How much for a decent refurb on some 19s for my M3???

[Ticker]

Hi,

As above, and recommend anyone in east midlands???

Thanks

Dave

[nrick]

Cheapest I got was £45 ea, dearest was 75. Depends if you can get trade or not, and the colour.

[Zebrs]

I paid the thick end of £300 or so for my 330's at the Wheel Specialist albeit in Fareham, think they are nationwide. They did a great job. For 19s wouldnt be surprised if you'd pay 400, but they'd look awesome.

[Mr Bimmer]

You will struggle to find a decent refurb on the 19s anywhere.

Most will look very dull when compared to the originals.

[Ticker]

Mr Bimmer said:

You will struggle to find a decent refurb on the 19s anywhere.

Most will look very dull when compared to the originals.

Mr Bimmer,

Thanks for the reply, would you suggest I buy direct from BMW if I want the oem looks? Seems to be loads on flea bay etc, some lookin good from my untrained eye

Dave

[Pig Skill]

I went through this pulava when I first got my M3. Basically there are a few companies that can machine, polish and lacquer the faces but the finish is even shorter lived than the OEM finish and soon the 'white worm' and clouding returns. Ask the refurbisher how long they'll guarantee the finish for....

Anyway I went for a different look and had them in anthracite. Although OEM is better I like the look and like the fact i'm not opening the wallet every 12 months.

[Mr Bimmer]

Ticker said:

Mr Bimmer,

Thanks for the reply, would you suggest I buy direct from BMW if I want the oem looks? Seems to be loads on flea bay etc, some lookin good from my untrained eye

Dave

If you really want the oem finish, you have no real choice other than going to the dealer for a new set.

[Jonboy_t]

I was looking at doing just this a while back. I spoke to a place (again, the Wheel Specialsit in Fareham!) and was told that 19" M3 wheels were made using a different technique or material (can't recall which) like a diamond blade or something and that any refurb job would not turn out as good as OEM.

If you want to stick with the original shade/colour, it will be expensive. The ones on eBay are usually advertised as 'M3 Alloys' etc, but are made of an inferior material and so don't wear as well - only really an issue for hard use though, I'd imagine.

[pilchardthecat]

£75+vat per wheel was the price i got from the BMW body shop. Although in the end they did them all for £250 (inc vat) but that was only because some twazzock put a small dent in my arse and i needed a respray on the bumper

[David 997t]

I had the 19's on my other halfs M3 Cab done by Pristine Wheels in Woburn Sands they cost £85 each. I have to say they came back as good as if not better than new!! It is the second time I have used them on a diamond cut wheel. (think that's what they call it!! I say polished??)Both occasions I have been more than satisfied!
I'm sure they also arrange if you want a collection/delivery service.

[dadofbud]

David 997t said:

I had the 19's on my other halfs M3 Cab done by Pristine Wheels in Woburn Sands they cost £85 each. I have to say they came back as good as if not better than new!! It is the second time I have used them on a diamond cut wheel. (think that's what they call it!! I say polished??)Both occasions I have been more than satisfied!
I'm sure they also arrange if you want a collection/delivery service.

Yes I would agree these people are very good and like you we have used them a few times so I guess it's not just a flook that they turn out a good job.

They do a collection & return service, but if the OP has the time I would go there as you get to see some very interesting wheels and colour options that you might not have otherwise considered, friendly bunch as well.

[The Ferret]

Lets clear up a few things.

The OEM wheels are a polished finish with lacquer on top. They look nice, but ultimately given a few hard winters they will deteriorate. This will happen even if you buy a new set, which will set you back a fair sum and seems like a waste of money IMO.

Your refurb options are either:

Diamond cutting - the wheels are machined to remove corrosion/kerbing and the wheel re-lacquered. This does not leave an OEM finish. If you look at a diamond cut wheel you will see thousand of tiny cutting lines in it which are part of the process of the refurb. They leave the overall finish looking fresh, but by no means OEM. The finish is duller than OEM as its not mirror polished, and the likelihood is that eventually the corrosion will return after a hard winter.

Painting - as the name suggests, wheel stripped back and painted to the colour of your choice.

