e-man

Hey guys. Opinion needed. I had my Lexus dealership install new tires on my car a few months ago. The rims were scratched up pretty badly during the installation (not just on the edge, but on the face of the rims where the lug nuts go), and the dealer offered to have them refinished for me. I have the Lexus g-spyder wheels, so I was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to match the finish, but I was assured that the refinisher does an excellent job. My dealer recommended, and I agreed, that I wait a few months for the weather to get better before I have the work done.

Anyway, I brought the car in earlier this week for an oil change and had them refinish the wheels at the same time. I picked the car up today, and let’s just say that I’m underwhelmed with the results. It’s hard to explain, and I’ll post up before and after pictures soon, but the wheels no longer have the same luster that they had before. They used to pop, and now they don’t. The color is more “muted” if that makes sense and the finish is not as “deep.”

Anyway, here’s my question. What do I do? The dealership provided this service to make up for a mistake that they made, which was very nice of them and much appreciated, but the result doesn’t bring me back to where I was before the rims got all scratched up. Thanks for the opinions.

e

Schmexus

I hate tire monkeys. When I had mine installed I KNEW they were going to get scratched and sure enough. I'm not sure what can be done to avoid it and even if they're willing to "fix" it you will end up in the position you're currently in.

People are careless. If I had a tire machine and a balancer I'd never take my car to ANY shop.

My guess is the dealer will say they did all they could to right the situation and you're stuck with it. I doubt they're going to offer new wheels or another subpar fix job that you probably won't be happy with.

e-man

Agreed that people are careless. But the dealership tried to make good on it by refinishing the rims, and I really do appreciate that. Moreover, the guy did a good job in terms of fixing the scratches, but it's just that the color/luster is off. And my advisor agreed. He noticed that something was off before I pulled out of there. He did say he'd like to see it in the sunlight, but that was the end of the conversation.

I'll live with it for a while and maybe I'll just get used to it. Like I said, I'll post up before and after pictures so you guys can see what I'm talking about.

e

drydeniv

No solution, similar complaint:

The wheels on my CPO 2010 were all refinished prior to purchase last year, It never looked OEM, but they were uniform and only a couple of imperfections, so I didn't particularly care. (It went well with the other idiosyncrasies of a used car..., but all look fine at arms-length or further - still a gorgeous car).

Three of my wheels are now experiencing peeling of the clear coat - something i've never seen before! I combed the forum and it seems like it happens quite a bit. I have read that long-term break dust exposure can cause this, but the refinish is less than 1.5 years old... and I wash my car at least once a month, and have waxed the wheels at least twice in the last year.

I agree that the luster is a bit off - it does look like they were just painted with silver and clear-coated.
Oh well, if it holds up I won't have too many complaints.

I'll probably wait a year before I get them redone.

e-man

Thanks drydeniv.

I went out to the garage tonight to wipe down the wheels and see if I could bring out the shine. Well, no such luck. The wheels are a little rough/scratchy to the touch. It's almost as if they need to be polished to bring out the shine, if that's even possible. They look presentable but they definitely don't pop/luster like they used to.

twylie

iTrader: (3)

I stupidly curbed one of my wheels a couple of years ago and when trying to find a replacement or repair option, was told that the paint used for "hyper silver" on many of the Japanese OEM wheels isn't available in the US due to regulatory limits on something in the raw paint. Said it's fine to bring in once cured, but impossible to get an exact match as the paint available here is different. I have no idea if this is true or just myth, but the replacement wheel I bought from a re-finisher has a slightly different finish/hue. Most people wouldn't notice, but I can tell, especially when the car has been freshly washed. Next time I need tires, I'll probably suck it up and spend the $400 from Sewell to get an OEM replacement to match.

worker

your pealing is different. Look like they didn't do a proper job. They suppose to sand blast the old paint coat and put on new ones. This pealing show that the old paint coat is still there.

How about have the dealer split the bill? you chip in a little to get a new set of wheels?

The other pealing is from corrosion, it's happening on my G-spider too. Not very noticeable. The wheel gloss after a nice clean with only water. I love the clear coat of the wheel. It's much stronger than on the car body. If they do that on the car body, man the car will look amazing with little care.