Took my wheels to the local tire shop

[cfiiman]

What does this mediation accomplish, just curious. Sounds like to me (please correct me if I'm wrong b/c I'm asking here) that you just simply have another person in the room to try to get one of you to change your position to make the other one happy correct? If so this seems like a waste of time b/c the douche owner doesn't seem willing to budge. Do the mediators have any "authority" on the outcome? I ask b/c it seems like to me unless they are anal about their cars the one mediator's response summed it up that they don't think it is that big of a deal, which blows and I'm glad you stood your ground but I don't see changing their mind b/c I doubt 90% of "regular" people would even catch a wheel scratch on a DD and if they did probably wouldn't care.

 

[phens82]

Can't help but wonder what the OP would have done in my situation. Took my '14 Jeep Grand Cherokee (black, no less) in for a recall (<1500 miles on the odometer). Due to parts shortages, the vehicle was at the dealer for 2 weeks; I'm not too pleased about it, but I understand that "things happen".

I go to pick up the vehicle and I look over the condition of the body work. There are more than a few smudges (looked oily/greasy) on certain panels which is annoying, but whatever - it was in a dealership garage being worked on and I'll wash it later. But then I notice that three panels (fender, driver door, and rear driver side passenger door) have a "line" on them that I can feel with my fingernail. In the end, the dealership buffed out the scratch to my satisfaction but it sure left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I bring in a 2 month old 2014 JGC to the dealership where I purchased it, and they put a scratch down the side of the whole thing. OP - do they owe me a new Jeep?

 

[BradsDetailing]

i like your pursuit. it's the principle at this point.

the worst thing is when people lie. business people that lie? terrible.

he's full of crap re: removing lugs and damage that "it it is also not preventable and that would happen whenever you take lug nuts off a painted wheel."

that's insane. everyone knows it's not only possible but required if you are running a legit business working on other people's property, particularly if it comes in the shop in perfect condition. you work carefully, you wrap the thin wall socket in electrical tape or something....and also, doing it by hand doesn't hurt! breaker and ratchet off...ratchet and torque wrench on.

the jerk who runs the shop in my sig damaged my wife's brand new Audi on top of doing a terrible job overall and he cost me mounds of money and time in the process. i didn't pursue it past getting money back because my lawyer said for the costs to pay for him to assist me and time spent to meet for any sort of mediation, etc., i'd be upside down. but for you, it sounds like it's not terribly inconvenient or costly to prove the point you need to make.

good luck. keep it up.

Thanks for the support. He stated that every mechanic damages wheels and by me saying no that I was saying all of the mechanics in my town do not know how to install wheels properly. I told him I had never seen damage from anywhere else whenever I have had tires serviced.

Good to see you going through with it. It's a matter of principle, hope you're posting reviews on numerous websites about them.

I will be reviewing and letting everyone know my experience after it is all settled. Thanks for the support.

I ran one of the busiest tire stores in the country for years. I can tell you exactly what caused the scratches around the lugs. It was the plastic cup used to tighten the wheel against the plate on the balancer. They sell rubber rings that go on them so this doesn't happen.
A. The rubber ring was worn to the point that the hard plastic could make contact with the wheel. or
B. the more likely scenario the rubber ring was never put on the cup.

If you go to the shop and take the black plastic cup and put it on the scratches I can almost guarantee it will line up perfectly

I appreciate this information a lot. This is something I can bring up in our next mediation and ask if this would be the cause. He will probably say no, but almost nothing he says is of fact.

YEP!

It was obviously also carelessness and rushing by the employee that caused this to happen.

I just found this thread so time for my .02.

Being anal about your car, why would you take it to a shop like that and if anything not watch what was happening? You should have seen the way the guy was handling your wheels and it should have been obvious he was being careless.

But like what was mentioned, it is totally possible to dismount and mount and balance tires without causing any damage. Even with crappy equipment, its possible if the technician is careful. I have dismounted and mounted my wheels on my cars probably a hundred times and never scratched the barrells of the lugs as long as I was being careful.

I have aftermarket wheels on my car and I will only take them to a shop where I know the technician is going to treat my wheels like they are his own. It happens to be a Goodyear store with old outdated machines, but as long as the guy is careful, he wont damage my wheels. Its not so much the equipment as the technique.

