Wheel damaged at tire shop

[autojack]

One of my tires had a nail in it, so I took it to a local independent tire shop to get it patched. I know this place doesn't have much extra space and so they park customer cars on the street, so I just brought them the wheel - less to worry about. The place has great reviews on Yelp and I prefer to use an indie shop over a chain if I can.

I picked up the wheel the next day, but when I went to put it back on the car I noticed these three big gouges in it! Stupid of me not to check it when I picked it up... I was leaving town the same day for vacation, I'll be back next week, so I haven't spoken to them yet.

These are original Fuchs which the PO had refurbished about two years ago. From what I've read, the silver finish on the rim is anodized, so this isn't going to be a simple polish repair. What should I expect from the shop when I bring this to their attention? I hate confronting people about things like this, I feel bad accusing people even though this damage was clearly done by them and I have every right to expect them to resolve it.

[911SauCy]

Unfortunate, but since you didn't notice at pick-up and are now waiting until after tour vacation, you don't really have any ground to stand on.

Good luck but you're SoL, unless that tire shop is feeling extra charitable

Ask me why I think this way...

[JRSIII]

Man that sucks. I'd at least try to talk to them. If they are a small independent shop I suppose there is a chance they are upstanding guys.

I don't want to hijack your thread but your comment about polishing triggered a question....I was going to spend some time this weekend getting my car ready for a local PCA chapter (LSR) concours next weekend. The silver rims on my Fuchs could use attention. I bought some mothers mag wheel polish and a power come. Is it a bad idea to use this on Fuchs?

[dad911]

Been burned also. Hindsight is 20-20

I'll now drive an hour to have my porsche shop change tires. Well worth it IMHO

Same thing with alignments. Local shops have stripped upper mounts, and torn 944 bushings. They just don't know what to do, and don't care.

[schoward]

Enjoy vacation and know you'll get it fixed right somehow it just won't be helped by that shop. Way after the fact and your the guy that brought just his wheel in. They'll say how do we know you didn't damage it transporting it, mounting it etc. Sorry to be negative but that's what I think the reality is.

Sometimes it makes sense to bring your car in fully in tact, have it worked on and then closely inspect it before you take it back. Any damage, poor fitment etc is on the shop right then and there. Bringing in piecemeal parts sometimes opens up the shop to be responsible for basically nothing as they can say your hands and mechanical abilities were all over it.

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by JRSIII

Man that sucks. I'd at least try to talk to them. If they are a small independent shop I suppose there is a chance they are upstanding guys.

I don't want to hijack your thread but your comment about polishing triggered a question....I was going to spend some time this weekend getting my car ready for a local PCA chapter (LSR) concours next weekend. The silver rims on my Fuchs could use attention. I bought some mothers mag wheel polish and a power come. Is it a bad idea to use this on Fuchs?

Soap and water on anodized. Polish can cause permanent appearance problems.

[steely]

I knew an indy shop owner and was aware of a customers vw wheel being damaged by the machine that was used. The shop owner brought it to the car owners attention and made things right.

You could always leave the guy a message if you're concerned about the time thing.
Then call him back or show up with the tire. He might even recognize the pattern and age of the damage. You'll know how much character he has right away.

He won't be happy, but it's not like it was your fault.
As for how much he goes in for the repair may be a different matter.

Good luck

[OldSpool87]

Take it back in. There's no downside. Sorry to see it happened the first place.

[autojack]

I'll call the place Tuesday, they'll be closed Monday and I only noticed the damage Friday morning before I left for the airport. But without being able to show them it seems a little pointless to just call.

Anyone know exactly what would be involved in getting it repaired? What type of shop am I looking for?

[darrin]

Likely they have email and you could email them a pic (or link to the pics you posted)

[914Ravi911]

That happened to me when I got 2 front tires. They didn't just screw up one rim they screwed up both. At least they admitted to it and fixed both rims.
Good luck.

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by 911SauCy

Unfortunate, but since you didn't notice at pick-up and are now waiting until after tour vacation, you don't really have any ground to stand on.

Good luck but you're SoL, unless that tire shop is feeling extra charitable

Ask me why I think this way...

+1

Unfortunately, probably true.

