Dealership removed wheelweights with screwdriver..

[Tristicus]

An update..

Talked to my service guy and they offered to refinish both wheels.


I replied back that I'm not ok with that, that I've seen numerous refinishes flake or fade and I don't want to incur that risk. I asked for new wheels, and that the dealer takes my 'refinished' wheels and sell or reuse on their dime.

Okay, now I think you sound like a dick TBH. Just my opinion, but they offered to fix it for you, and you refuse. Most people would just tell you to fuck off, but they give you an option, and you basically throw it in their face.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Wow you';re being completely unreasonable. If I were the shop I would withdraw my offer and tell you to stop being such a baby.

Wheels can be refinished to as high or higher quality than the original finish. Don't be such a dick.

Being a dick is removing my wheel weights with a screwdriver.

 

[MaxFusion16]

OCD much?

 

[Mike Gayner]

Being a dick is removing my wheel weights with a screwdriver.

And they've offered to fix it, which is a totally reasonable thing to do.

 

[TheFamilyMan]

Sounds like OP just wants something out of it above and beyond a resolution now...greedy much?

Get the fucking wheels refinished as per the offer from the dealership. They are being more than fair about it. That's what you wanted them to do in the first place and now you're changing the rules...wanting "new" instead of "fixed"...here's a fucking clue...they weren't "new" when the guy removed the weights with a screwdriver. Why should you get new wheels in return?

 

[SpatiallyAware]

And they've offered to fix it, which is a totally reasonable thing to do.

If the wheel had some curb rash, stone chips, 100k miles, or was a DD-type vehicle then I'd be fine with it.


They made 1800 of these cars. The wheels will be impossible to find in ~10 years if the finish ends up being an issue, and I don't want to risk all the issues that come along with refinished wheels.


FYI there are tons of problems with wheel refinishes... from fading and mismatching the fronts to chipping and etc.




Here's the thing.. OCD or not, I want my car in the same condition it was in when I gave it to them. It's really a matter of principle to me - the person who did this gouged up my wheels being extremely careless. It wasn't some sort of minor accident or whatever..

 

[Tristicus]

If the wheel had some curb rash, stone chips, 100k miles, or was a DD-type vehicle then I'd be fine with it.


They made 1800 of these cars. The wheels will be impossible to find in ~10 years if the finish ends up being an issue, and I don't want to risk all the issues that come along with refinished wheels.


FYI there are tons of problems with wheel refinishes... from fading and mismatching the fronts to chipping and etc.




Here's the thing.. OCD or not, I want my car in the same condition it was in when I gave it to them. It's really a matter of principle to me - the person who did this gouged up my wheels being extremely careless. It wasn't some sort of minor accident or whatever..

No, he intentionally did this to the inside of your wheels. :thumbsdown:

You're being a complete jackass about this. You think the wheels you have will magically stay amazing looking over time? They will wear just like a refinished one will. You're being completely uncooperative. They offered you a solution, something YOU SUGGESTED IN THE OP:

So, I just washed my car for the first time since I had rear tires put on and noticed the dealership damaged my wheels removing the old weights. Rust looking stuff etc is just dirt, the wheels are otherwise 100% perfect.

This'll be fun to deal with.. The gouges aren't down to the wheel material, I'm guessing this is a touchup/refinish? I'll be tracking down the exact person that did this and having a discussion with them and the service manager.

http://imageshack.us/f/855/img0909h.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/709/img0905gt.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/691/img0907wn.jpg/

So take it, or quit bitching and don't go back anymore. Your choice, because personally, not sure if they've called back or not, but I'd love to tell you to come right in and say fuck off to your face if I was the manager.

 

[LTC8K6]

Now that's too far...

Should have taken the offer.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

So what's the overall consensus with this? I'm open to the possibility of just getting it repaired but would like to hear some other opinions..



The wheels are about $350 per, I'm guessing dealer cost is $250. I feel like considering the damage done (not light scratches... obvious negligence) and the risk involved in a refinished wheel (not major, but I'd guess there's a minor possibility of an issue) means it isn't asking much for the dealer to replace them. Keep in mind that this is a BMW dealer, and I really am paying more for supposedly better service. I've also seen and read about people having problems with refinished wheels compared to the factory.


If it were a roadside tire place or small shop then I could see letting something like this slide. If it was like an "accident" like someone bumping into it with another car, a random scratch, something like that then I'm ok with a factory quality repair.