With all thats been said, I know I would want new wheels to. But the reality is I would have to accept that probably wont happen. However, I would want my wheels professionally repaired, and like any good body work, if they are, they should be just as good as they were before the damage.

I guess like everyone else we are looking forward to seeing the outcome and hopefully it will be to the OP's satisfaction.

I was in a hurry and needed them done. I didn't and shouldn't think this would ever happen, but I had a hunch which is how I have before pictures. And it did. I know now to establish a relationship with a reputable mechanic in the future.

To e getting new wheels is the least that can be done as it covers the damage, gives me what I had and anything extra is for my time and money lost through work on this whole scenario. People have become careless because the consequences are not as they should be. I appreciate the support and your $.02

What does this mediation accomplish, just curious. Sounds like to me (please correct me if I'm wrong b/c I'm asking here) that you just simply have another person in the room to try to get one of you to change your position to make the other one happy correct? If so this seems like a waste of time b/c the douche owner doesn't seem willing to budge. Do the mediators have any "authority" on the outcome? I ask b/c it seems like to me unless they are anal about their cars the one mediator's response summed it up that they don't think it is that big of a deal, which blows and I'm glad you stood your ground but I don't see changing their mind b/c I doubt 90% of "regular" people would even catch a wheel scratch on a DD and if they did probably wouldn't care.

The mediators admitted they would not have noticed probably. I don;t doubt it. Most people won't. But, I told them it does not mean that it's right.

Mediation is exactly what you think. To smooth the situation over and come to an agreement and talk to someone else. They have no legal advice and can only finalize something legally if we come to an agreement.

It does not work in this case because he feels he is right and I feel I am right very firmly.

Can't help but wonder what the OP would have done in my situation. Took my '14 Jeep Grand Cherokee (black, no less) in for a recall (<1500 miles on the odometer). Due to parts shortages, the vehicle was at the dealer for 2 weeks; I'm not too pleased about it, but I understand that "things happen".

I go to pick up the vehicle and I look over the condition of the body work. There are more than a few smudges (looked oily/greasy) on certain panels which is annoying, but whatever - it was in a dealership garage being worked on and I'll wash it later. But then I notice that three panels (fender, driver door, and rear driver side passenger door) have a "line" on them that I can feel with my fingernail. In the end, the dealership buffed out the scratch to my satisfaction but it sure left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I bring in a 2 month old 2014 JGC to the dealership where I purchased it, and they put a scratch down the side of the whole thing. OP - do they owe me a new Jeep?

Smudges mean carelessness, so to me the whole job is now on my mind and I am worried about everything.

New Jeep? No. If it was bad enough I would get a new paint job from the factory or from a reputable place using the same paint until it was perfect. This is why people should be cautious about damaging other people property and why in the past it was a big deal. Now, not so much. As people get away with it more and more and making it right or okay to damage other's things.

 

[cfiiman]

So if mediation won't work what is the next step?

 

[BradsDetailing]

So if mediation won't work what is the next step?

A trial in front of a judge

 

[allenk4]

"New Jeep? No. If it was bad enough I would get a new paint job from the factory or from a reputable place using the same paint until it was perfect."

Good Luck with that

 

[rfoster]

"New Jeep? No. If it was bad enough I would get a new paint job from the factory or from a reputable place using the same paint until it was perfect."

Good Luck with that

I agree 100%.

I understand your frustration of having your wheels damaged, but I just can't grasp the demand for a new wheel(s) . I think getting them refinished at the shop of my choice would be more than okay, as I wouldn't really trust his "guy."

I do hope that mediation works in your favor though. Best of luck man.

 

[BradsDetailing]

I agree 100%.

I understand your frustration of having your wheels damaged, but I just can't grasp the demand for a new wheel(s) . I think getting them refinished at the shop of my choice would be more than okay, as I wouldn't really trust his "guy."

I do hope that mediation works in your favor though. Best of luck man.

To me that is putting me in the hole for my time already involved in this and the verbal abuse I have taken from him and his workers.

They weren't refinished when I took them there.

So leaving with refinished wheels is not the same.

 

[TurboToys]

This is what has bugged me about this whole ordeal, its understandable that you want them to be as good as new, but saying new wheels for some damage, or getting a whole new paint job for a scratch, is just making this harder on yourself. If you had taken the wheel refurbish at a reputable oem repair shop, you would be good to go right now with wheels that you wouldnt be able to tell the difference on.