Originally Posted by darrin

Likely they have email and you could email them a pic (or link to the pics you posted)

+1

Send them a link to this thread?

Also, as mentioned elsewhere, cell phone pics and walk around video every time you entrust your vehicle into someone else's care. At the point of dropoff, not at home beforehand.

So sorry to see it. Been there.

Originally Posted by schoward

Sometimes it makes sense to bring your car in fully in tact, have it worked on and then closely inspect it before you take it back. Any damage, poor fitment etc is on the shop right then and there. Bringing in piecemeal parts sometimes opens up the shop to be responsible for basically nothing as they can say your hands and mechanical abilities were all over it.

I don't know about that. I'd opt to bring in just the component vs. the entire vehicle every time. Owen is contending with three gouges on the same wheel. It could always be worse... he could be dealing with damaged bodywork, etc.


I hope the shop does the right thing. However, I'm afraid that the cost to repair in this instance will be your tuition in the school of caveat emptor.

[sugarwood]

That sucks. I'm trying to think how I'd feel.
Probably not worth a fight, but certainly a request from the shop.

The photo just looks like a painted surface.
You're saying this is a grind gouge in a metal surface?
Maybe you can smooth it out and make it good enough.

[autojack]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

That sucks. I'm trying to think how I'd feel.
Probably not worth a fight, but certainly a request from the shop.

The photo just looks like a painted surface.
You're saying this is a grind gouge in a metal surface?
Maybe you can smooth it out and make it good enough.

Yeah, see the three long scratches, similar distance apart? As far as I understand, that's anodized metal. I did a little bit of research about repairing curb rash on Fuchs wheels, I assume this would be similar.

[Sooner or later]

The anodized layer is only a couple of mils thick. If you try to buff it out you risk having a partially polished/partially anodized wheel.

[hcoles]

So what should be done in advance? E.g. get pictures of one of the employees holding each wheel as you drop them off?

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

That sucks. I'm trying to think how I'd feel.
Probably not worth a fight, but certainly a request from the shop.

The photo just looks like a painted surface.
You're saying this is a grind gouge in a metal surface?
Maybe you can smooth it out and make it good enough.

Agree (bold)^^.

As mentioned in this thread, the OG finish is anodized and is very, very thin. You stated in the original post that the PO had "refurbished" the rims two years ago. I zoomed in on the picture and honestly, to me, that looks like chipped paint (likely powder coated) and, yes, some damage to underlying metal. What is the whitish material that appears on the gouges? Is that paint from an object that may have caused the gouges, bonding primer, or is it just an illusion from the camera?

A little more detail about the marks will help. If there is foreign material in the gouges (white material), that may be matched to a tool at the shop. If the rims have been painted by the PO, then a repair can be made that will hide the gouges without refinishing the entire wheel.

[Plays with cars]

Originally Posted by ossiblue

Agree (bold)^^.

As mentioned in this thread, the OG finish is anodized and is very, very thin. You stated in the original post that the PO had "refurbished" the rims two years ago. I zoomed in on the picture and honestly, to me, that looks like chipped paint (likely powder coated) and, yes, some damage to underlying metal. What is the whitish material that appears on the gouges? Is that paint from an object that may have caused the gouges, bonding primer, or is it just an illusion from the camera?

A little more detail about the marks will help. If there is foreign material in the gouges (white material), that may be matched to a tool at the shop. If the rims have been painted by the PO, then a repair can be made that will hide the gouges without refinishing the entire wheel.

I think L.J. is correct. This doesn't look like damage to an anodized wheel. Suspect wheels were painted during refresh. This a good news / bad news situation. Likely repair to this damage is much simpler and less expensive than if they were anodized and damaged, but long term, a painted surface is less durable than an anodized finish.

[autojack]

The photo was taken in my garage with only a work light on it. When I get home I'll take a couple of shots in daylight. The stuff which looks like white paint I think is just bright shiny metal that is exposed.

I don't have a record of what the refurbish job involved but I might be able to find out from the PO.

[shadowjack1]

This happen to me once. I was standing there when it happen. So the shop owner had to get it right.
At first he wanted to pay for the polish job on that one wheel. I told him that the other three would need to be polished as well. He said no way. I told him to buy me a new wheel. at the Time $700.
to refinish all four was only $400. He paid to have all four done.