Hit a large depression in the road (similar to a pothole) and dealer is telling me the chromed alloy wheels are bent (right front and rear). They say they have a good repair guy but I had a bad experience on a former vehicle and would rather replace the wheels. I am filing a claim with the city believing they will play ball and get me back to the way I was before the incident. Am I too paranoid about the repair option? What are the chances that the low profile tires (not run-flats) are damaged, too? Dealer can't tell from a visual inspection, but they may bubble later on down the road.... Front: 245/35-19 Rear: 275/30-19 By the way, the city went out and fixed the hole the day before I called in my problem so they know it is an issue. 2008 550i Jet Black w/Black Dakota Leather
I've had a number of wheels repaired and so far, knock on wood, they have been perfectly fine. I've never had to have any chrome plated though, that would concern me a little. All of mine were painted. My concern would be that the plating is cracked and will probably have to be re-plated which means the shop will most likely have to send it out (they won't do their own chroming, I'm sure). So now you have to hope it's a good quality plating shop, if not, it could start to peel in a year or two. As far as roundness and balance, the repair shops usually do a great job on that. As for the tires, if you hit hard enough to bend a wheel, the tires would definitely be suspect in my book. There's a good chance you damaged a sidewall internally and the problems may not appear for a while (bubbling, belts separating, etc.). I wouldn't take the chance, I would replace the wheels and the tires and be done with it (wow...it sure is east to spend other people's money for them ) !!
As they said take the "hit" now while its small would hate to have a tire go out on you while going down the road, they could cause A HUGE HIT vs the smaller one now. Prevenitive maintaince is always worth it.
Replace the Tires I bent a wheel on my e65 and had to replace the Michelin Primacy as well. The tire was not visibily damaged but balancing the assembly with a new wheel I still had vibration. Replacing the damaged tire was cheap insurance compared to a blow-out at speed. Glückliches Fahren! Will M. - Orlando, FL