Just like your question to the mediators, if somebody put a refurbished wheel and a new wheel in front of you, there would be no difference between the two

 

[phens82]

This is what has bugged me about this whole ordeal, its understandable that you want them to be as good as new, but saying new wheels for some damage, or getting a whole new paint job for a scratch, is just making this harder on yourself. If you had taken the wheel refurbish at a reputable oem repair shop, you would be good to go right now with wheels that you wouldnt be able to tell the difference on.

Just like your question to the mediators, if somebody put a refurbished wheel and a new wheel in front of you, there would be no difference between the two

I agree fully. Also, it's tough to try to get compensated for your "time" when other people would have simply let it go a long time ago.

Maybe no one owes you anything for the time you've spent on this... Here's to hoping you get a satisfactory result, nonetheless.

 

[02xtreme07SS]

To me that is putting me in the hole for my time already involved in this and the verbal abuse I have taken from him and his workers.

They weren't refinished when I took them there.

So leaving with refinished wheels is not the same.

I get where you are coming from and would have been just as upset as you have been/are if this had happened to me. I too am a man of principle and I have definitely waged my fair share of wars over principles, but at what cost? Was the shop/installer negligent? Absolutely. Are they responsible? Absolutely. Are they willing to do something about it? Absolutely. Is it what you want? Not at all.

At what point will you concede that you are most likely NOT getting new wheels? When their is no settlement in mediation? When the judge throws out the case? I'm not saying it's 100% not happening, I'm saying it is HIGHLY unlikely. I'm also suggesting that you rationally look at this situation and say, "You know what, this probably isn't going to go down the way I really want it to, so what am I willing to accept?" If you aren't willing to show any good faith on some sort of compromise (while still getting the better end of the deal), no mediator or judge is going to simply hand you a new set of wheels. Unfortunately, this isn't as black and white as you or anyone else would like.

I like 'perfect' wheels too. And as a result, over the past 3 years, I've purchased two new wheels from directly from Toyota for my wife's Rav4, about a year between purchases. The finish on these new factory fresh wheels isn't/wasn't even as good as the finish on the original wheels that were still on the car since 2009. So be careful what you are asking for because 'new' could just as easily not be as good as refinished. At least with refinishing you have some say in what is acceptable and what is not. You aren't going to get a dealership to send a bunch of wheels back and forth for you to pick the best ones, but you may get a refinisher to re-refinish a wheel that does not meet your standards before accepting it.

In my eyes, you have two choices:

1. As others have stated, you can most likely get the mediator and/or courts (if you push it that far) to agree to having the shop pay to have your wheels refinished at a shop of YOUR choice. I've had wheels refinished that ended up with a better finish than any factory could ever dream of producing, so don't discount the fact that refinishing them COULD be a better option.

OR

2. You agree on a cash settlement that is equivalent to the value of having your current wheels refinished. If you really want new wheels, you can apply that amount that you settled on toward the cost of new wheels and you can pick up the rest of the bill. Then you can sell your current wheels and recover a little more of the difference between the refinished settlement and the cost of the new wheels.

Whether you like it or not, there is absolutely no chance that wheels that are 4-years old are 100% perfect. Well, maybe if you installed them on the car and you didn't drive it over those 4 years. There will be some degree of visible wear. There will be some degree of material fatigue. There will always be something. Were they in great shape? Based on the photos you took, yes. They sure did appear to be in great shape and you did a fantastic job of keeping them that way, but were they perfect? Sadly, no. It simply isn't possible.

 

[BradsDetailing]

This is what has bugged me about this whole ordeal, its understandable that you want them to be as good as new, but saying new wheels for some damage, or getting a whole new paint job for a scratch, is just making this harder on yourself. If you had taken the wheel refurbish at a reputable oem repair shop, you would be good to go right now with wheels that you wouldnt be able to tell the difference on.

Just like your question to the mediators, if somebody put a refurbished wheel and a new wheel in front of you, there would be no difference between the two

There is a difference. One is refurbished and one is not. It's the principle of it. You may not be able to see the difference, but that does not mean they are the same.

I have to be where I am at because the owner said he would fix most, not all, of the damage and with his wheel guy.

No thanks.

 

[BradsDetailing]

I agree fully. Also, it's tough to try to get compensated for your "time" when other people would have simply let it go a long time ago.

Maybe no one owes you anything for the time you've spent on this... Here's to hoping you get a satisfactory result, nonetheless.

