Flash Gordon

The tire pressure of a front tire was rather low the other day when I was checking the tire pressure. I thought I had a flat so I had a careful inspection of the tire and did not see anything punctured the tire. So I pumped it up and checked it each day. After two days, it was down by 3 lbs, so I took it to the local tire shop to have it checked. It turned to be a hairline crack on the rim! There was no other damage to rim like a hit or something and I don't remember hitting anything at all. The tire shop told me they can repair it for $75-$125. I told them I will check with my MB dealer since I have MB extended warranty and it seems like a wheel defect to me. And that particualr wheel developed a corrosion problem after the first year I bought the car, but the dealer refused to replace it and said it was due to car wash chemicals! I have a strong suspicion that this particular wheel was defective since day one, the corrosion problem and now the cracked rim. Upon calling the MB dealer, Ray Catena in Edison, the SA immediately told me that it was due to "constant pounding of the pot holes that developed the crack". Amazingly fast deduction! Rather than argueing with the genius, I think I will just get it repaired with the tire shop. I have never had a cracked rim in all the cars I have owned, let alone a premiun wheel with a premium brand. This is just another disappointment with this car since day one. I plan to get either a Lexus or Infiniti just before the extended warranty expires, which is 11/2009.

Barry45RPM

You have to be realistic... its a 2003 wheel & now its 2008. No one is going to guarantee a wheel against any & all damage for 5 years. Even if the finish was defective 5 years ago and you were sidestepped, a crack would have nothing to do with a finish 5 years later.

It locically is road damage to the wheel.

MB211

+1

Flash Gordon

I guess you are right. I never hit any pot holes or anything in that nature. After 41K and 5 years, and 1/2 in. file of recalls and repairs, I think I should be accustomed to this sort of thing from a MB. I guess my expectation was too high based on my experience with other makes.

lkchris

Oh, grow up.

You did the damage yourself and make of car is irrelevant.

Barry45RPM

... Yeah... I'm in Retail, and the consumer always swears its my fault... they did nothing wrong. Sometimes the damage is so obvious, but they continue to swear innocence.

But what the heck. I can understand a consumer not wanting to pay, especially since we are used to the "squeaky wheel getting the grease". If a customer makes a big enough scene, he will usually get his way.

AMGTTV8

i guess i should try to go after mb too as i just lost a rim on saturday...

i drove through a series of potholes on michigan ave about 12" deep and blew a 5" long piece off the inside of the rim...must have been defective

stupid

Dema

BMW replaces rims damaged by corrosion without a problem. Car warranty covers corrosion. Check base warranty details about corrosion.

vettdvr

SAFETY DON'T DRIVE A DAMAGED RIM.

Replace the rim at the dealer and sort out who pays. The cost of failure is too high. Best of luck with warranty.

Tymah123

You live in Central NJ and you're saying you've NEVER hit a pothole?? That can't be right.... Best of luck with the rim, hope you'll get the warranty pay for it. Definitely don't want to be driving it like that.

gaazmon

[QUOTE=Barry45RPM;3244120]... Yeah... I'm in Retail, and the consumer always swears its my fault... they did nothing wrong. Sometimes the damage is so obvious, but they continue to swear innocence.QUOTE]

+1. I'm in wholesale and the retailers do the same to me. I would say "I can imagine how end-users treat retailers." I then got into retail and it was worst. It's always "my" fault according to them: didn't describe it well enough, the thing was defective (even though the idiot installed it, didn't know what to do, and fried the sh** out of it), etc. And, unfortunetly, thanks to those people, the people with honest complaints get shafted cause the sellers are always on their toes. The same thing happened with Benz. People years ago would bi*ch about every little thing to have covered under warranty and the dealers would do repairs that didn't need to be done or they would claim to do repairs that we're never done and they would bill Benz. Now, Benz has become strict as He*l with what they cover and don't cover.

vettdvr

The needs of the many outway the needs of the few. "Spock Star Trek".

Unfortunately today the needs of the few outway the needs of the many.

Ethics are becomming a rare commodity.

imolas54

don't fix a cracked rim, just buy a new or used off ebay

kyrikos

WENT THREW 2 NEW TIRES I GOT ALL NEW RIMS AND TIRES

dvmak

I have a damaged rim .. scrapes and one small chip on the lip where it meets the rubber.

Any opinions on wether this can be fixed and not cause vibrations?

E2233

The dealer wanted about $340.00 for a new rim on my 2000 E320 that was cracked.

I got quotes from a couple of places from $50.00 to $100.00 to repair the rim.

I called a couple of salvage yards they were kind of vague as to what they had in the yard. A visit to one place had many rims but not the type I wanted.

I found a link to junk yard dogs. The site listed all the MB salvage yards in the state.

Check out theses site for parts. The first site list all used MB parts sellers by state.
http://www.junkyarddog.com/usedmercedesbenzparts.htm
http://www.online-mercedes.com/
http://www.uneedapart.com/used-mercedes-benz-parts.php

I was lucky I found a yard about twenty miles from home. They had four wheels one was in very good shape the other were not too good. A visual inspection is always the best with use parts.

I ordered a wheel from a large tire company in the City it was ship from out of state the quality was not that good. The yard had better prices and more selection in some were in better condition.

I used the link list below and I completed an on line request. I heard from about a dozen yards. The prices varied from yard to yard and then is no guarantee on the condition of the parts. Many links have good references but you want to check the return policy and try and get a picture of the item. The prices ranged from about $100.00 to $200.00 plus the cost of shipping.

There is an on line request form by make, year, model and parts.

Request Parts

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pinebaron

I bought a 6 year warranty on my rims when I picked the car up. It covers everything including road/curb rash. I am about to test this warranty since I have some curb rash on two rims.