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It was time for new rear tires so took it in to Discount Tire and questioned them carefully about how they will prevent scratching my matte black rims when they install new tires and change the weights. They assured me they could handle it. "We do it all the time" I was told. Well apparently, they meant "We do it all the time, and scratch a lot of rims." They scratched both of mine when they removed the wheel weights. The left side not so bad. The right side has a nice gouge all the way through the paint. Normally I keep the wheels pretty clean. In fact I go far out of my way to avoid rashing the wheels or getting door dings. Until today, the wheels were pristine, mint. I haven't gone back to Discount Tire yet. My wife took it over to have the tires installed after I ordered tires and discussed the mounting with the service advisors (multiple: I spoke with two different ones who gave me the same answer) My wife reiterated my concerns when she brought the car in.
I will be going over there after work this AM. Do any of you have experiences like this? Do we just have to settle for gouge marks in the rims, or do we have to change our own tires? I guarantee I could have removed the weights without gouging the rims.
That's pretty annoying. No, you shouldn't have to change your own tires, they should just be more careful. Probably will have to repaint the rim, or at least touch it up. Also, if you want to avoid these headaches, I'd just remove the weights myself before taking it in for new tires in the future.
I spoke with the manager and they are going to send the wheel in to be refinished. He says it will take two days. So, for a simple tire swap I now won't have the car for two days. That brings up another question. He assures me it will look like new. But these guys also assured me they wouldn't scratch it in the first place. Now I am wondering whether it is worth it to have them refinish it. They may only make it worse. What if the paint doesn't match? What if the texture is off? I may be better off just touching it up myself.
As far as scratches being inevitable. .. I dunno. I have never had matte black wheels before, but the painted wheels on my bikes have had weights removed without affecting the paint. Also, I have removed badges from cars without using a prybar or damaging the paint. I will definitely give it a shot myself next time and I will try to avoid Discount tire.
Maybe the pics are not clear, are we only talking about the scratches & marks near the weight area on the inner barrels or u got face of wheel scratches?
If the later, then yes it's not acceptable. Get it fixed but again, they might not match the matte finish making matters worst.
If we are talking about the rectangle marks in the inner barrels, I would just goo gone & clean the area.. Touch up the deep scratches (which again is not acceptable). My multispokes are silver with black barrels & they have the same marks near the old weights.. That's why I think its inevitable since the first weights were applied at the factory long ago.
Never, ever use Discount Tire again. Several years ago, I had Discount Tire re-install my summer wheels and tires (a staggered setup) on my BMW. As soon as I started my car and began to drive away, I had fault codes lighting up my dashboard. I got out and discovered what they had done.
They put one of the wider rear wheels on the front!
I decided to give them one more chance later on when it was time to re-install my square winter setup.
When I came to pick up the car, they had lost two of my center caps (they didn't even bother replacing them), scratched all 4 of my wheels, and they also scratched several areas of the car itself around the fender/wheel well areas.
I calmly pointed out the damage to the manager, explained what I did for a living, and he ended up buying me 4 new wheels and paying for a full exterior detail. I appreciated him making up for all the damage but that is when I decided I would never return to Discount Tire.
The dealer will charge you ridiculous prices for mounting and balancing. If you don't have the equipment/experience/time to do the changes yourself, find a good independent shop and have them handle all of your mounting and balancing needs. I fortunately have access to a great independent shop that specializes in Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche cars. They have a very clean facility and a stable full of brand new, state-of-the art lifts/equipment. Most reputable German shops do.
Unacceptable. The weights are held on with double sided tape, and it's definitely feasible to remove the weights WITHOUT scratching the wheels or dinging the paint. They aren't using plastic tools and they aren't being careful. When I had to have tires installed on my new rims I literally reiterated and reiterated and then watched and then told the dude who was doing the work that I'd tip him if he was extra careful (which I did). And he did a good job, no damage. But it's a crapshoot. I would imagine that getting the work done at the stealership would probably mean they would be more careful than the discount tire places. But haven't done that yet so not sure.
Anyone have experience with having wheels refinished?
I am afraid they will just mess it up more. Touch up paint may be the way to go. But if they really can make it look like new and match the other wheels then it may be worth it. And yes, I will never use Discount Tire again.
The scratches I am referring to are where the weights used to be and one is a superficial scratch and the other is a deep gouge about 3mm long.
I had a winter swapped and got the old can you come back here for a minute? Confused I followed them back into the shop, only to find my front bumper ripped off and laying on the ground...