To me, this is a little different. Maybe I'm being an ass, but think about what it would take to make gouges down to the metal of a wheel through powdercoat.. There's no way they didn't realize the damage they were doing, even if it wasn't on finished part of the car. Perhaps I'm taking it personal, but I wouldn't be so pissed off it didn't seem like such an obvious screw up

 

[Mike Gayner]

I don't understand your aversion to getting it refinished (especially considering that was a desired outcome for you originally) - why do you think refinished wheels are necessarily going to be of a lower quality to originals? I would give the original wheels about the same odds as refinished wheels as far as peeling/discolouring.

And I don't see why you're being such a dick to the shop - they've acknowledged their fuck up and offered to put it right, and you're still being a complete girl about this.

 

[Doppel]

So what's the overall consensus with this? I'm open to the possibility of just getting it repaired but would like to hear some other opinions..



The wheels are about $350 per, I'm guessing dealer cost is $250. I feel like considering the damage done (not light scratches... obvious negligence) and the risk involved in a refinished wheel (not major, but I'd guess there's a minor possibility of an issue) means it isn't asking much for the dealer to replace them. Keep in mind that this is a BMW dealer, and I really am paying more for supposedly better service. I've also seen and read about people having problems with refinished wheels compared to the factory.


If it were a roadside tire place or small shop then I could see letting something like this slide. If it was like an "accident" like someone bumping into it with another car, a random scratch, something like that then I'm ok with a factory quality repair.

To me, this is a little different. Maybe I'm being an ass, but think about what it would take to make gouges down to the metal of a wheel through powdercoat.. There's no way they didn't realize the damage they were doing, even if it wasn't on finished part of the car. Perhaps I'm taking it personal, but I wouldn't be so pissed off it didn't seem like such an obvious screw up

You must be fvcking kidding. You want them to replace? Nobody in the damn world except you will ever notice these gouges.

They screwed up, are will to refinish the wheels and that's fair. Sometimes sh*t happens. You implied earlier that you're older than many of us here, I can't believe you haven't already figured that out about life (that sh*t happens) and sometimes it's just nobody's fault and that's how it goes.

You've already spent far too long worrying about this. Sometime in the future you're going to have a real problem in life and look back on this thread and realize how downright sad all this worry is over a few scratches nobody else cares about.

I bet if you brought your car to get it detailed and they put in a tiny scratch on the hood that only you could see in the right light you'd demand they replace your car because a scratch cannot be 100% fixed, and if the hood is painted it may not match, and if they did the entire car with paint it wouldn't be as good, so by God if they don't give you a new car it's not acceptable!

BTW, you obviously care waaaaaaaaaaay too much about your car. Way too much.

 

[SparkyJJO]

OK, I sympathized with the OP to begin with, I was on his side.

But after they offered to fix it - in a way that the OP even asked about originally - and the OP then demands NEW wheels? really?

OP, not on your side for that. Fixing it, yes. New wheels? No, that's unreasonable.

 

[LTC8K6]

Wrong thread...

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

OK, I sympathized with the OP to begin with, I was on his side.

But after they offered to fix it - in a way that the OP even asked about originally - and the OP then demands NEW wheels? really?

OP, not on your side for that. Fixing it, yes. New wheels? No, that's unreasonable.

+1
I was on your side till you told us you demanded new rims. Not cool man.
Take the refinish. Sell these rims and replace with new ones if its such a big deal to you.
350 x 4 = $1400, thats what? 2.33% of the value of the car?

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Alright - emailed my service guy.. Had a long day, snap judgement, etc.. All is good :thumbsup:

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Alright - emailed my service guy.. Had a long day, snap judgement, etc.. All is good :thumbsup:

good call. I'd rather be friends with the guy working on my car than enemies. AmIright?

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Update...


Picked my car up today, there's overspray on my tires and the face of the wheel. They didn't remove the wheelweights, it looks like shit.

I asked them not to call me back until it's either fixed to OE standards or I have new wheels.



Interesting that the service manager insisted these aren't powdercoated, and that it's normal to just respray the wheel... Can someone else advise?

 

[Howard]

Update...


Picked my car up today, there's overspray on my tires and the face of the wheel. They didn't remove the wheelweights, it looks like shit.

I asked them not to call me back until it's either fixed to OE standards or I have new wheels.



Interesting that the service manager insisted these aren't powdercoated, and that it's normal to just respray the wheel... Can someone else advise?

No. That is the work done by a person or a group of people who are either ignorant or don't care. Did they even clearcoat what they sprayed?

DivideByZero (I think) has posted pictures of his refinished wheels that look like they are new.

 

[Doppel]

Update...


