great.... now im nervous as i have some konig feathers on order with americas tire company... i will take all the precautions to ensure that the condition of the wheels is looked at before and after the install. if i wasnt so poor i would have just bought new non runflat tires but that is not the case and the car is less than 2 months old.

 

be veeeeeerr~~y afraaaid.


hummm...i think im going to have some hagdaz coffee icecream.

 

Don't bring ice cream to the forum if you're not going to share!

 

Update - went to Discount Tire today and the higher level manager looked at then and knew right away which piece of equipment caused the damage.

They have ponied up and will either buy me a new set of rims or refinish the current ones. Now I just need to find myself a set of winter tires to swap out.

I'm fine with refinishing as long as it's done right, what processes should I insist on?

 

new wheelset. no questions asked.

 

Agreed, especially if they offered. Are the wheels you want in stock?

 

By "in stock" do you mean at the Mini dealer?

I can understand everyone's desire to push for new wheels, but shouldn't the scratched wheel be able to be refinished to an equivalent? I'm not out to soak the shop if a refinished wheel would be the same as a new wheel.

 

Yep. I asked because if they are a wheel that isn't in stock (looks like flame-spokes?) and have to be special ordered, it may be less worth it to demand a new set.

I totally understand that you're not out to screw the shop and frankly I wouldn't be either. However you take a big chance by having the wheels refinished. Especially if the manager himself proposed the idea of buying you a new set. Basically it's a gamble because you won't see or know if a refinished wheel is the same as a new wheel until after they do it. Fixing a product seldom results in it being as good as new. Now are they willing to refinish the wheels then buy you a new set if you're not satisfied with the results???

 

They look like white x-lites. Not rare, but egregiously expensive from the dealer.
kgardnez, can you post a pic of the whole wheel so we can see the overall damage.
I'm always frightened taking wheels in - even good shops seem far more motivated by speed than care (and in deference, most customers are probably the same...)

 

They are white x-lites, I will post a picture of an entire wheel a little later as it's 31 deg and raining right now (yuck).

The damage is two 1/4" spots with paint removed, 1-1/2" apart on all four wheel.

For the refinishing, I'm looking to find the right place to have it done correctly and then I will dictate where the work is done. If I don't like the work, then the shop will have to repeat it until it's done right.

I could also find another set of white x-lites or s-lites for that matter on here and back bill the shop. Then these wheels with a little touch-up could be come my winter tires... it would suck to take off brand new tires!