Alloy wheel repairs

[JohnL]

I clobbered a pothole the other day, which put a healthy dent in my nice shiny 17" alloy wheel, and even with balancing the vibrations make the car almost unbdriveable. A new wheel will cost about £240, greedy b@st@rds. The tyre is OK, fortunately, according to a well known national tyre company who'd have been only too happy to flog me another tyre at £150 if they thought they could get away with it.

So does anyone have any experience of having alloys repaired? And recommendations of a good place to have it done? The only one I can find around here (central Scotland) who say they can do it is "Chipsaway" (whose local operator hasn't called me back yet), but depending on people's experiences I'd be willing to send it away if necessary.

[Mad Dave]

If its buckled, i think youll have to bin it mate

I think you can claim the cost of a new wheel from the relevant Council tho - if they knew about the pothole for more than a certain time and failed to repair it, you can claim IIRC.

[egoold]

I did exactly the same thing buckling a nice set of Millie Miglia 17" alloys on my last car. I couldn't find anyone near Glasgow or even scotland that I felt happy using. A few people recommended a company called spit and polish based in Kent www.spitandpolish.co.uk . I sent all four wheel away to be refurbished (luckly I had a spare set of steel wheels) They came back with in 5 day all boxed up looking better than new. Fantastic service and not too expensive.

[jon h]

I had very good results from a compaany called Pristine, near Milton Keynes. Not very local to you I know, but very good. Did a top job on a set of bashed & buckled 17" Azev alloys I had on a Saab at the time. Sorry, not got a contact about my person, but I think they are on the web.

Jon H

[Bonce]

If the damage is that bad you should replace the wheel. You don't want it failing on you at high speed...

[JohnL]

National tyres (who were actually pretty helpful, and didn't even charge for the balance as they didn't have time to put it on the car, I had the spare on) said that it would be safe to drive. "Almost undriveable" really means "I don't like it and want to do something about it".

I'm going to try to get East Lothian Council to pay (they're sending out a claim form so it's obviously not impossible) but I'm not holding my breath.

I'll look into those two companies, thnaks.

[egoold]

There is an article in this weeks or last weeks autoexpress on how to make claims against the council and I am actually featured in it. Its very useful if you can't get a copy I will photocopy it and could fax it to you.

[bigtone]

Pristine Alloy Wheel Refurbishers Ltd
Newport Road
Woburn Sands
Milton Keynes
MK17 8UD
Tel: [phone]

Thoroughly recommended - did a top job on the wolfrace wheels on the M, and quick turnaround too! Used to have a website, but it doesn't seem to exist any more. They have agents throughout the UK, so no need to worry about sending - give them a bell, and they should be able to let you know where to look locally.

HTH, Tony

[whatever]

Obviously you have to decide how badly damaged the wheel is, w.r.t dafety, but I've had good repairs on kerb damage when I bought the car. "Wicked Wheels" were the chaps. It's a franchise thing, so there may be one nearby.

[JohnL]

egoold said: There is an article in this weeks or last weeks autoexpress on how to make claims against the council and I am actually featured in it. Its very useful if you can't get a copy I will photocopy it and could fax it to you.

Egoold, that'd be a great help - I'll email you my fax number etc. Many thanks.

[jondokic]

Can't recommend Spit and Polish highly enough. Excellent service and they won't repair a wheel that's past its safety margins. The only problem with having a coated wheel refinished is that the chances of it coming back exactly the same colour are slim. If any of your other wheels are a bit scruffy why not get them all done ? £240 should cover all four wheels.
Chipsaway will fill and spray the wheel. This is a good way of tarting up wheels on a car that's up for sale, but I would not want a badly damaged wheel treated by them.

[griff2be]

I am afraid my one experience with Spit and Polish was less than satisfactory. The wheels on my M Roadster were sent to them by my BMW dealer. The first time they came back the dealer rejected them and sent them to be re-done. The second time, when I actually saw them, they were still p1ss poor. The finish varied from smooth to orange peel, there was dust and grit in the paint, they hadn't cleaned the glue out of the badge recesses before painting them and in two or three places there were big lumps in the paint. Not runs, but foreign bodies stuck to the wheel and painted over.

They looked like the apprentice had painted them without cleaning them in a very dirty enviromment.

The dealer provided me with a new set of wheels in the end.

I had no dealings directly with S&P throughout - so cannot comment on what they had to say on the matter. Or how they would have resolved it.

[pawsmcgraw]

Ian Jemmison near York is the man for wheel repairs.Anything at all,magnesium,alloys,square wheels.I've had several over the years done by him and they have all been spot on(mainly all for race cars mind)The only thing is he does not paint them but thats not a real problem.
He even welded a huge chunck into a Revolution rfx for me and i did several forest events on it without trouble.Might not seem the right thing to do but when you look at the quality of some of the aftermarket alloys and the cheapo material i don't thing its any worse.

[adam1330]

Before you send your claim forms in, go and take some pictures of the pothole, if you haven't already, just in case they decide to fill it in before you get your claim. Use a ruler so it can be seen how deep and wide it is. I broke the exhaust on my MG Midget a few years ago on a raised manhole cover that wasn't indicated in roadworks , went back and took photos and successfully got back my full claim.

[JohnL]

Euan, many thanks for the article - looks very useful. I've been out and photographed and measured the hole. 750mm wide and 130mm deep!!!!!

As Jondokic says, Chipsaway's offering is essentially to grind away the raised part of the dent and fill it from the other side. Not on my wheel thanks!

I've now left it with "Wheel Services" in Airdrie, who are going to heat it up and use some kind of press to ease it back into shape - for £33. And "for an extra tenner would you like us to sort out the [there when I got it] gouge in the front and tidy up the corroded bits?" Yes please.

And then to add to it, they reckon they can fix the crack in my MR2's windscreen, saving me the £250 it'd have taken for a new one (more than the car cost me!). Although I may have to put the wheel on the MR2's passenger seat to get it home again! A big thank you to JimS2 for emailing me their details.

Thanks for the suggestions of places down south to send it to - but, while I was on the verge of doing so, on the whole I'd prefer to take it somewhere I can see (and be barked at by the big dog!).

I'll post up what the results are like when I get it back. It should have been ready on Friday but I haven't had time to go and get it.

[nubbin]

Try www.wicked-wheels.co.uk - recommended some time ago on thius site. Mobile agents all over, they fix the wheel at your house, dents filled and repainted/re-lacquered, for about £50 a wheel.