I just had winter tires put on my s - heavies. Now i have about 3 or 4 months to decide on a new set of wheels and tires for summer. the tire decision I can handle but the wheels - there are just way to many choices - like about 6 million. I am a novice on wheel buying so how does one decide????

I thought I would start by asking what wheels brands or specific wheels should be avoided???

Oh and are there any web sellers that should be avoided?????

 

Lots of people have gotten burned buying wheels on eBay.

 

What's your budget?
What size do you want?
Will you use runflats or conventional rubber?

Dealers: Tire Rack and GMP Performance. Best prices...very reputable. Not fly by night...

 

I hate to always be the devils advocate of topics but I had a great experience buying wheels on eBay. I got myself a set (4) of 7-holes with stock all-season continental tires driven from what I can tell, very few miles, all purchased and shipped to my door for $400.00

The trick with eBay and wheels in my opinion is to buy only what you know will fit your car...aka MINI OEM wheels. I never trust aftermarket unless it comes from tirerack.com

 

The major problem with eBay is that if the wheels are misrepresented, even if you can manage a refund you're still out the shipping, which is substantial. I wouldn't do it unless the seller had a very, very high rating.

 

Actually I was recently looking at rims on eBay. As I checked out the seller info I could see that this seller appeared to be a dealer of wheels. I even found that the seller had sold the same set of rim several times in the past and each buyer had favorable comments. The other cool thing was that you could also see what the others buyer's winning bids were which helps in the buying decision.

Otherwise I understand and appreciate the advice. I tend to be eBay paranoid and not much of a user of eBay until recently. I recently though had to buy one rim for one of my other cars that had one rim that was bent. The purchase went real good and a rim that would have cost me $250 frm the car dealer I got for $80.

So I think on eBay if I were to go that way I would only buy from a dealer who had >99% positive feedback.

 

Budget - depends on my mood but probably in the neighborhood of $150 to $200 per wheel.

Size - my stock is 17 inch that had 205/45 on them and otherwise I don't know.

Runflats - no way. Just dumped the stock runflats and won'r go back.

 

I bought a set of R-84, white, X-Lites from a guy in Florida, $300.00 +$50.00 shipping. It was a great deal and they were "as promised"!! Not a scratch on em and he took great care in packing them. If you're overly concerned, ask questions of the seller and get as much info as you can.

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!

 

I would just suggest choosing a very high quality wheel and would avoid most of the inexpensive tuner replica wheels. In the world of wheels, you get what you pay for. . .

Tire Rack is a great source, especially if you buy a wheel/tire combo and can save money on the mounting and balancing!

 

I bought a set of 15" R82 silverstones off of Ebay for $165, and it worked out nicely. Most of all, they were round, a few scratches, but in good shape. This seller was a very nice guy, but I would be very careful on Ebay. Ferman BMW sells take-offs on Ebay, and I would trust someone like that, but generally, I'd be leery.

 

Im not sure if i want to start listing wheels 'to avoid' when there could
be many people running the exact wheels!

DIY: How to get hated over night.

.. or better yet:

DIY: How to become a Troll over night.

 

I see your point. I guess I was thinking that there may be some brands universally thought of as a ripoff.

I have certainly learned from posts here and elswhere that tirerack is the best safest bet. I already called over there and I was amazed at how patient and helpful the rep was.

 

I would avoid anything that is under 20" in diameter or does not have an exterior facade that rotates independently from the main wheel.

Along those lines, you might want to consider these:

 

Somebody call the cops, the Queen's crown has been stolen and made into a hubcap !

 

Cool. I was just about to order those from a seller on eBay that has no feedback who for some reason also wants my social security number and bank account number. That's ok isn't it?

 

Go for it. Just make sure you pay at least $1000 per wheel and send the seller a cashiers check before he ships them to you.

 

Man, that looks like some sort of heirloom punch bowl that I'm supposed to serve the strong stuff to relatives in, during the holidays.

 

It also has a kind of Old-West-Sheriff's-Badge vibe happening.