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20inch diamond cut wheels corroding - advice needed please!

Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2015 6:49 pm
by eniacs
Hi All;

I've noticed my wheels are looking a bit ropey. I bought the car at 2 years old last june.

Of course it is covered by the manufacturers warranty. However the wheels have clearly been refurbished probably by the dealer who sold me the car. Or maybe by the previous owner befor they returned the car to the rental/hire company depending on how they bought the car.

So where should I be going with this? My first thought is try and take it to the local dealers. They are aware of the wheel corrosion issues as they said when inspecting the car for another issue, they have a guy that solely deals with wheel claims! I can see what they do with it, but feel that I will likely get told they cannot be covered as they have been refurbed at some point.

If the dealer who sold me the car have refurbed the wheels, will they still be covered under standard warranty by the manufacturer? I am on good terms with the dealer so could ask them to prove that they did and if they have then surely this should be covered under standard warranty. Unfortunately the original dealer is 250 miles away and I dont fancy messing around taking wheels and car back to them for another dodgy refurb that lasts 6 months.

I see a minefield of hassle here and BMW just trying to avoid the issue.

Re: 20inch diamond cut wheels corroding - advice needed please!

Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2015 8:39 pm
by pvr
Refurbed I would imagine is the killer for this one, unless the dealer did it.

Any pics?

Re: 20inch diamond cut wheels corroding - advice needed please!

Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 2:17 am
by Pete
Diamond cut wheels and our climate don't mix.  It would be even worse if the councils gritted the roads like they should do.

The manufacturer won't want to know if they've been refurbed but for the cost of a call, ring the dealer.

Re: 20inch diamond cut wheels corroding - advice needed please!

Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 8:37 am
by Horizon
[quote="Pete"]
Diamond cut wheels and our climate don't mix.  It would be even worse if the councils gritted the roads like they should do.

The manufacturer won't want to know if they've been refurbed but for the cost of a call, ring the dealer.
[/quote]

I put a set of AC Schnitzer wheels on my E60, they had a polished alloy just on the dished part. One winter and they were shot. I took them back to the place I bought them from, which was AWR, which is alloy wheel refurbishment, so they said it was a common problem with polished alloys and salt on the roads.
They shot blasted them and powder coated them for £30 a corner. Once done they were a doddle to keep clean.
Once out of warranty I can see this is the way to go, or every year or two the wheels  will be back to square one again. :)

Re: 20inch diamond cut wheels corroding - advice needed please!

Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 12:12 pm
by eniacs
Thanks guys thats what I assumed.

I've had a look and found a few x5 alloys that have been powder coated on ebay. They look good and of course to 99% of people will look completely normal. You are right I dont want the hassle every 2 years of shelling out for new diamond cut and most companies say it can only be done a few times befor it has to be powder coated anyway.

I'll try it on with the dealer once when i get warranty work done next, but wont push it if they refuse.

Starting to wonder why they would put them on cars!