Is there a vendor that sells all the OEM wheels or do we have to go to stealer for them?

 

Why pay the overpriced price for OE? You can get an entire set of high quality wheels through the aftermarket close to the cost of one OE wheel.

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...50-wheels.html

 

Get them from me

I am coming to Spartanburg this weekend

 

No offense, but that is not an example of a high quality wheel

 

None taken, but how do you define quality? Those pressure cast wheels were sourced from a plant with JWL, TUV, and ISO9001 certification which are leading industry standards for quality processing. In my prior career, I signed off on the purchase of tens of thousands of wheels for OE usage, and came to learn that that there is no direct correlation between pricing and quality, and that some so-called "high quality" aftermarket wheels, priced in the thousands, are simply high margin items for the sellers.

 

I think he meant by those just look like no-name brand wheels rather they actual reps of a Mercedes wheel. That is what I see. I think all wheels will bend or crack sooner or later.

 

"Brand" is a product of marketing to add perceived, but not actual, value for which pricing is usually taken. It does nothing to change the shape, weight, composition, or performance of the wheel. As a multi-decade brand manager, I am quite familiar with how to extract additional revenue by convincing people that a name means something above and beyond the actual product attributes. If that is what he meant, his point is thin, indeed. Let's wait for his response to see if he has something more substantial to offer.

You are correct that all wheels can bend or crack. I have four OE Mercedes wheels, all bent, in the garage, replaced by the ones you see in the photo.

 

There's a local contractor that unbends bent wheels. He can also make scuffed wheels look new again. About $100+ per rim. My faithful dealer called him in to fix one of my bent rims once. It worked out very well.

 

That is a good point, but all four of ours were bent as pot holes seem to emit a magnetic force for my wife! By the time we fixed all four of them, we would have covered the cost of the new entire set from Powerwheels Pro, which we feel actually look better than the OE.

 

I'd define quality as independent verification of their JWL, TUV, and ISO certifications. If you are in the industry, perhaps you can find out.

While not necessarily a definition, a sign of quality (or lack thereof) can be found in a company's willingness to define where their product was built. In the surely deliberate omission of such key information, you may presume it was built at the cheapest location and via the cheapest means possible.

More specific to PWP is their (IMO) lack of integrity, such as putting AMG logos on their replica wheels. I don't know how they legally get away with it, maybe the font or number of slashes is enough of a technical loophole, but to me it speaks volumes of their intentions and ethics.

They also advertise relentlessly on some of the VAG forums, but I have yet to hear of too many people with long term feedback. If your wheels survive more miles and more winters than your OEMs, I'd love to hear about it.

When it comes to wheels, you can probably have any two of: lightness (reduction in weight); quality of alloy and construction; and low cost. If your wheels are the exception, they will surely be the first.

 

You raise interesting points, and thank you for the additional discussion. These wheels were made in China, which is a low cost producer, and certainly the source of a wide range of quality. However, I also know that China can produce some very high quality wheels, as we purchased tens of thousands for my prior car company employer.

You are also correct that it is possible that the JWL, TUV, and ISO9001 stampings in the wheels and claimed by PWP are unsubstantiated. I don't have independent verification, however, took them on faith. I distinguish them from the admittedly false AMG representation based on the likely motivation. While many would want to have the AMG logo, therefore creating an incentive to include it on the wheel, I doubt that more than 5% of the market understands what the JWL, TUV, or ISO9001 stamp means, suggesting that it is more likely real than a false inducement to buy. Further, as the wheels are incremental production from OE sources, it is also likely that those plants and processes actually did comply.

More on the logo, although not an excuse for your point. PWP did not order the wheels with the logo, and told me that the logo sometimes appears and sometimes does not on the inventory when the shipping container arrives. They appear to be buying what the source is selling, so while possibly complicit in your allegation, they appear not to initiate the AMG identification, but do willingly pass it along if so manufactured.

For your final point, we need to distinguish cost versus price. The actual variable piece cost to produce a wheel under the business model of selling to an OE, or the remaining incremental production where capacity exists, will not be as different as the range of final pricing. However, those similar wheels may then be subject to a variety of pricing strategies, depending on the distribution channel. The range in pricing by the time a wheel from the same plant reaches an OE for inclusion on a new car or a parts department will be different than a wheel from them that goes to an aftermarket seller who buys up that last available capacity (that also allows for a mold change for a different wheel design, assuming the investment for the mold has been already amortized or is included in the aftermarket price).

I have two sets of PWP wheels on our two cars, and so far there are no issues. They balanced easily, indicating good material dispersion processing in the pressure casting. They are lighter than the OE wheels they replaced, and I could feel the ride difference in the unsprung weight right after they were installed. They have held up, with the oldest 1-1/2 years old, and you saw the more recent E Class wheels above. I will report back any problems. However, the OE MB wheels deteriorated rather quickly, and joined a pile of similarly styled OE 18" Sport Package wheels at our local indy shop, where the owner said those MB wheels seem to fail faster than any other he's ever seen.

P.S. I am now retired.

 

OEM over the replica in my opinion
you could get great OEM wheels from Djrabbi for a good price
or check your local craigslist.