Salvage yard returning bent wheels

Gmachine

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2005
I'm having a hard time finding OEM wheels for my car. I bought a set last week from a salvage yard at what was a fair price for curb rash, which they had. Before mounting them I thought I'd mount them on a hub & put an indicator on them to make sure they ran true. Each one was badly bent (1/8" average depth dent) I went to return them & the guy gives me hard time. He said all they had to do was hold air. Am I expecting too much? These were aluminum cast wheels. I'm hoping this isn't typical for salvage yards.
 
What kind of wheels are you looking for? As many people that scrap cars and search CL here on the forums we may be able to help find a set.
 
BLarkin said:
What kind of wheels are you looking for? As many people that scrap cars and search CL here on the forums we may be able to help find a set.
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I've scoured CL & came up empty. I'm looking for BMW E36 M3 wheels. 17x7.5 square set (factory was staggered 17x8.5 rears) staggered would be fine at this point. I'm looking for DS1 & or DS2's. I'm not a fan Contour wheels.I don't mind the wheels I have, but there are visible cracks where the spokes meet the rim.
 
Contact Sri racing in kernersville.... I will get u a number but they will have them or can get them.
 
You may have already tried, but CarPart is a great site for checking the local yards. Not sure where you are located exactly, but I just did a search for the southeastern US, and got a few hits. Looks like the going rate is about $100 a wheel, if I searched for the right application.

But to answer your original question, no, the salvage yard shouldnt screw you around like that. It'd be one thing if it was a steel wheel for a 03 Kia, but not for a BMW. I'm sure they marked the wheels before they sold them, so it's not like you are returning wheels that aren't theirs. The yard I deal with at work has sent me bent wheels in the past, now I always check them on the balancer while the guy is still standing there.
 
BLarkin said:
You may have already tried, but CarPart is a great site for checking the local yards. Not sure where you are located exactly, but I just did a search for the southeastern US, and got a few hits. Looks like the going rate is about $100 a wheel, if I searched for the right application.

But to answer your original question, no, the salvage yard shouldnt screw you around like that. It'd be one thing if it was a steel wheel for a 03 Kia, but not for a BMW. I'm sure they marked the wheels before they sold them, so it's not like you are returning wheels that aren't theirs. The yard I deal with at work has sent me bent wheels in the past, now I always check them on the balancer while the guy is still standing there.
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The place I had a problem with was one of the ones listed in that link. I see they still have the wheels listed for sale on there as well. I'm just glad I didn't spend the time & money to mount tires. They had other wheels there too, but refused to allow me to check their trueness before buying so I just got a full refund.
 
There is a place in Charlotte that can true those up and does a great job if you cant find what you are looking for.

Not sure what it is but BMW and Mercedes seem to have more cracked rim issues than any "cheap" manufacturer.
 
mommucked said:
Do they have at least 4 windows at their biness and did you pay cash???
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No, I pad with CC.
Ron said:
There is a place in Charlotte that can true those up and does a great job if you cant find what you are looking for.

Not sure what it is but BMW and Mercedes seem to have more cracked rim issues than any "cheap" manufacturer.
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They weren't all that great already & for what I paid I wasn't about to spend more on them.
snappy said:
Contact Sri racing in kernersville.... I will get u a number but they will have them or can get them.
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i emailed them. Thanks for letting me know they are around!
 
You might also try Autobahn in Hickory. They may or may not have any but may be able to tell you someone that does. Richard is the owner/manager, he is a great guy.
 
There used to be a BMW resto/repair shop off of Jonestown road in Winston, right next to the train tracks. Can remember the name but I found them in the yellow pages a few years ago. They should be able to help you find what you need
 
Ron said:
Not sure what it is but BMW and Mercedes seem to have more cracked rim issues than any "cheap" manufacturer.
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Ditto on that. I read Car & Driver and they are always saying that they have to replace a wheel or two on their long-term test cars. What's up with that.
 
We traded my wife's MB yesterday so I finally feel comfortable putting this out there.
In 42,000 miles we experienced 5 cracks in 2 wheels. The last one I had repaired by a rim repair specialist in Charlotte last week.
When I was in there on Thursday they had, I think, 68 wheels on the rack to be repaired. 10-12 of them were after market donk wheels (including a 28")...they had 1 off a toyota. The rest were MB and BMW wheels.

I tried to buy a single replacement from MB and the price was $1,280. The guy started giving me a lecture about how strong their rims were, I politely told the dealership parts monkey that he shouldnt use that line ever again.
 
BLarkin said:
You might also try Autobahn in Hickory. They may or may not have any but may be able to tell you someone that does. Richard is the owner/manager, he is a great guy.
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I checked, they don't sell anything of what they have for parts.

My current wheels are cracked, but they're ROTA brand. Not a big surprise if you look them up. I just like the look of the factory wheels on this car & I hope they'll also be cheaper than aftermarket new.
 
One other option is the brand forums.

Go to bimmerworld or simimlar and I bet someone bought some aftermarkets and wants to dump their oems
 
Ron said:
One other option is the brand forums.

Go to bimmerworld or simimlar and I bet someone bought some aftermarkets and wants to dump their oems
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There are very few post given the car is 17 years old. Those that do are often to far to drive to pick up.
 
I found some on eBay & purchased them. I entered my zip code to estimate shipping & it said $1 shipping on a full set. After I purchased these I see the seller typed in the notes that he would add additional shipping? Can this be a thing if the Ebay agreed upon shipping quote with entered zip was a $1?
 
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