They "said" they are going to cover it, but it has been over a month and still waiting on their insurance to get back to me.
Throw a dab of black paint and be done with it. I wouldn't want them re finishing the whole rim.
I agree, they were careless to begin with so I would never go back to them.. And I wouldn't trust them refinishing the whole wheel, it won't match the others.
The scratches are located on the inner wheel which I'm sure it's not noticeable unless u look for it. If they would damage the face it would be a different story. I would request to have it done at the dealership at the tire shop expense.
Anyone have experience with having wheels refinished?
I am afraid they will just mess it up more. Touch up paint may be the way to go. But if they really can make it look like new and match the other wheels then it may be worth it. And yes, I will never use Discount Tire again.
The scratches I am referring to are where the weights used to be and one is a superficial scratch and the other is a deep gouge about 3mm long.
I had some minor curb rash repaired last year.
Instead of having the wheel refinished (this can only be done so many times), the company I used took care of the damage with spot fixes.
When I came to pick up my car, I couldn't even find the areas that had been repaired with my eyes alone. I had to get down right alongside the wheel and use my finger to identify a subtle change in texture.
I have before and after photos too.
Total cost of repair? Less than $100 (including tip).
The moral of the story is that there are some excellent wheel repair shops around. Because wheels take a beating anyway, I would recommend finding a reputable shop that can "spot repair" the damage.
The place I went to has a few locations/franchises. Would definitely use them again, although I truly hope I don't have to (knock on wood).
no one cares about other people's stuff anymore these days. there are no love. one time I took my car in somewhere for a quick alignment and my car was shiny clean so I thought it will speak for itself and they will just not damage the car. nope... one big *** chunk out of the inner lips of my wheel from dropping the head on it.. disgusting
I only go to a handful of shops for each things. my true nigguhs who really loves nice cars.
btw just clean it up with goo gone and touch it up yourself... unless there are damages on the face of the wheel.. trust me. IT WONT BE THE SAME AFTER THEY FIX IT. it will NEVER be the same.
also... the best touch up paint is www.drcolorchip.com ... paint code match and no blobs... but I don't know if they will have this matte wheel paint code. good luck brother
I've been using DT for years with no issue, HOWEVER, I did get a nice scratch on my M303 HRE wheel during my last installation.......they wanted to have a wheel guy come and 'fix' it, so I spoke to the wheel guy, and didn't like the process he described so I'm living with it....it's on the face, but isn't that bad.......they promised to reduce the cost of my incoming , freshly painted wheels (different set),
DT is a good outfit, you just have to mingle with the techs and find one you trust and like........the guys there know I tip, and also know I don't want just anyone working on my cars.......very particular even about my wife's Honda pilot
but then again, I've spent so much money there, they always give me my room to be a picky customer....
sorry that happened to you OP
Last edited by hyperion667; Mar 8, 2015 at 09:16 AM.
No matter what you do, how much you are OCD, how much you baby your car...things are going to happen. Unless you have a museum piece and can say "Yes I own a C63 AMG, but I couldn't tell you really what it feels like to drive it" then you will have incidences that happen, big and small.
Here, take it from me. My car is in ABSOLUTE PRISTINE condition, always garaged, entire car clear bra, almost no everyday day driving, no unnecessary rear passengers, 2010 with 20K miles of mostly weekend fun, keep a safe 30 car distance on roads and highways, and still, STILL little things happen. I just noticed a small hole in my center front bottom mesh grill and it bewilders me how it happened.
Your wheels are not damaged to any degree. I am OCD to the max and think that you could be over reacting a little. You should see what goes on in the back when changing a tire or suspension. You would die. Cars will get tires replaced multiple times, oil changes, washed, serviced over its term and if you think you can prevent every little scratch you are dreaming (like I once was).
Small scratches and dings and things are inevitable in driving and owning a car.
I get so worried parking my car near other cars, making sure that I have a far away end spot, but then walk around and see Astons and Ferraris and Lambos and Ms and AMGs parked like regular cars and I have a heart attack over my glorified C Class? Not worth the stress...
I mean, don't get me wrong. I love my car and like I said, mine looks like it just left the show room. That's the way I like my cars to look. But if you use a magnifying glass, you MAY spot a scratch or a ding that I could't prevent. When I have no control over it, I don't give myself a heart attack as a result. Now if I hung my mountain bike using weak bike hooks over my C63 and it came crashing down on it, I would hate my self for years. LOL
Take care of your belongings and hold people accountable for damage they cause to your car, but little scratches and things on wheels when changing tires are part of owning this big hunk of steel, rubber, and plastic...