Thanks for the support.

Legally I can not sue for time lost or wages lost. But to me it is lost and that is the reality of it. This is why you should not damage peoples things. Because you end up paying a lot for it.

I have said it before and will again. It used to be that way where if you damage someones things you would pay above and beyond. Now it's less than what it should be so people get careless and people like me have to go through all this.

 

[BradsDetailing]

I get where you are coming from and would have been just as upset as you have been/are if this had happened to me. I too am a man of principle and I have definitely waged my fair share of wars over principles, but at what cost? Was the shop/installer negligent? Absolutely. Are they responsible? Absolutely. Are they willing to do something about it? Absolutely. Is it what you want? Not at all.

At what point will you concede that you are most likely NOT getting new wheels? When their is no settlement in mediation? When the judge throws out the case? I'm not saying it's 100% not happening, I'm saying it is HIGHLY unlikely. I'm also suggesting that you rationally look at this situation and say, "You know what, this probably isn't going to go down the way I really want it to, so what am I willing to accept?" If you aren't willing to show any good faith on some sort of compromise (while still getting the better end of the deal), no mediator or judge is going to simply hand you a new set of wheels. Unfortunately, this isn't as black and white as you or anyone else would like.

I like 'perfect' wheels too. And as a result, over the past 3 years, I've purchased two new wheels from directly from Toyota for my wife's Rav4, about a year between purchases. The finish on these new factory fresh wheels isn't/wasn't even as good as the finish on the original wheels that were still on the car since 2009. So be careful what you are asking for because 'new' could just as easily not be as good as refinished. At least with refinishing you have some say in what is acceptable and what is not. You aren't going to get a dealership to send a bunch of wheels back and forth for you to pick the best ones, but you may get a refinisher to re-refinish a wheel that does not meet your standards before accepting it.

In my eyes, you have two choices:

1. As others have stated, you can most likely get the mediator and/or courts (if you push it that far) to agree to having the shop pay to have your wheels refinished at a shop of YOUR choice. I've had wheels refinished that ended up with a better finish than any factory could ever dream of producing, so don't discount the fact that refinishing them COULD be a better option.

OR

2. You agree on a cash settlement that is equivalent to the value of having your current wheels refinished. If you really want new wheels, you can apply that amount that you settled on toward the cost of new wheels and you can pick up the rest of the bill. Then you can sell your current wheels and recover a little more of the difference between the refinished settlement and the cost of the new wheels.

Whether you like it or not, there is absolutely no chance that wheels that are 4-years old are 100% perfect. Well, maybe if you installed them on the car and you didn't drive it over those 4 years. There will be some degree of visible wear. There will be some degree of material fatigue. There will always be something. Were they in great shape? Based on the photos you took, yes. They sure did appear to be in great shape and you did a fantastic job of keeping them that way, but were they perfect? Sadly, no. It simply isn't possible.

What I want is what I had. Which were perfect wheels. They were not new, but they were perfect.

The problem I have with refinished wheels is are they as good as oem? Same paint? Same testing? I live in Wisconsin and salt is not friendly to wheels.

I Do not and will never get why people side with the defendant. You vandalized someones property. You ruined their hard earned money, wasted their time, I have to now get my tires remounted on a new set or get these taken off and remounted if they get refinished, I have put up with insults and verbal abuse from both the owner and the mechanics. This is a joke to them. That is the issue. But hey, I'm wrong I guess in saying I deserve less than what I had and that the defendant is only responsible for their mistake and not responsible for the other party's extra losses.

He continues to lie to the mediators in saying they replace the valve stems with new ones to ensure no air is lost. The valve stems have more responsibility in damage to the stem than air loss. And why is it you did 3 and not all 4? That's a lie. Either that or it show the mechanics clearly did not care. He stated rubber cause the metal to be scratched.gouged. Really? The mediators don't know anything because they are older women who have never worked with cars. Very nice people, but they don;t get any of this. Me accepting a loss is like saying it is okay to do wrong to others. At a minimum I would accept no less than the price of 4 new wheels to recoup everything lost here. Refinishing them, no refund, paying for another mounting service, time lost in refinishing, no ride to work, paying for a rent a car or taxi....It would be cheaper to get me new wheels. Does everyone not think of everything else involved in my loss here who thinks refinished wheels are okay? I hope this never happens to you, but I somewhat do so you can get a good idea of what one goes through in my scenario.

