05-14-2020, 06:39 AM | #1 |
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Curb damage, mobile repair or remachining
I just hit a curb and damaged my beautiful shiny front left wheel. I didn't know anything about wheels until a few minutes ago, but I believe these are machine cut wheels and are notoriously difficult to repair.
I did some googling and the general consensus is a non-CNC/remachined repair won't look quite like new. A proper repair on the other hand won't just cost more, but will take days. I'm wondering what everyone else's experience has been and how good the repair will look if the wheel is not remachined. |
05-14-2020, 07:28 AM | #2 | |
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Did you see these threads.... re: DIY https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1675753 More discussion through this one... https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1692392
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05-14-2020, 07:45 AM | #3 |
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It will look pretty good from a distance but won't be perfect. Depends how much you care. My dealer scratched the machined part of the face, they offered to repair but I knew it wouldn't look perfect so they ended up ordering me a new rim. If it had been an alloy rim or the painted part, I would have let them repair it as I've seen some near perfect repairs before.
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05-15-2020, 07:42 AM | #4 |
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DIY is out of the question as I'm really crap at these things and will probably do more damage.
I got some quotes and a proper repair (remachined) will cost me around $400 (AUD) and take three days. Otherwise I can have it repaired for $50 through a membership I have for small repairs like this (or $150 with another mobile wheel repair company). They claim it'll look perfect except for the missing machine lines. What I'm wondering is, if I go with the cheaper repair and I don't like it, I can still get it remachined, right? |
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05-15-2020, 05:18 PM | #5 |
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Same damage and same wheels here. I repaired DIY myself. Not too difficult and got it pretty good. Not totally 100% invisible but if you don't know it's there you wouldn't spot it, just take your time with the sanding.
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05-15-2020, 11:07 PM | #6 |
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The main issue with repairing diamond cut/machined wheels is the color. It's possible to resurface it, it's how they get the color/shiny effect to match the other wheels. The 437M wheels are one of, if not the hardest, wheel to repair - I saw one today and the shop did a very nice job with the only issue is that it's a bit more shiny than the other but you wouldn't notice it in passing.
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05-16-2020, 06:55 AM | #7 | |
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05-16-2020, 07:00 AM | #8 | ||
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07-05-2020, 09:44 AM | #9 |
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I had it repaired the not-so-ideal way (i.e. no machining) for $50 under some small repair membership I have. The result is acceptable. Color match is really good. Once you get really up close, it's clear that section has been painted whereas the rest has only a clear coat (those OCD-satisfying machine lines).
Other than that, there are some issues around the edges (where the metal joins the painted black inner area) and also what look like paint residue or damage on the black area. But this is probably just poor workmanship. I'm trying to see if I can get them to come and remediate these (they often do). Will post pictures of the final work. |
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10-08-2020, 05:41 AM | #10 | |
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10-08-2020, 12:44 PM | #11 |
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Any type of repair will never look OEM. I've had both, machining and filler/paint repair. In your case, the wheel will need to be machined since the surface damaged is machined.
What you will see if done correctly: - Light machined edge. The portion machined will lose some material and upclose, you'll be able to see it. - You will see a difference in texture/surface as the OE finish is hard to match. - Long term you may see a slight color change depending on wheel cleaners etc. My recommendation, since I'm personally anal, is to the find one OEM take off wheel on ebay and replace it. You can keep the removed wheel as a spare of sell it. Plus, the cost to properly repair vs buying a new wheel is almost the same. |
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