Need opinion re: used modular Fuchs wheels nightmare

[Oyagi]

Need some opinion/advice. I bought a set of modular Fuchs wheels off a reputable guy on Pelican. He said they were straight and I believed him. After paying for shipping, taking possession and paying to have them refinished in a custom powdercoat I discovered the wheels are all bent, some beyond repair. Now I’m $3K into them and the wheel refinisher says it will cost me another $2K for new inner and outer hoops to rebuild them properly.

Question is: should I bite the bullet and get them rebuilt right or cut my losses and return them to the seller, who says he will only refund me my original purchase price and I must cover return shipping back to him. He will end up with the same wheels looking better than ever and I will be out about $1K with nothing to show.

I’m really torn...

Before

After






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[NYNick]

Take the hit and move on. Sorry for your loss but you're knee deep in a sH#$% storm.
Make Extra sure the refund is gonna happen.
Burned once, twice shy.

[Walter_Middie]

I'd get another opinion on whether they are bent and how much they would be to repair. Go to someone that specializes in wheel repair.

NYNick is right in that you need to minimize the loss and move on - just make sure that's the right move.

[scottrx7tt]

Man, that’s horrible. I would get a second opinion. I have heard of having wheels repaired “good as new”. What brand of inners/outers are they? Surely some of the pieces are salvageable? Would the seller be willing to discount your purchase? Obviously, the centers are still worth a decent amount of $.

[pmax]

Sorry to hear about the mess. Agree with the previous comments.

The last thing you want is to be burned again by the "reputable guy".

[Oyagi]

Originally Posted by Walter_Middie

I'd get another opinion on whether they are bent and how much they would be to repair. Go to someone that specializes in wheel repair.

NYNick is right in that you need to minimize the loss and move on - just make sure that's the right move.

I went to 2 wheel shops. No.1 wouldn’t go near it, no.2 said 2 are salvageable. Of course it’s one front and one rear which means I can’t make it cosmetically match (would have been easier to have two identical fronts or rears).


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[Oyagi]

Originally Posted by scottrx7tt

Man, that’s horrible. I would get a second opinion. I have heard of having wheels repaired “good as new”. What brand of inners/outers are they? Surely some of the pieces are salvageable? Would the seller be willing to discount your purchase? Obviously, the centers are still worth a decent amount of $.

Unknown brand of hoops. HRE hoops are being priced as replacements, which are a totally different design. The centers are slightly bent and will need to be machined flat again. Seller says he’s got no knowledge of this. He’s sold many parts here so I assume he’s good for the refund.


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[stownsen914]

See if 20 bolt BBS halves will fit. Good used ones can be had for $100-150 each.

Shame on the guy who refinished the wheels for not checking them for straightness before refinishing them. I'd think that's wheels 101.

[RSBob]

Originally Posted by stownsen914

See if 20 bolt BBS halves will fit. Good used ones can be had for $100-150 each.

Shame on the guy who refinished the wheels for not checking them for straightness before refinishing them. I'd think that wheels 101.

had two damaged wheels on my Sportwagen and took them to be refinished. The refinisher FIRST checked trueness and immediately rejected one as too bent. So only one refinished and one replaced. The OPs shop was unethical and knew better. I would try to get a refund from them too. Sorry you had to go through this.

I find that you called the seller 'reputable' a bit ironic. it would be nice to call him out, but the only way to ethically do so would be for members to PM you for their name here.

[jran76]

Originally Posted by RSBob

I find that you called the seller 'reputable' a bit ironic. it would be nice to call him out, but the only way to ethically do so would be for members to PM you for their name here.

It’s pretty easy to see who the seller was if you look at the OP’s post history (and maybe that’s what you meant and it went over my head...).

I’ve bought and sold a lot of wheels, and get that it can be hard to tell some times. As a seller though, you should be responsible enough to know especially if you are going call that out in your listing. As others have said, the refinisher should have checked too. If it’s any consolation, they look great.

