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Okay, you gotta dump that guy. I'm sorry but it's for the best. Any dude who would send his girlfriend to the dealer for wheels must never be allowed to reproduce.
With wheels you've got OEM (original equipment) from the dealer, which are insanely expensive for no reason other than they can be. You've got take-offs, where someone is selling their factory wheels on Ebay or Craigslist because they got something else. You've got replica wheels, which are copies of Mercedes wheels but very inexpensive, and you have aftermarket, which as the name implies are designs that aren't Mercedes but are made to fit Mercedes.
So what I'd like you to do is Google images of "2016 C300 18" wheels" and find as many pics of C's with wheels you like, and then post those pics here and I'll help you narrow down sizes and tire choices. We have to start somewhere because there are an astronomical number of choices.
It's really overwhelming... I thought this one is nice.
My fear is I'll buy something and it will affect how the car feels when I drive it.
I like the spoked wheel I think... My budget is around 2000... Is that enough?
Well, the 18" will ride firmer than the 17". When you increase rim diameter you also simultaneously decrease the height of the tire's sidewall, so that the overall wheel stays the same diameter. It's like borrowing an inch of sidewall to make the wheel an inch bigger in diameter. The car is cushioned on the road by the tire sidewall, so the smaller the sidewall the smaller the cushion.
17" wheels look frumpy but they do ride nice and soft. The top pic are OEM 18". The bottom two are 19" (or maybe even 20") aftermarket. The top multispoke ones are Vossens. Good wheel, not cheap. I knew what the matte gray 5 spokes were at one time but I've forgotten the name. It's commonly a Mustang wheel, and I don't think the hub size is Mercedes, so they need extra hardware.
You want to stick with 18". Not as sexy but they'll still ride nice.
Here are some ideas. These are replicas, and the price is for a set of 4 without tires. I've run replicas myself, never had a problem (that I also didn't have with OEM wheels...if you curb them they'll get roughed up just the same).
One additional consideration. You have a 4matic car. Typically you'd have wheels that were all the same width. Most replica wheel sets come staggered. That means the rear wheels are wider than the fronts. It looks cooler, but you can't rotate your tires periodically with staggered like you can with a "square" set up where all the wheels are the same width.
I like the spoked wheel I think... My budget is around 2000... Is that enough?
Don't go to the dealership looking for a wheel/tire set...unless you like overpaying.
I got a brand new take off set of OEM staggered 2015 Mercedes 18" AMG wheels/w Conti A/S tires, center caps, AND the original TPM sensors last year on eBay for only $1,900...
Anything I should keep in mind when ordering from eBay?
Nope. I'm familiar with that vendor. Never bought anything but he's been around a long time and has an almost perfect rating. Fair price with shipping included.
When they arrive you'll need to have the installer remove the tire pressure monitor sensors from your existing wheels and transfer them to your new ones. Other than that, should be plug and play. That will also necessitate having your new wheels mounted and balanced. Any tire store can handle that for you.
Should have them shipped to my house me have my useless bf put them on and then drive it to the store with the tpm thingies and have them do the balancing?
Should I ship to the store directly?
What do I do with my brand new wheels and tires? Can I sell them on eBay? Or should I save them for when I turn my car in after my lease?
Should have them shipped to my house me have my useless bf put them on and then drive it to the store with the tpm thingies and have them do the balancing?
Should I ship to the store directly?
What do I do with my brand new wheels and tires? Can I sell them on eBay? Or should I save them for when I turn my car in after my lease?
Ship to home. Put the rear seat flat and put the new wheels in the car, drive the whole shebang to your local tire store and they'll handle swapping TPMS and mount/balance. Save the 17's for lease turn in (although nobody's going to care about which rims it has when it was sold)
A couple of those wheels look scratched up...and this set doesn't include the TPM sensors. You should ask for at least $200 off that price. They'll most likely need to be balanced once the TPM sensors are installed.
As for how to get the TPM sensors installed (once you buy them on eBay as well), I had them delivered to my house, and took two wheels at a time to my dealership...who balanced them for free (because they are AWESOME!). I have a jack & adapter, so I install my own wheels in the driveway. Any tire place can do it as well.
I'm puzzled as to why they wouldn't still have the tire sensors?
I bet because who ever originally owned these wheels wanted the sensors for his new aftermarket wheels...so they wouldn't have to deal with any TPMS warnings from their car.
04-09-2016, 10:11 PM
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