 

[02xtreme07SS]

What I want is what I had. Which were perfect wheels. They were not new, but they were perfect.

The problem I have with refinished wheels is are they as good as oem? Same paint? Same testing? I live in Wisconsin and salt is not friendly to wheels.

I Do not and will never get why people side with the defendant. You vandalized someones property. You ruined their hard earned money, wasted their time, I have to now get my tires remounted on a new set or get these taken off and remounted if they get refinished, I have put up with insults and verbal abuse from both the owner and the mechanics. This is a joke to them. That is the issue. But hey, I'm wrong I guess in saying I deserve less than what I had and that the defendant is only responsible for their mistake and not responsible for the other party's extra losses.

You're not wrong for feeling the way you do, but you are a bit misguided and your expectations a little lofty. First, vandilism implies intent. Your wheels weren't vandalized. What happened to your wheels was accidental damage that occured during a routine procedure that was improperly executed. It was negligence, nothing more, nothing less.

You are also equating 'new' as being 'perfect'. As I said, the finish of the new wheels I bought direct from Toyota wasn't as good as the finish on the original wheels that had been on the vehicle since 2009.

Just because they are new, doesn't mean they will be equal to what you had. Unless you can prove the damage is structural, under the law all you are entitled to and should expect is for them to repair the wheels to the condition they were prior to the damage, which is repairing the finish only because they were not new at the time the damage occured to the finish.

Don't take my word for it. Do some research to help yourself out. Proper refinishing is similar, if not identical, to wheel finish specifications set forth by the vehicle manufacturer. I'm not talking about a mobile repair shop or even a body shop because neither is capable or qualified to properly refinish a wheel. That's not refinishing, that's a bandaid at best. What you want is a shop that specializes in true wheel refinishing like Wheel Collision Center in Bath, Pa. They will refinish a wheel to a finish that meets or exceeds the factory finish. I understand you are concerned about your winters and the use of salt on the roadways? Ask them for a copy of their salt spray test results for their finish. It should put your mind at ease.

'New' doesn't imply perfect. Your wheels may have been perfect to you and they can be restored to that state, but they weren't 'new' when the finish damage occured and as such you are not entitled to 'new' wheels to replace them.

 

[TurboToys]

What I want is what I had. Which were perfect wheels. They were not new, but they were perfect.

if you look at the pictures you posted earlier in the thread, you can see where the wheels were damaged and repaired at some point, the shop didn't try to apply some touch up paint to those wheels and then hand it back with gouges in other spots.

now, if you look at those spots there, you can see how they are previously chipped areas that had been repaired at some point. they look nothing like any damage that had occurred recently, otherwise they would look similar to this

this is speaking as a person who has painted a few cars, done anything and everything there is to do as a mechanic. professionally i am an electro-mechanic in a plant right now. and personally have rebuilt more than a few cars.

you can tell from the way the damage is that they were using an impact to take the wheels off, which a lot of places do, but there is a right and wrong way to do it. whoever was doing it was hammering the trigger and allowing the lugnuts to spin freely, which is wrong, you can break them loose with the impact but you'll need to feather the trigger and finish removing by hand after they are loose. and if you are anal enough about anything you would have told them ahead of time that you want them to not use an impact wrench on the car to avoid damage. anybody "experienced" with cars like you say, would have mentioned that to avoid damage.

friends and family who have show cars with wheels that cost over 2500 a piece make sure to set clear cut rules when people work on them, the lug nuts themselves can cause a thousand dollars in damage to one wheel if taken off wrong.

The problem I have with refinished wheels is are they as good as oem? Same paint? Same testing? I live in Wisconsin and salt is not friendly to wheels.

the problem you have is that you honestly do not understand the difference between a refinished wheel and an oem wheel. oem wheels do not have a special paint that only manufacturers have, in fact, if you were to send your wheels to be powdercoated and matched to the factory color so you can retain the center caps. you would have a coating that wouldn't simply chip off like you see i nthe pictures, and it would be a much nicer finish in the end than a robotic sprayed urethane.

be honest, did you even explore the idea of getting them refinished, or are you letting your skepticism hold you back from asking a repair shop about how refinished wheels fare vs oem finish wheels. i live in nebraska and our salt is just as bad, you aren't the only person in the world that has been through this situation.