Polished - your wheels are machined to remove all the lacquer, corrosion and kerbing, then mirror polished. You can either leave them like that or have them lacquered. Lacquering them will effectively bring them back to OEM finish, but be warned the normal milky corrosion will reappear at a later date.

In my opinion there is no substitute for the OEM look, but the big draw back is that chances are they will eventually corrode again. For that reason I had mine polished and left bare. I had mine done a year ago and have not looked back. The biggest plus point being I am now in control of their finish, and if they get kerbed or corroded I can bring them back to OEM finish myself with a little work. I won't go into that process as its a whole new subject in itself, but a couple of quid invested in some fine graded wet and dry paper and some polishing compounds and you're good to go.

Here's how mine look



Finally, the best bit, these guys will do them for £50 per wheel, which is cheaper than any of the other options I came across

http://www.nationalalloys.co.uk/

You just need to box them up and send them off, get a call a few days later when they are done and arrange to have the courier go back and collect them. Paisley Freight do it for £32.50 each way, so for £265 you get the OEM look with the ability to rectify future problems yourself.

http://www.paisleyfreight.com/alloy-wheel-courier....

Edited by The Ferret on Wednesday 11th January 15:05

[ady702]

Speedwells (Birmingham) or Rimstock (West Brom)

[Pig Skill]

The Ferret said:

Lets clear up a few things.

The OEM wheels are a polished finish with lacquer on top. They look nice, but ultimately given a few hard winters they will deteriorate. This will happen even if you buy a new set, which will set you back a fair sum and seems like a waste of money IMO.

Your refurb options are either:

Diamond cutting - the wheels are machined to remove corrosion/kerbing and the wheel re-lacquered. This does not leave an OEM finish. If you look at a diamond cut wheel you will see thousand of tiny cutting lines in it which are part of the process of the refurb. They leave the overall finish looking fresh, but by no means OEM. The finish is duller than OEM as its not mirror polished, and the likelihood is that eventually the corrosion will return after a hard winter.

Painting - as the name suggests, wheel stripped back and painted to the colour of your choice.

Polished - your wheels are machined to remove all the lacquer, corrosion and kerbing, then mirror polished. You can either leave them like that or have them lacquered. Lacquering them will effectively bring them back to OEM finish, but be warned the normal milky corrosion will reappear at a later date.

In my opinion there is no substitute for the OEM look, but the big draw back is that chances are they will eventually corrode again. For that reason I had mine polished and left bare. I had mine done a year ago and have not looked back. The biggest plus point being I am now in control of their finish, and if they get kerbed or corroded I can bring them back to OEM finish myself with a little work. I won't go into that process as its a whole new subject in itself, but a couple of quid invested in some fine graded wet and dry paper and some polishing compounds and you're good to go.

Here's how mine look



Finally, the best bit, these guys will do them for £50 per wheel, which is cheaper than any of the other options I came across

http://www.nationalalloys.co.uk/

You just need to box them up and send them off, get a call a few days later when they are done and arrange to have the courier go back and collect them. Paisley Freight do it for £32.50 each way, so for £265 you get the OEM look with the ability to rectify future problems yourself.

http://www.paisleyfreight.com/alloy-wheel-courier....

Good post ferret.

I must say though, yours are far brighter than OEM

Edited by The Ferret on Wednesday 11th January 15:05

[The Ferret]

Pig Skill said:

Good post ferret.

I must say though, yours are far brighter than OEM

Cheers Pig Skill

They should be pretty much the same as OEM in terms of the brightness of the actual finish on the metal, but remember with the OEM wheels being lacquered it will slightly dull the overall appearance. Also worth noting that I can polish these back to a mirror finish whenever I want, whereas with OEM you are stuck with whatever is underneath the lacquer. If you stripped the lacquer off a set of brand new OEM wheels I'd expect them to look almost identical.

I had worried about the maintenance side of things, but in fairness its been quite easy, certainly no worse than looking after an OEM set.

[Toddy101]

Like Ferret said you can get them diamond cut (SEM in sunderland are one of the bet at this) but it will leave slight milling tool marks, buy new ones (expensive) or get them stripped and polished. There's a guy on M3Cutters called Hassel who does them for ~£250, pic of his work.