne. Location might also be a factor for you as they're all pretty much spread out as far across the city as possible. Your main concern will be getting a good colour match. If you were a very picky person, most places would recommend getting both wheels on one side resprayed to ensure good visual match......but I dunno how OCD you are.

Hope that helps.

Mat

Wheels Solutions is actually a friend of a friend, plus i used to watch him race in the Porchse GT3's "Matt Coleman"
I had already shot him an email.
But thank you for giving me a comparison, as i haven't used any of them before.

Another friend suggested this guy http://www.wheelfixit.com.au/
But it was just from a Google search, he had never used him before.
He had quoted me $275 for the one wheel, but after reading his process and the mobile van thing, i'm really not that sure.

THanks again for the detailed comparison, i will try and get the wheel into Matt at Wheel Solutions.

Well then you're in good hands, I wouldn't go anywhere else based on my experience with them. Let us know how you go when you get a result.

I will post Before and After pics, thanks for the good idea.... and for the heads up.

Wow.... Wheel Solutions is amazing!
We turned up 40 minutes ago.
Greeted with Porchse GTS and Lamborghini up on wheel stands.
Plus more of the same in the car park! Would have been over 1.5millon in cars park waiting.

Andy took care of me as Matt was out.
Fast, professional and very organised!
Wheel will be ready tomorrow.
And... its $100 cheaper then some mobile wheel guy that gave me a quote.

Could not be happier!

Awesome result. Will be good to see how they go with the colour match