The mediators don't know anything because they are older women who have never worked with cars.

then educate them, your mediators aren't there to lay the facts down, they were there to keep peace between talks (somewhat), but more to just be a cheaper way to come to a conclusion, if you two worked it out between yourselves it would have cost both of you much less time and money to settle right there and have them draw papers up for a hundred bucks, instead of making time in the middle of the week to appear in court, and pay either legal fees or court fees. i'm sure you understand this though.

Very nice people, but they don;t get any of this. Me accepting a loss is like saying it is okay to do wrong to others.

you aren't losing, they offered to get the wheels repaired, and you would be able to choose who and where to get them refinished. but you declined right? you shouldn't put words in someone else's mouth when you yourself already laid out what happened. they did wrong, and they offered to fix it right?

At a minimum I would accept no less than the price of 4 new wheels to recoup everything lost here. Refinishing them, no refund, paying for another mounting service

i have gone through this before, and not for some oem wheels. for wheels costing 4k for a set, you wouldn't be paying for any remounting, you wouldn't be paying for any refinishing or even a rental car if you were unable to find your own transportation. these things are all decided in the final decision. if they aren't, then you should be fighting for those things, and not for new wheels.







not trying to sound like a jerk or anything, but when someone says "it's principle" that is just slang for, "i want to make someone pay more than what they should for something that doesn't matter as much as i think it does". everybody understands what happens when someone does things as a principle, instead of just going the right way.


i'll leave these here, because i know there are wheel repair facilities all over the u.s. that can do great work, and no one would be able to tell if it was oem or repaired just by looking at it. and on the plus side, powdercoating vs oem paint, the powdercoat will last long and be tougher for salt conditions. even if you don't want powdercoat, they can still prep and paint your wheels better than a factory assembly line ever could, trust me, i repair the booths that do factory assembly line painting. the goal is get in get out, not do the absolute best job there is.

 

[BradsDetailing]

if you look at the pictures you posted earlier in the thread, you can see where the wheels were damaged and repaired at some point, the shop didn't try to apply some touch up paint to those wheels and then hand it back with gouges in other spots.

now, if you look at those spots there, you can see how they are previously chipped areas that had been repaired at some point. they look nothing like any damage that had occurred recently, otherwise they would look similar to this

this is speaking as a person who has painted a few cars, done anything and everything there is to do as a mechanic. professionally i am an electro-mechanic in a plant right now. and personally have rebuilt more than a few cars.

you can tell from the way the damage is that they were using an impact to take the wheels off, which a lot of places do, but there is a right and wrong way to do it. whoever was doing it was hammering the trigger and allowing the lugnuts to spin freely, which is wrong, you can break them loose with the impact but you'll need to feather the trigger and finish removing by hand after they are loose. and if you are anal enough about anything you would have told them ahead of time that you want them to not use an impact wrench on the car to avoid damage. anybody "experienced" with cars like you say, would have mentioned that to avoid damage.

friends and family who have show cars with wheels that cost over 2500 a piece make sure to set clear cut rules when people work on them, the lug nuts themselves can cause a thousand dollars in damage to one wheel if taken off wrong.



the problem you have is that you honestly do not understand the difference between a refinished wheel and an oem wheel. oem wheels do not have a special paint that only manufacturers have, in fact, if you were to send your wheels to be powdercoated and matched to the factory color so you can retain the center caps. you would have a coating that wouldn't simply chip off like you see i nthe pictures, and it would be a much nicer finish in the end than a robotic sprayed urethane.

be honest, did you even explore the idea of getting them refinished, or are you letting your skepticism hold you back from asking a repair shop about how refinished wheels fare vs oem finish wheels. i live in nebraska and our salt is just as bad, you aren't the only person in the world that has been through this situation.



then educate them, your mediators aren't there to lay the facts down, they were there to keep peace between talks (somewhat), but more to just be a cheaper way to come to a conclusion, if you two worked it out between yourselves it would have cost both of you much less time and money to settle right there and have them draw papers up for a hundred bucks, instead of making time in the middle of the week to appear in court, and pay either legal fees or court fees. i'm sure you understand this though.



you aren't losing, they offered to get the wheels repaired, and you would be able to choose who and where to get them refinished. but you declined right? you shouldn't put words in someone else's mouth when you yourself already laid out what happened. they did wrong, and they offered to fix it right?




