Buying second hand wheels
Discussion
So I've bought some alloys unseen with winter tyres. Will be paying cash in collection.
Rather than slinging them straight in the boot, was thinking of checking them by whipping one of my wheels off when I get there and mounting each wheel in turn, giving it a quick spin to check for buckles/flat spots. Probably a 15 min task all told.
Sensible/overkill? What do you do?
Rather than slinging them straight in the boot, was thinking of checking them by whipping one of my wheels off when I get there and mounting each wheel in turn, giving it a quick spin to check for buckles/flat spots. Probably a 15 min task all told.
Sensible/overkill? What do you do?
How much are you buying them for? If it's dirt cheap then I doubt the seller will want that much faff.
Or following scenario happens: Buyer fits wheels and takes it for a spin, picks up puncture during the drive, returns to seller with puncture, buyer doesn't want to buy anymore, seller torches buyers car.
Or following scenario happens: Buyer fits wheels and takes it for a spin, picks up puncture during the drive, returns to seller with puncture, buyer doesn't want to buy anymore, seller torches buyers car.
LiamM45 said:
If you wanted to fit them to the car before buying I think I'd politely tell you to sod off!
Why?Did you read and understand my post? I'm not intending to drive on them.
Whip ONE of my wheels off and stick the used wheels on the hub one by one, spinning them by hand.
They are OEM BMW alloys which are renowned for being made of cheese, and I'm paying more than 500 for them.
Yes complete waste of everybody's time. WTF do you think this is? These are second hand wheels. I've sold a few sets over the years and no one has ever asked to do that. A quick visual check is obvious and I always let people see/check the tread if I'm selling wheels with tyres so they can see they aren't bald and there's no nails sticking out.
But fitting them in turn to check each one for buckles!! Unless they're some exotic lightweight composite wheels (in which case fair enough) I'd tell you to f
k off.
But fitting them in turn to check each one for buckles!! Unless they're some exotic lightweight composite wheels (in which case fair enough) I'd tell you to f
k off.hornetrider said:
Why?
Did you read and understand my post? I'm not intending to drive on them.
Whip ONE of my wheels off and stick the used wheels on the hub one by one, spinning them by hand.
They are OEM BMW alloys which are renowned for being made of cheese, and I'm paying more than 500 for them.
Yep I read and understood your post Did you read and understand my post? I'm not intending to drive on them.
Whip ONE of my wheels off and stick the used wheels on the hub one by one, spinning them by hand.
They are OEM BMW alloys which are renowned for being made of cheese, and I'm paying more than 500 for them.
I've bought and sold some expensive wheels in my time and never felt the need to do this. Obviously if you want to and seller is happy to spare the time to do what you want, fair enough! If the OEM BMW alloys are so poor, why not look towards something aftermarket?
Honestly though, a good visual check and psi check like another poster said will be fine. You'll be able to spot bad buckles (ones that would appear when spinning the wheel by hand) by eye.
I'd advise you not to bother, because the check you propose doesn't work for anything that isn't visible to the naked eye anyway.
I bought not one but two sets of Volvo alloys this year. Both sets looked fine on visible inspection but both had two wheels that were buckled enough to feel the shake quite badly on the road, and they showed up as buckled very clearly on the wheel balancing machine.
I didn't check the first set the way you propose, but I did try it with the second. Jacked the car up, put a stand alongside the rim with a pointer and all four wheels seemed fine.
Lesson learned, I got two wheels repaired instead of fannying about with any more used wheels.
I bought not one but two sets of Volvo alloys this year. Both sets looked fine on visible inspection but both had two wheels that were buckled enough to feel the shake quite badly on the road, and they showed up as buckled very clearly on the wheel balancing machine.
I didn't check the first set the way you propose, but I did try it with the second. Jacked the car up, put a stand alongside the rim with a pointer and all four wheels seemed fine.
Lesson learned, I got two wheels repaired instead of fannying about with any more used wheels.
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