Diamond cut finish - alternate paint/powder coat finish?

[mattwatson]

Morning all. I bought my 2015 approved used X5 with fully re-furbed diamond cut alloys by BMW 4 months ago.

Already the wheels are starting to corrode around the centre caps and other areas. Some of the finish is starting to show signs of lifting/flaking inside the drum between the spokes also (wheel style 469).

A couple of weeks ago I sent photos to the dealer along with a polite email advising I was surprised and disappointed by the quick deterioration of the finish considering the warm dry summer we have had.

Yesterday they replied asking if I would be happy for them to arrange for one of their more local retailers to me to review/refurb the alloys.

Firstly great customer service! Secondly, any suggestions of an alternate powder coated or painted finish to avoid the same issue? Something that might give some depth to the finish or create the look of a diamond cut finish in some way? Black chrome finish?

Suggestions and thoughts welcomed....

[bimjim]

Is it still under AUC warranty?

The dealer refurbished all four of mine before I bought it, and subsequently replaced them for new after eight months, when they started to corrode again. This was right at the 3 year point where the warranty switched from the originally BMW warranty to the AUC warranty, so I'm not sure which one covered it, or even if it makes any difference.

[mattwatson]

Interesting. I am surprised they replaced with new as opposed to refurbing them again. Did you push hard for this or did they offer replacement straight away?

The car is approved used and 4 months into the 12 months warranty period.

[bimjim]

My claim was initially rejected at a different branch of the same dealer network, because the wheels had already been refurbished once. I went back to the dealer I bought it from, pointing out an otherwise legitimate warranty claim was being rejected because of their substandard refurbishment work.

They were excellent.. picked it up, got the claim approved by BMW and got the new wheels replaced.

[anonymous-user]

matttson said:

Interesting. I am surprised they replaced with new as opposed to refurbing them again. Did you push hard for this or did they offer replacement straight away?

The car is approved used and 4 months into the 12 months warranty period.

I’m surprised they refurbed them to be honest. Replacing with new, BMW can just send corroded wheels back to maker.

Mind you there must be an awful lot!!

[goldieandblackie]

Plus you only diamond the wheels 2-3 times max

[IanJ9375]

matttson said:

Morning all. I bought my 2015 approved used X5 with fully re-furbed diamond cut alloys by BMW 4 months ago.

Already the wheels are starting to corrode around the centre caps and other areas. Some of the finish is starting to show signs of lifting/flaking inside the drum between the spokes also (wheel style 469).

A couple of weeks ago I sent photos to the dealer along with a polite email advising I was surprised and disappointed by the quick deterioration of the finish considering the warm dry summer we have had.

Yesterday they replied asking if I would be happy for them to arrange for one of their more local retailers to me to review/refurb the alloys.

Firstly great customer service! Secondly, any suggestions of an alternate powder coated or painted finish to avoid the same issue? Something that might give some depth to the finish or create the look of a diamond cut finish in some way? Black chrome finish?

Suggestions and thoughts welcomed....

Black chrome or Smoke Chrome powder coating probably your best bet, this is what I did to refurb some VXR alloys and it looked/pulled off a similar result imho

[LanceRS]

IanJ9375 said:

matttson said:

Morning all. I bought my 2015 approved used X5 with fully re-furbed diamond cut alloys by BMW 4 months ago.

Already the wheels are starting to corrode around the centre caps and other areas. Some of the finish is starting to show signs of lifting/flaking inside the drum between the spokes also (wheel style 469).

A couple of weeks ago I sent photos to the dealer along with a polite email advising I was surprised and disappointed by the quick deterioration of the finish considering the warm dry summer we have had.

Yesterday they replied asking if I would be happy for them to arrange for one of their more local retailers to me to review/refurb the alloys.

Firstly great customer service! Secondly, any suggestions of an alternate powder coated or painted finish to avoid the same issue? Something that might give some depth to the finish or create the look of a diamond cut finish in some way? Black chrome finish?

Suggestions and thoughts welcomed....

Black chrome or Smoke Chrome powder coating probably your best bet, this is what I did to refurb some VXR alloys and it looked/pulled off a similar result imho

A friend had this done on his e46 M3 19”s. It looked brilliant and if you hadn’t know, you wouldn’t hav3 been able to tell.

[Monty Python]

Same here - had the wheels on my 340i refurbished before I bought it, but corrosion isn't my issue - it's the clear lacquer that's discolouring (going an off-white colour). I took a Dremmel with a small wire wheel to it and it just flaked off - the surface underneath was fine. Put some more clear lacquer over it and I'll see how it goes (doesn't look perfect from close up but fine from a distance).

[mattwatson]

Thanks for the comments IanJ9375 and LanceRS, after spending some time researching online I had shortlisted both black chrome and shadow chrome as options.

I would like to see these finishes in person, I suppose a good local alloy wheel painting place will have examples in their workshop?

[LanceRS]

Check out BJV Engineering. A bit far from you but they should have some pictures to give you an idea.

[pills]

I've got the same problem with my X3 19in wheels. Corrosion around the centre caps and edges, however it appears the previous owner has caught the edge of the wheels so I'm guessing the chances of BMW replacing these under warranty is unlikely. Anyone had any experience of this?

[IanJ9375]

matttson said:

Thanks for the comments IanJ9375 and LanceRS, after spending some time researching online I had shortlisted both black chrome and shadow chrome as options.

I would like to see these finishes in person, I suppose a good local alloy wheel painting place will have examples in their workshop?

The Wheel Specialist have franchises across the UK, this is where I had mine done most owner forums have discount codes with them so it makes it a bit more reasonable.

Although they won't have your wheel they can show a wheel in the two options against your car so you can see what you think.
Drop off in morning, collect at the end of the day and a 1 year warranty on the work iirc

[pills]

Quick update, took the wheels to Autodynamics in Sheffield and opted for a powder coated finish.

Got to say I'm impressed!



Thought I'd stick a pic up for anyone whose's interested.