i have gone through this before, and not for some oem wheels. for wheels costing 4k for a set, you wouldn't be paying for any remounting, you wouldn't be paying for any refinishing or even a rental car if you were unable to find your own transportation. these things are all decided in the final decision. if they aren't, then you should be fighting for those things, and not for new wheels.







not trying to sound like a jerk or anything, but when someone says "it's principle" that is just slang for, "i want to make someone pay more than what they should for something that doesn't matter as much as i think it does". everybody understands what happens when someone does things as a principle, instead of just going the right way.


i'll leave these here, because i know there are wheel repair facilities all over the u.s. that can do great work, and no one would be able to tell if it was oem or repaired just by looking at it. and on the plus side, powdercoating vs oem paint, the powdercoat will last long and be tougher for salt conditions. even if you don't want powdercoat, they can still prep and paint your wheels better than a factory assembly line ever could, trust me, i repair the booths that do factory assembly line painting. the goal is get in get out, not do the absolute best job there is.

So, how can you tell that they have been repaired before.

I didn't explore the idea because he would repair some of the damage they cause. That is unreasonable to me. Especially with his wheel guy.

 

[cfiiman]

I Do not and will never get why people side with the defendant.

I don't think anyone here would side with Defendant, clearly they messed up your wheels, period. I think what I'm seeing is that some are thinking your being a bit unreasonable maybe? I guess the way I see it is your wheels, according to you, were "perfect" but "used" wheels nevertheless. I could see if you took "brand new" wheels in, say in boxes and had tires mounted for the first time, then what you want I could absolutely get on board with, but 4 year old wheels? Saying stuff like "The problem I have with refinished wheels is are they as good as oem? Same paint? Same testing?" is that is just semantics IMO, you could say the same thing about a batch of OEM wheels that might not be as good.

I'm not siding with the shop at all, I'm just simply stating that they were not "new", but if they were "perfect" then a quality refurb would be identical to what you had. Saying stuff like For what it is worth, I have a very high dollar set of aftermarket wheels on my garage queen, almost 7K rims, and if a shop did this to me I would be very pissed as well, but I would also agree that having a shop of my choosing put them back to "like new" would be acceptable because they are "used" wheels. Either way good luck with it.

 

[BradsDetailing]

I don't think anyone here would side with Defendant, clearly they messed up your wheels, period. I think what I'm seeing is that some are thinking your being a bit unreasonable maybe? I guess the way I see it is your wheels, according to you, were "perfect" but "used" wheels nevertheless. I could see if you took "brand new" wheels in, say in boxes and had tires mounted for the first time, then what you want I could absolutely get on board with, but 4 year old wheels? Saying stuff like "The problem I have with refinished wheels is are they as good as oem? Same paint? Same testing?" is that is just semantics IMO, you could say the same thing about a batch of OEM wheels that might not be as good.

I'm not siding with the shop at all, I'm just simply stating that they were not "new", but if they were "perfect" then a quality refurb would be identical to what you had. Saying stuff like For what it is worth, I have a very high dollar set of aftermarket wheels on my garage queen, almost 7K rims, and if a shop did this to me I would be very pissed as well, but I would also agree that having a shop of my choosing put them back to "like new" would be acceptable because they are "used" wheels. Either way good luck with it.

Yeah, I get they are not new and what I am asking for are new wheels. But to me that compensates for the price I paid for the tires to be mounted, which I have not received back, and my time invested in all of this.

Still don't know how the judge/mediators would feel about my transportation issue when getting my wheels refinished.

I guess I was always taught to leave things as they are or better. So when someone does neither and just makes it worse, they need to be responsible for it to learn that it is not okay.

 

[TurboToys]

So, how can you tell that they have been repaired before.

I didn't explore the idea because he would repair some of the damage they cause. That is unreasonable to me. Especially with his wheel guy.

You can see that if you chip paint, it has a rough edge, and you should even be able to get a nail under it, and the underside will either be the color ofbthe primer or wheel, but with those pictures I linked, you can tell where the previous chips had been repainted. You see no definite gap at the edges, and the whole thing is the same color, not two tone like places where fresh chips happened.

He wont be doing those repairs, having a wheel refinished entails sending it to a different shop altogether and they would end up stripping and prepping the entire wheel, not just using touchup paint.


If you havent worked out a transportation part of the deal, make sure to bring it up that if they are going to be refinished, then youll need a vehicle or a spare set of wheels to drive on until yours are done.