[mattssi]

Like a dumb ass, I hit a curb and now have some curb rash on the wheel lip. Since it appears to have a machined lip, is there any decent way to get this repaired? I've had many wheels repaired in the past, but they've all been painted, so it was easier than an uncoated wheel.

Ideas?

Thanks!

P.S. Don't hit curbs.

[bmtespar]

They repair this kinda stuff all the time now. I have seen some pretty awesome repair jobs on what I thought would be too bad to repair. I want to say the dealerships around here charge $65 or $75 for the repair.

[orcomma]

Should have listened to your advice - avoid kerbs lol, especially with the 19" rims



Going to see if it's repairable later - will update the thread with prices if they can! The wheel itself is £525 from BMW inc VAT apparently.

[Zirenz2006]

I've had similar repaired ...couldn't tell where it was when the guy was done

[The Beast]

Ouch!

[nyalpine90]

how did it happen, while parking or turning on a corner street?

do you have wheel n tire protection from bmw?

[orcomma]

I parked fine then thought I could get closer to the kerb, obviously too close!!

I went to two wheel refurbishers today. Both confirmed they are diamond cut and thus not easy to repair. The first offered to sand the damaged edge down by itself, then reglaze. He showed me an Audi RS3 he did the same thing on and it looked awful - the rim edge appeared wider where they had sanded than the rest of the wheel - when spinning it looked buckled. That "service" was £90 and would take 40 minutes.

So I went to a slightly better looking place and asked them. They said they would have to re-machine the wheel, cutting a layer off it the depth of the lowest gouge (about 2mm). The problem there is that the whole silver area would appear wider particularly around the spokes as the darker colour is angled - so taking 2mm off the depth would make the spokes appear a lot wider. He showed me an example of a Renault wheel they had been doing and one other thing I noticed was that the light reflecting off the new glaze gave a weird "rainbow" effect (refraction?) that looked very odd... I suspect the glaze they use would never be the same as the factory one so the wheel would look really out of place in bright sunlight. That would cost £130 and take 4 days.

The wheel itself is £525 from BMW. I reckon the kerbed one might go for a few hundred on ebay - someone who has buckled one and doesn't mind a kerbed example maybe? So I would be down a few hundred overall... the question is whether or not it's bad enough to warrant the expense... and the risk that I would just kerb the new wheel! Or I could buy a new one, keep the kerbed one as a full size spare, fit a tyre to it at my leisure and be confident that I am safe and sound on the road...

Expensive mistake to make, whichever way you look at it.

As the OP said... top tip for the other members: avoid kerbs!

[ando]

I don't know why it can't be filled then polished. I was shy to the wheel repair thing too but I had two F30 Type 398 18" wheels repaired after a bad winter full of curb rash and they were perfect for USD 75 each.

[PF1]

How about just covering it up and forgetting about it? You can get Rimbands or something similar. I already put on Trims 4 Rims on my wife's X1, she had a tendency to park too close for my comfort so that might help with minor touching of kerbs. Got the silver/grey colour and actually looks alright (better than the inevitable kerb rash anyway).

Zooming in you can see the protector:

[hyperspeed]

In the LA area, most bimmerpost users go to Son Tran. See if he can refer someone in the Portland/Bend area perhaps? Or if not I'm sure there is someone up there that does similar rim repair services like him:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/onsite-wheels-garden-grove

what he does is magical, no joke lol

[The Beast]

Only way to repair machined wheels is to re-machine them. You can't fill or just touch them up

[manub]

I kerbed mine as well after not even a week of new car while turning on a narrow street

I was thinking http://www.bmw.com/com/en/owners/ser...el_repair.html - but nobody mentioned it here. Anybody had experiences with it? Buying my wheel brand new would be £382 as per BMW website (not sure if includes VAT or not). Damage is very similar to the picture orcomma posted.

(taken this at night with a flash - that's the brightness on the mid-left)

[orcomma]

Wow, that's almost the price of a new wheel.

I'm still mulling over buying a new wheel or living with the damage. My justification would be it might be handy to keep the damaged one, get a new tyre on it and keep it as a full size spare

[manub]

Originally Posted by orcomma

Wow, that's almost the price of a new wheel.

I'm still mulling over buying a new wheel or living with the damage. My justification would be it might be handy to keep the damaged one, get a new tyre on it and keep it as a full size spare

I think I was still upset by the wheel so I wasn't writing in proper English!!!. I meant a brand new wheel would be that much, not a repair... yes for that much of a repair I'd just buy a new one!

I saw my dealer (Sytner) offers wheel repair service. Tempted to ask for a quote after I come back from this bank holiday weekend. Read mixed reviews about their service in general but I also know my branch (Sunningdale) has very good reviews so I'll probably still go for a quote and to see how it would look like. I have RFT so no need for a spare.

[orcomma]

Can you please send me a link to £382?

I have this one for £525

https://www.bmw.co.uk/en_GB/topics/s...78.html?uncert

[orcomma]

Originally Posted by orcomma

Can you please send me a link to £382?

I have this one for £525

https://www.bmw.co.uk/en_GB/topics/s...78.html?uncert

Ignore me, had a senior moment (I'm 31 going on 61) - you've got different wheels

[sdb123]

Originally Posted by orcomma

Ignore me, had a senior moment (I'm 31 going on 61) - you've got different wheels

I was going to say he's got the 18" x-line alloys, whereby yours are the 19" ones.