[dg567]

Every reputable wheel refinishing place I've heard of spins each wheel for trueness before starting to refinish them....why didn't yours?

[Cheshire Cat]

I`d probably return the wheels name the guy and buy a set from augmentwheels.com (and they are Canadian)

[Bill Douglas]

Who is the seller. This is not on for a site that revolves around trust and friendship.

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by Oyagi

I went to 2 wheel shops. No.1 wouldn’t go near it, no.2 said 2 are salvageable. Of course it’s one front and one rear which means I can’t make it cosmetically match (would have been easier to have two identical fronts or rears).


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Originally Posted by Oyagi

Unknown brand of hoops. HRE hoops are being priced as replacements, which are a totally different design. The centers are slightly bent and will need to be machined flat again. Seller says he’s got no knowledge of this. He’s sold many parts here so I assume he’s good for the refund.


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I don't understand what's 'bent' on these wheels. I have a fair amount of experience with 3pc wheels and I've had to have a few repaired.
If the center is bent, machining isn't going to sort it. It will need to be replaced. If it was machined poorly the first time and has too much runout, then machining will fix.
If there is powdercoat where there shouldn't be, the lips won't lay flat to the flange and that will show as out of true or out of round. Similarly if there is uneven powder on the hub surface.

Uneven sealant (silicone/rtv) that is laid in between the sandwiched wheel shells/center will also present as out of true/round.

Did the wheels come with tons of wheel weights on them? A bent wheel will shake a car to bits. 2 of them would render it nearly undrivable.

With the limited info we have here, I'm far more suspicious of your refinisher than than the seller at this time.

[speednme1]

Originally Posted by Cheshire Cat

I`d probably return the wheels name the guy and buy a set from augmentwheels.com (and they are Canadian)

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Who is the seller. This is not on for a site that revolves around trust and friendship.

First off I don't know the seller, now with that said...how can the buyer know for certain the damage did not occur at the powder coater? unfortunately the wheels were not checked before having them refinished. So let's not tiki torch the seller. Honestly I don't understand why these can't be repaired. I've had worse (chunk of a missing edge) on a Speedline 3 pc 3.6 Turbo wheel and it was repaired with no issues. With all the money invested, might as well double down and get them fixed.

[nathanbs]

Originally Posted by speednme1

First off I don't know the seller, now with that said...how can the buyer know for certain the damage did not occur at the powder coater? unfortunately the wheels were not checked before having them refinished. So let's not tiki torch the seller. Honestly I don't understand why these can't be repaired. I've had worse (chunk of a missing edge) on a Speedline 3 pc 3.6 Turbo wheel and it was repaired with no issues. With all the money invested, might as well double down and get them fixed.

So maybe the powdercoater mounted tires on them and put them on a car for the weekend and then tagged pot holes to bend them? Lol come on

[AG81]

I have abandoned and repaired really expensive rims over the years....From HRE to Forgeline.
Some I probably should have had replaced I fixed. Some that could be saved I abandoned.
There was no logic to it....it mostly depended on TIME. When did I need the wheel and how do I keep the schedule moving forward.

[speednme1]

Originally Posted by nathanbs

So maybe the powdercoater mounted tires on them and put them on a car for the weekend and then tagged pot holes to bend them? Lol come on

Can you guarantee they weren't dropped...while at the powder coater (or any other place)? anything is possible. Unfortunately the buyer waited too long and the wheels should have been checked prior to coating. The buyer has too much money invested to return them, not worth going back though...just move forward. He needs to fix them and get them installed on that sweet 930 he has!

[911pcars]

The powdercoated fasteners might be a giveaway. That right? Did the shop powdercoat the entire wheel w/o disassembly?

Is it possible they cooked the wheels at a temperature high enough to warp them?

Sherwood

[LJ851]

Those look like Jongbloed barrels to me.