Got a solicitation from a legitimate sounding company in Oho that will chrome plate your wheels. The 17” base wheels on my 2022 350 ES look kind of drab and boring. Wondering if anyone has done this and if so, could post a photo. It looks very nice on their website photos and cost only about $1300. They actually give you a less than new wheel, identical to yours, that they’ve re-plated and take yours in exchange.
Might cause a problem at trade-in time but I’d enjoy them in the years up to that time.

 

1. Not a fan of chrome wheels. Personally , I think they look cheap and don't think they fit the wheel designs of today's Lexus wheels or Lexus vehicle design. Chrome wheels were huge 20yrs ago but not so much anymore.
2. Red flag to me; they'll exchange their wheels for your OEM set. How do you know you are getting OEM wheels? There are plenty after market wheels that look OEM but are not. I'm thinking bait and switch.
3. Chrome wheels are a nightmare to keep clean, about as bad or worse than the painted black wheels F sport wheels.
4. You can purchase chrome wheel spray paint for your wheels. I'd recommend maybe going that route and the work can be undone if you really want.

 

Thanks for all your good thoughts and advice. Confirms my instinct to back off and forget about it.
When pressed, the guy said the wheels they give me in exchange are OEM with light miles on them that they get from Lexus dealers, who have them for various reasons. My concern is some of them could be from wrecked cars and could be imperfect or worse. I’ll stay away and consider simply buying a set of new Lexus 18” noise reduction wheels, which is what I wanted when I bought my 2021 and was told by dealer not available on Base model. However, they’re very expensive and I wouldn’t get very much for my 17” wheels. Would probably be wisest just waiting for the day I buy a new Lexus. Merely a relatively minor appearance item.

 

Personally I really like chrome wheels. Of course I am one of those who lived through the age when Chrome was King. If Lexus offerred a factory chrome wheel I would be very interested. Aftermarket chrome or (re-chrome), in my experience is never as good as factory. I had factory chrome wheels on my '98 GS400 and even after 15 years they still very good. Never found them difficult to clean. Chrome however does not do well in harsh environments (winter). Also once a chrome wheel gets scratched, scraped, or damaged you pretty much have to re-chrome the entire wheel. I also had Lexus IS350 wheels with aftermarket chrome and the chrome started peeling after only a few years.

 

Depends on the car and color. I did an exchange on my 2007 ES that was black. No option for OEM chrome.

I did my homework on the company and never had a problem. I owned the car 4 years. I hand wash my cars…. So living in CA it was not an issue.

Note when I shipped the factory rims for the exchange, one of my rims had damage in the inside. They charged me because they did not use damaged rims. I know that it was my fault because I remember the incident when I drove over something in the road.

I have a 22 ES300h with the noise reduction wheels which look like chrome. I do not know if they are or not.

 

I have a 2022 ES300h UL also and I too wonder if the wheels are chromed or not. They look pretty good to me. Mine seem to be a slighly darker chrome though. We also have a 2021 Sienna fully loaded model which also has a chrome look to its wheels. The interesting thing about the Sienna wheels is that they are aluminum but the chrome is permanently glued on cover. It is like a chromed plastic skin that follows all of the wheels spoked design features. To the casual observer it looks like a proper chrome wheel, however looking very closely you can see that it is chrome cover. I haven't checked my ES wheels closely enough to see if they have something similar.

 

Chrome looks fine on certain color cars, also I think it is more appropriate on luxury cruisers vs. sporty cars. I have a 2023 ES in Nightfall Mica (dark blue) with the 18" noise reduction wheels. I run dedicated winter and summer wheels so I relegated the factory finish wheels to winter duty and purchased a summer set of PVD chrome 18" OEM noise reduction wheels from "The Wheel Exchange" in Michigan. Paid $2145 plus tax, no exchange. Wheels arrived in a couple days, look great, good finish, Lexus stampings.

 

I think I’ll wait to see the 2026 Gen 8 model and then decide: either get new car with wheels I like, keep my 2021 and get its wheels swapped for chrome ones or do nothing and nevertheless live happily ever after!
Thanks to all for their thoughts.

 

Funny. I was just looking at Lexus chrome wheels on ebay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/17611710180...Y7T7127HTKQ3NJ

 

With shipping, this is comparable to what I found at an Ohio company. New ones are close to $2500.

 

The PVD chrome is worth every penny. I had a set of Cadillac CTS wheels with the PVD chrome, after 5 years in Midwest winters they held up spectacularly, just wash with soap and water, looked good as new.