Rim restoration

[Insomniator]

The stock 17" wheels on my mini have some curb rash on all 4 from the previous owner (80 year old man in NYC :biggrin. I was wondering what it usually costs to repair this and how its actually done. Some kind of putty?

Being stock rims on a 10 year old car I have seen ads for them in better condition than mine for like 300 bucks. So obviously its not worth putting a lot of money into them, especially when you can get newer, nicer aftermarket sets for what, $600?

I do actually really like how these look though, so if they could do the job for sayyyyy 200 bucks I might be in. This is the car:

 

[NutBucket]

A good wheel shop usually charges at least $100 per wheel to fix minor curb damage and respray.

And good aftermarket wheels are definitely not $600 a set...new or used.

 

[Insomniator]

A good wheel shop usually charges at least $100 per wheel to fix minor curb damage and respray.

And good aftermarket wheels are definitely not $600 a set...new or used.

Well what do yo mean by good? Are stock wheels 'good'? I'm assuming stock anything is worse than most aftermarket stuff...

 

[NutBucket]

In the wheel world good usually equals weight. Stock wheels are usually heavy and cheap aftermarket is worse. That and somehow cheap wheels just look cheap compared to better one. Like they don't get the style just right.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I paid $150/ea to refinish and straighten two Lexus wheels. They have a special paint so it was a little more than most factory alloys. They look brand new though. Well worth the money.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

If it were me, I would research what all factory mini wheels will fit and buy another set. Most non-exotic factory wheels are $200 or so on craigslist. Then resell your curbed wheels for $100.

I've dealt with wheel refinishing a couple of times. I've done the cheap route, $100 per wheel, all the way to $300 at a really good shop. None were really all that great of a job. Yes you can't notice any problems from 5 feet away, but up close you can definitely tell that they were refinished.

If it were just one wheel then fine... Just get it refinished.. But IMHO not worth it for all 4 when you can replace them so cheaply.

Unless you're going to spend $1k+ on aftermarket I would stick with stock. They are heavy, but stock wheels typically don't bend and they don't look stupid.