twister

My townhouse assigned parking spot is in a corner with a curb in front and to the left of me. Usually my wife parks to the right, but two days ago neighbor got there first and park her car almost across two parking spots (right on the separating line) I still managed to squeeze in with a very little room next to the curb (it was either that, or parking far away and walking back to the house with a baby and all the bags). Than, in the morning while pulling out of the spot felt like I brushed against the curb (felt like a tire). When I examined it later, I saw a big scratch right on the edge of my alloy wheel closer to the tire. Didn't realize that with our 17" now the wheel is closer to the ground and to the curb, not like it was on my previous car with smaller wheels. Also surprised how soft is this metal and how easily it got scratched!!! (got all these sharp edges sticking out now).

I called dealership and they suggested to stop by tomorrow to take a look at it, but most likely if I decide to repair this, I will be looking for at least $200 or more. What do you guys think, is it worth fixing it? Is there a way to polish it (or sand it) or something like that? Not sure if the alloy surface is treated with some kind of anti-oxidation finish/coating and this scratch will expose the surface now? I will take some pictures tomorrow in a daylight to show the damage

The funny thing is that my wife teasing me now that its a sign to go and get those new 18" I have been talking about Of course, I'm not ready to take a plunge with new bigger wheels. For now, have to figure out what to do with this nasty scratch...

wanderer99

My wife 'curbed' our car about two months ago on the passenger rear. My plan right now is to keep these as our Winter rims and fit snow tires. I'll then pick up some UL rims for next summer and get some better tires like Comfortreds on those. The curbed rim is scratched rather heavily about 5 inches long around the rim. Not enough to dent it, but its ugly... if you can even notice it. She went up and onto the curb apparently coming out of a parkade.

Do you have the UL Twister, or just regular PP rims?

wanderer99

OK, I see you have PP rims too. We should start a collection of curbed rims

twister

Yes, I do have PP. Collection of curbed rims? Sounds like a good idea LOL!!!

My scratch is about 3-4 inches and very close to the edge so its not as noticeable from a distance. But, when you come closer, it is ugly Someone mentioned to me that all they gonna do for $200 is to use a special fine grade metal sand paper and some aluminum coating, and of coarse the wheel never gonna look like new again. I just think it doesn't make sense to pay $200 now because this might happen again. Our winters here on East Coast are rough and after all the ice and snow, we get tons of potholes in the road. Those are often deep enough to scratch the wheel. I was thinking maybe to do a quick fixer upper myself now, and when spring comes along, make a decision for a permanent fixing or getting a set of a new wheels. Also, thinking outloud, with 18" wheels this "wheel curbing" problem would be even more severe

PsychDoc

If I were you I'd seriously think of going to Tire Rack and ordering four new wheel/tire combos. They have some positively GORGEOUS rims over there (whether you go with 18" and a +1 arrangement or stick with the 17"ers) that can be had for about $150-200 a wheel. Put on some Yokohama's for about $100 each and you have all new wheels and rims for a few bucks over $1k.

twister

Actually typing from dealership now. They looked at it and advice me not to do anything. The scratch is minor and it will cost over $200 just for this scratch fix which could happen again. Very impressed how honest they are instead of pushing to go ahead and spend money.

Regarding going to 18", I know everybody waiting for me to take a bullet first but I decided to wait till the spring time, hoping someone else will do it first and shares their experience with us

cyke

Add me to the list of scratched wheels. I have PP as well and wife scratched it. I had to bring her car to service while she goes to the gym.

In my search for answers regarding 18" wheels, I've read in the Camry forum that putting on 18" does not affect the ride. But then again this is '07 Camry and not Lexus so I do not have an idea how that car rides. No posted comment on degradation of gas mileage though. I expect the wider thread to have a negative impact in gas mileage but don't know by how much.

cyke

MD350

Sorry to hear that all of you have scratched wheels. I read above a quote from a Lexus dealer to repair the damaged wheel for $200. I don't know what it looks like and how bad it is, but this is something you can shop around. Most likely,the Lexus service department does not do this repair. They vend it out to a mobile detail person. They do all kinds of things like take out minor scuffs out of bumpers, minor paint work, door dings, etc. Most dealers put their used car inventory through this type of vendor to make their cars looks like new on their lot for resale. They can also do some kind of repair to your wheels. Again, I don't know the extent of your damage, but you can shop around for this repair. I'd try some local detail shops or some dent repair shops. Good luck!

ng123ray

wow.. people are sratchign their rims already.. =X i got my ES350 as a graduation /going into colelge present from my parents.... all i ever think about is getting wider tires to help with my traction at higher speeds... also. i know this is off topic but does anyone else have problesm with the brakes? my brother complains aobut it when he drives it about how spongy it is... i must agree with him on it also... i took it to the dealership earlier today and they said all the ES350 are like that and it shoudl be normal....i was wonderign if anyone else has any complaints about thier brakes...

dreyfus

Yes, I've noticed how soft the brakes feel, especially after recently changing the brake pads on my daughter's pickup. Her pedal is like a rock in comparison.

I'm sure that's how they're supposed to be, but I would prefer to have a little more stiffness to them.

twister

Hey, stop hijacking my topic LOL!!! Regarding brakes, I guess its up to a personal preference. I actually enjoy this assistant braking. It did take me a short while to get used to it, and now driving other cars feels weird...

theredkid

I scratched my front driver side rim too on my just 2 weeks old SGM UL ES350 last friday. Dealer wants $125 to polish out the ~2" scratch. Fortunately the UL comes with a full size spare wheel. So I just have the dealer swapping out the spare for me.

toneman

IMHO the difference in ride between the two sizes is a matter of subjectivity since on paper, an 18" wheel/tire combo with roughly the same overall circumference as that of the stock 17" combo will have a shorter sidewall...which translates into less "cushion", when measured against the 17" combo. Pump that 18" combo w/ a bit more air than what is recommended for the 17" (typically done so as to minimize possible wheel damage when driving over potholes or similar rough pavement) and I can guarantee you that the ride w/ 18" wheels/tires will not be the same as that on stock 17's.

Ingram4868

Shop the yellow pages for wheel or rim repair guys. I was able to find a small shop that only dealt with repairing and/or polishing rims. For small scratches they charged $40.00 per rim. Many of these shops can even weld in new alloy material to make the rim look new.

twister

I actually found a number of repair kits on-line for around $25-$35, or it could be done professionally for about $50. I also have a full size spare which I'm going to use as a replacement now. Than, eventually will fix my wheel.