No matter what you do, how much you are OCD, how much you baby your car...things are going to happen. Unless you have a museum piece and can say "Yes I own a C63 AMG, but I couldn't tell you really what it feels like to drive it" then you will have incidences that happen, big and small.
Here, take it from me. My car is in ABSOLUTE PRISTINE condition, always garaged, entire car clear bra, almost no everyday day driving, no unnecessary rear passengers, 2010 with 20K miles of mostly weekend fun, keep a safe 30 car distance on roads and highways, and still, STILL little things happen. I just noticed a small hole in my center front bottom mesh grill and it bewilders me how it happened.
Your wheels are not damaged to any degree. I am OCD to the max and think that you could be over reacting a little. You should see what goes on in the back when changing a tire or suspension. You would die. Cars will get tires replaced multiple times, oil changes, washed, serviced over its term and if you think you can prevent every little scratch you are dreaming (like I once was).
Small scratches and dings and things are inevitable in driving and owning a car.
I get so worried parking my car near other cars, making sure that I have a far away end spot, but then walk around and see Astons and Ferraris and Lambos and Ms and AMGs parked like regular cars and I have a heart attack over my glorified C Class? Not worth the stress...
I mean, don't get me wrong. I love my car and like I said, mine looks like it just left the show room. That's the way I like my cars to look. But if you use a magnifying glass, you MAY spot a scratch or a ding that I could't prevent. When I have no control over it, I don't give myself a heart attack as a result. Now if I hung my mountain bike using weak bike hooks over my C63 and it came crashing down on it, I would hate my self for years. LOL
Take care of your belongings and hold people accountable for damage they cause to your car, but little scratches and things on wheels when changing tires are part of owning this big hunk of steel, rubber, and plastic...
Your right. It's been a day now and I have decided to just dab it with touch up paint and move on. It's not worth the hassle of refinishing the wheel and it is a small spot.
What prompted the initial thread was not so much "Oh my god, there's a tiny scratch on my car!" It was more like "How dumb can they be?" I clearly, clearly made my concerns known and they couldn't manage it.
Just when I start to think that I can trust other people to be professional and careful. I get a lesson like this. I appreciate all the feedback. You guys have all given really good advice, so thanks again.
Your right. It's been a day now and I have decided to just dab it with touch up paint and move on. It's not worth the hassle of refinishing the wheel and it is a small spot.
What prompted the initial thread was not so much "Oh my god, there's a tiny scratch on my car!" It was more like "How dumb can they be?" I clearly, clearly made my concerns known and they couldn't manage it.
Just when I start to think that I can trust other people to be professional and careful. I get a lesson like this. I appreciate all the feedback. You guys have all given really good advice, so thanks again.
wise decision on not refinishing the wheels & taking the chance of making matters worse.. But don't go back to them as they are obviously negligent.
Is it just me, or is that not that bad? I think you should just get some paint, dab a toothpick in it, and fill the little scratch if you want it gone that bad. Refinishing is just asking for another headache.
Wheels are going to get jacked up as time goes on. Little nick here, scratch there. It happens to all of us, even the most careful. They probably used a flathead to get the weights off which does suck. At least it is in the barrel and barely noticeable.
Is it just me, or is that not that bad? I think you should just get some paint, dab a toothpick in it, and fill the little scratch if you want it gone that bad. Refinishing is just asking for another headache.
Wheels are going to get jacked up as time goes on. Little nick here, scratch there. It happens to all of us, even the most careful. They probably used a flathead to get the weights off which does suck. At least it is in the barrel and barely noticeable.
I feel the same. Damage is minor but I understand the frustration.
I am very careful with my cars as well but like Zeph said things happen. Why? Because we use them and we cannot have control on everything. You just have to live with it. It is just a car after all.
3 m makes a great product for striping glue removal . do not remember the name but car parts store know about it .comes in a spray can and it works wonders turning glue into jello that removes easily with plastic or wood scraper , i know it sounds silly but i removed half a car wrap on my m3 and its an almost museum car with no damage at all to clear coat. tire shops everywhere are careless , they employ low qualification personnel and rush them on top of that . as for repairing im from montreal and we have a shop that does refinishing /repairs to wheels that is so awsome that you would never know dammage occured....been there done that . you just have to find the right place
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