Rim repair vs new rims

[EniGmA1987]

My rims are in somewhat bad shape with some flat spots and curb rash, and one of the wheels wont balance properly anymore. I have a guy near me who has great reviews that can repair the wheels for $100 each, which will make them properly round again and balance right, or I can buy new rims for $273 each for the ones that I want. If anyone has had experience with repairing rims, do they lose any kind of structural integrity or anything like that? basically I want my wheels to be "perfect" again and give a great smooth ride, but I dont know if I should spend the extra $170 per wheel to get new ones over repaired ones.

[svard75]

I've had mine refinished and they're never the same. Every time I replace tires they remove more of the finish. It's never the same. It's only an option if you can't afford new wheels but the best option is always new wheels.

[TDot]

The results of being repaired will never be perfect, but I'm sure it will be satisfactory.
Also, if your lip is chrome, the resurfacing of that generally doesn't last in the north east.

[mitrals]

I found a good set of rims and tires for my M and was wondering the same. They have plenty of curb rash and are peeling. Does anyone know a good guy that refinishes the rims in the Chicagoland area and what do you guys think is a good price for it?

[bicsintegra]

I had my 19" sport rims repaired, well one had a crack in the rim and it would not hold air. being that I bought the entire set for 400 dollars off of craigslist I did not want to buy one rim for 300+. you can not tell the difference in the rim except then the rim is off the car you can see where they welded the rim back together and it did need to be balanced again, but after over a year no problems with it again and my wife drives about 70 miles a day. if you have really nice rims ie: vossen or another expensive brand I would buy new. if they are just everyday rims then get them repaired. in the future when you buy a set of rims by 5 rims so you can have a spare that is what I am going to do from now on.

[CPJ LB]

@Enigma,

how long do you plan on keeping your car?? that might be an important factor as well...it's possible just to get your wheels repaired/refinished instead of forking over more money for a new set of wheels that you'll have to end up trying to sell. In other words, you may not keep your car long enough to enjoy the extent of 'having' new wheels.

In addition, if the new set of wheels you're interested in aren't the same size of your current wheels, then it'll be more money for new tires as well...

does the wheel repair guy you're referring to also paint the entire wheel or just what he fixes? I'm not sure if you remember when I posted about getting my stock sport wheels refinished/repainted, but where I went, they fixed all of the curb rash and cosmetic damages then powdercoated each entire wheel, center caps & lug nuts a new color (Anthracite-semi gloss, and black), so it made it like 'new wheels' for me

[EniGmA1987]

I am probably going to keep my car another 4-5 years really. The car has only had 2 problems its entire life so far, front right wheel bearing had to be replaced (common issue it seems) and a radiator fitting started leaking. Pretty good really far a car that is about 8 1/2 years old now with 142,000 miles and the way I drive. I think I am going to do a few mods this next year to make it a little more interesting few years with the car.

My rims are the stock sport rims, but are chromed. So getting the rims re-rounded and repaired wont REALLY look like new. Since I am planning to keep the car another few years I think it is probably best to just get new rims. But I still have until tomorrow to decide. Tomorrow I get paid and I found some Enkei's I like that are on sale for really cheap (new too) . If they are still available tomorrow then I will probably buy those.


On another note, you got your exhaust and tune done at a place called Church's Auo didn't you CPJ LB? I think that is what I remember you saying a while back. I want to do a couple small changes to my exhaust and Id like to use a place someone nearby has had good experience with

[CPJ LB]

^ok, makes sense to get a new set of wheels now

I had my exhaust work done by a local exhaust shop in Orange County, but have had other work done to exhaust set ups from various places in So Cal (LA, the valley, OC, etc...) Let me know if you need a referral.

As far as my tuning, yes I had it done at Church's Auto...they've been great to work with. They are about 15mins from where I live so I tend to go there just to check out the various cars they tune... Where are you located? The other option, if you don't want to drive to Church's and don't want to dyno tune your car, you can link up with another member here: "Seymore4". he is very knowledgable and has helped other M owners get a good tune via remotely. I know he's done great work for Dean45, plus if you go his route you are able to tune as much as needed. I'm still thinking of getting my own Uprev cable since I tend to tune my car frequently....

[raysworld718]

@ Enigma

Same exact situation as you with exact rims. Have 2 rims which were damaged hitting a pothole on the NY Major Degan Expswy in Bronx. 1 bent badly and other cracked with little leak between Rim and tire causing the tire to deflate. Even damaged tire. Reported and tryina get a claim out of city. But purchased a new rim through www.wheelstiresandmore.com for $273 as well. Other 2 damaged will possibly be still looking to fix. Those rims are rare and nice. Id say buy new and try and repair worn out 1s when you can find an affordable repair for them.

2006 M35 Sport 137K

Looking for good deal on 19' or 20' summer rims and continental DWS tires if anyone knows good deals or so..