Picked my car up today, there's overspray on my tires and the face of the wheel. They didn't remove the wheelweights, it looks like shit.

I asked them not to call me back until it's either fixed to OE standards or I have new wheels.



Interesting that the service manager insisted these aren't powdercoated, and that it's normal to just respray the wheel... Can someone else advise?

Pics? Despite what I said earlier, and consistent with it, if they do repair it I can only hope/trust they'd not make it worse. I wouldn't worry about overspray on tires, since they'll be replaced at some point and/or paint will go off. Dito on the weights, really, next time you get tires done they'll have to balance.

DivideByZero (I think) has posted pictures of his refinished wheels that look like they are new.

Whoever did his wheels knew their sh*t, it was really well done.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Pics? Despite what I said earlier, and consistent with it, if they do repair it I can only hope/trust they'd not make it worse. I wouldn't worry about overspray on tires, since they'll be replaced at some point and/or paint will go off. Dito on the weights, really, next time you get tires done they'll have to balance.Whoever did his wheels knew their sh*t, it was really well done.

No new pics since the car never left the dealer.

Overspray on my tires is unacceptable. Again, this isn't maaco, they aren't doing me a freebie favor, and they aren't repairing old used wheels. These wheels were 100% perfect, had seen rain maybe three times. Never curbed, no rock chips, etc etc etc...


Not taking off the weights when repainting is unacceptable. Seriously guys... How could they even properly clean the wheel for a repaint while leaving the weights on??




Either way, heard from my service guy this morning - they decided to replace both rear wheels.





And I'm still surprised/disappointed at how many people were ok letting a BS screwup like this slide. Perhaps that's a topic for an OT thread some other day..

 

[TheFamilyMan]

You weren't going to be happy with refinished wheels and only wanted new wheels...this was your outcome no matter what. You had this mindset going into this that you would be looking for anything to criticize the refinish work to move on to the next step of getting new wheels.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

You weren't going to be happy with refinished wheels and only wanted new wheels...this was your outcome no matter what. You had this mindset going into this that you would be looking for anything to criticize the refinish work to move on to the next step of getting new wheels.

Of course I'm not going to be "happy" with refinished wheels.. Bringing the car in with flawless wheels and getting refurbs in return doesn't exactly make me jump for joy.

However, I would've begrudgingly accepted refinished wheels because 'things happen' but I do expect them to be professionally and properly refinished, not wiped down with a damp rag and spraypainted.

Even after they screwed up the first repair I was still willing to accept a refinish to factory, just not a hackjob.

 

[Zargon]

glad they are now trying to fix it by replacing them

'THE TIRE SHOP' to go to in my town fucked my wheels up and were assholes about it.

had them replace tires, picked the car up and there was tire glue all over the tires and part of the wheel

drove it home, washed the car, and viola, scratches all over the edge of the wheels where the glue was. drove it back over there and they accused me of curbing the wheels and trying to blame them.

needless to say they get none of my business

 

[TheFamilyMan]

Of course I'm not going to be "happy" with refinished wheels.. Bringing the car in with flawless wheels and getting refurbs in return doesn't exactly make me jump for joy.

However, I would've begrudgingly accepted refinished wheels because 'things happen' but I do expect them to be professionally and properly refinished, not wiped down with a damp rag and spraypainted.

Even after they screwed up the first repair I was still willing to accept a refinish to factory, just not a hackjob.

You didn't have fucking flawless wheels...you had fucking USED wheels...get that through your head. Nothing short of them ruining the fucking rims would have warranted NEW wheels. You just jumped at an opportunity to be a dick about it and get something for free. Anything other than brand new wheels was going to be a "hackjob" to you...you're just the type of customer business hate...ones that end up costing more to deal with than they're worth. Manager should have reprimand the tech that removed the weights with a screwdriver and, once you came back in to bitch about the refinish job (that you were going to hate regardless of the quality of it), tell you to go pound sand and take your business elsewhere since you obviously will not be satisfied with industry- and consumer-recognized rectification of the damage.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Update...


Picked my car up today, there's overspray on my tires and the face of the wheel. They didn't remove the wheelweights, it looks like shit.

I asked them not to call me back until it's either fixed to OE standards or I have new wheels.



Interesting that the service manager insisted these aren't powdercoated, and that it's normal to just respray the wheel... Can someone else advise?

ok, yea, Im back on your side now. At least they are finally replacing and are trying to make you happy. To bad they effed it up the second time too.
EDIT: would have been nice to have some pics of the lazy refinish.