Does anyone have any experience buying Hollander wheels? There are a bunch of sets on eBay that appear to be in excellent condition.

From my understanding they are not replica but actually used OEM wheels that have been reconditioned to like new condition, have no cracks and are straight and true.

Do you guys think it's a safe bet buying them instead of rotary forged wheels from TSW, Niche and the likes as they seem to be in the 1k range for a set?

Would the Hollander's hold up slightly better?

 

I have had very mediocre experience buying "like new, no cracks, straight and true" wheels online. The only time recently my wheels were straight and true was when I had my wheel guy take all 4 wheels from the car and fix (i.e. straighten, remove cracks and remove dents) and refinish them, rather than just me bringing them to him when they won't hold pressure. $85 per wheel to fix, and $50 to refinish. NOW they are like new. And you can really tell -- vibration totally gone. Vibration that I didn't even realize was there until I put the perfect wheels on and noticed its absence.

My super-honest wheel guy will tell me if he can't fix it, and routinely identifies crappy work by allegedly-good wheel people who sell online (and can back it up by showing his work vs the crappy work).

In fact, the other day, he said, "You didn't get this one from me."
"I think I did."
"NO. There's a repair on there that we would NEVER DO."
"Oh, wait, that was one I bought online that was supposedly never repaired."
"Yeah, well, the leak that brought you in here is right there in the middle of that repair. Look. (pointing) We would NEVER do what they did, glob that stuff on there and then just sand it down. NEVER."
"Oh. Yep. You're right."

If you're in the New York area, it's Al's Hubcap and Wheel in Mineola, Long Island. The place (intentionally) looks rundown, but the guy is busy from morning to night 6 days a week, and routinely puts wheels on Maseratis, Ferraris, etc. He can also get decent new wheels at a fraction of the dealer price. He uses the latest Hunter Road Force Balance machine to balance the wheels, and he will mount and balance the tires for free on any wheel he repairs and refinishes.

 

Wow that is surprising. I got the wheels from sgwheels that are based in Michigan. I couldn't find any online reviews about them apart from their seller feedback on their Ebay store which were all good apart from 1 negative review about a tire having a gash in it.

Im in MA and if im passing by NYC il be sure to give him a call in advance. Thanks

 

Not saying these guys aren't great. I just haven't been so lucky. I would give the wheels a good once-over and if they look good and balance straight, you're probably in good shape!! I didn't know what to look for, so I got snagged. Fortunately, Al was able to fix the lousy repair the right way, and that wheel has worked fine for a couple of weeks now.