Alloy Wheel Repair (long)

[Max Von]

Has anybody here had any experience with have an alloy wheel straightened?
I hit a large pothole with my E55 last week and right away knew I had done some damage. I felt a slight vibration at 65mph. Got home and removed the RF wheel and discovered a 2 inch dent on the inside rim but no apparent damage to the tire. I took a pencil eraser and buffed up the spot where the dent was so it would be easy to spot.
I also removed the RR wheel and could not see any visible damage.
I did a google search for wheel repair and found a couple of shops here in New England.
I decide to try the one that had the best looking website and good testimonials from local businesses. I made an appointment and brought the car in. What they do is remove the wheel and place it on a Hunter wheel balancer and spin it so you can see where the rim is bent. I went back into the shop and they spin the RF wheel and tire and sure enough you could see the dent exactly where I had marked it. “We can fix that for $x.xx plus $x.xx for mounting and balancing.” I agree and wait whilst they do their magic. Repair is completed and off I go. Car feels better but there is still an annoying vibration apparently from the back end of the car. Nuts! I call and explain and they say come right back and we’ll take a look. Bring the car back and they inspect the RR and say it is bent as well. “Oh and your LR is also bent.” They bring me back and show me the two wheels spinning on the Hunter machine and ya, they seem a little out of perfect round, but nowhere near as bad as the front was. I agree to let them fix the rims and head home. There doesn’t appear to be any vibration and all is well except I’m out several hundred dollars. Several weeks pass and I don’t notice any vibration until I drive my Brother in Law home to NH and he comments, “ what’s with the shimmy?” Sure enough I look at the water bottle in the cup holder and the water is vibrating like crazy and yes I feel it. Nuts! I call the shop and they take me in quickly and inform me that the RR rim is bent! They also comment that my RF tire is junk as it is out of round from the original hit (why didn’t they notice this the first time?). I have not hit any potholes since the last repair. They remove the tire from the RR and notice the dent is exactly where they made the previous repair. I’m told that sometimes rims “pop back” to the dented condition and they’ll repair it again at no charge. They then decide to remove the tires on left side and report that the LR (again!) is bent as well as the LF. I explained that they had already repaired the LR and the LF has had no issues since I have owned the car. They spin the wheels for me and yes the LR is slightly wobbly and the LF is about the same but not horrible. I decline any repair and they release my car no charge.
Let me first say that the folks at this shop are very nice and professional. They seem to know their business and appear to be trying to help me here with this situation. My frustration comes from feeling like they didn’t diagnose the tire issue the first time and why would a rim “pop back” to the dented condition if they have the best technology and craftsmen in the wheel repair business? I’ve worked in the back end of the automotive business for 20 some odd years and mounted and balanced my share of tires and the more I think of it a lot of the alloy rims I’ve spun on a balance machine have a slight imperfection. Just an observation on my behalf, judging by the phone conversations of the service writers, nearly every car that came into the shop on the days I was there had 2 or 3 bent rims. Is there some industry measurement for tolerances? Before hitting that pothole I had no vibration issues with any of the rims on the left side of the car.
And I’ve had tires mounted and balanced 2 separate times with nobody saying the rims on the left side are bent.
I’m installing my summer tires next week and am willing to bet just replacing that RF tire will eliminate the slight vibration that remains.

[azasadny]

Al Reed (Al Reed Specialty Polishing in Anaheim, CA) repaired/restored my Fuchs wheels a few years ago and I loved the results. I have 2 Enkei wheels that are damaged and I'm going to send them to Al to see if he can repair them. Al does great work!

[Racerbvd]

Jim at True Design in Denver has repaired a few wheels for me and I've been very happy. I'm going to have him convert some 6X16 Fuchs to 7&9X17s, I've seen some that he has done & have been impressed. His # is (303)422-5090

[Zeke]

Because you see no damage is no reason to believe the tire has not suffered damage. If your wheel is bent, the tire took a tremendous impact. It is very likely that tire will blow out in the future. If it were me, I'd throw that tire away. Alloy wheel repair is available in most major cities.