[an4691]

Hi Fellow 2Addicts

I had the terrible luck one evening of turning too late and going over the cobbled? part between two exits on the highway a few weeks ago. Since then my cars been running fine and no issues to report up until the morning I'm taking it to the dealer for its scheduled service when it starts warning that the front right tire is low.

Later the service department gets back to me that the wheel is "SEVERELY BENT". They send me pics and videos of the impact point and said that both wheel and tire need to be replaced. They sent me an estimate of 2500$ to get a new wheel and tire plus 200$ for a 4 wheel alignment.

I'm attaching the pics they sent me at the bottom of this post. I'm no expert but looking at pictures of other bent wheel situations I've seen online, the bend here seems not "SEVERE". Also, is the tire even damaged at all? What do you all think? It's a 788M wheel.

2500$ for this wheel and tire combo seems beyond excessive to me, a new wheel is 1000$ online(even cheaper on eBay etc.) and a new OEM tire is 300-ish$ online. Do you think this is a candidate for repair? Should I just let them change it and make an insurance claim? My deductible is 500$. I understand that the insurance claim would be coded as an "at-fault collision" which makes it likely that my rates will go up. Would it also affect the car's resale value since now it has technically been in a collision?

If I don't go the insurance route, the minimum I can get the wheel for is between 700-1000$, and assuming the tire needs to be changed as well I'm looking at between 1200-1500$ out of pocket including the wheel alignment.

I'd love to hear your opinions and what you would do in this situation. I've never dealt with insurance or ever had anything like this happen to my cars before so I'm hoping to learn from your experiences. I would really greatly appreciate any input you have .

Thanks,
Sam

[KevinC]

$2500 for a new wheel and tire? Do you get an all-expenses-paid trip to Vegas and a "free" reach-around with that too? What an insult to hurl a ridiculous figure like that at you.

I'd just buy a replacement wheel off a forum member or Ebay, take it to your local Discount Tire or Costco and buy a tire (or 2 if the other tire on that axle is somewhat worn), and save 500%.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by KevinC

$2500 for a new wheel and tire? Do you get an all-expenses-paid trip to Vegas and a "free" reach-around with that too? What an insult to hurl a ridiculous figure like that at you.

I'd just buy a replacement wheel off a forum member or Ebay, take it to your local Discount Tire or Costco and buy a tire (or 2 if the other tire on that axle is somewhat worn), and save 500%.

Or he could buy the wheel from GetBMWParts.com for $1,001.88


https://www.getbmwparts.com/oem-part...MtMGwtbDYtZ2Fz

[samsamdar]

Another option would be to get the rim repaired and refinished. I'd only do this if you were looking to get all 4 of your wheels redone in a new color (it's impossible for a wheel repair shop to match the OEM two tone color).

[chris719]

Originally Posted by samsamdar

Another option would be to get the rim repaired and refinished. I'd only do this if you were looking to get all 4 of your wheels redone in a new color (it's impossible for a wheel repair shop to match the OEM two tone color).

I would not attempt to repair a forged wheel. I do not believe anyone can fix that wheel and guarantee structural integrity.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by an4691

Hi Fellow 2Addicts

I had the terrible luck one evening of turning too late and going over the cobbled? part between two exits on the highway a few weeks ago. Since then my cars been running fine and no issues to report up until the morning I'm taking it to the dealer for its scheduled service when it starts warning that the front right tire is low.

Later the service department gets back to me that the wheel is "SEVERELY BENT". They send me pics and videos of the impact point and said that both wheel and tire need to be replaced. They sent me an estimate of 2500$ to get a new wheel and tire plus 200$ for a 4 wheel alignment.

I'm attaching the pics they sent me at the bottom of this post. I'm no expert but looking at pictures of other bent wheel situations I've seen online, the bend here seems not "SEVERE". Also, is the tire even damaged at all? What do you all think? It's a 788M wheel.

2500$ for this wheel and tire combo seems beyond excessive to me, a new wheel is 1000$ online(even cheaper on eBay etc.) and a new OEM tire is 300-ish$ online. Do you think this is a candidate for repair? Should I just let them change it and make an insurance claim? My deductible is 500$. I understand that the insurance claim would be coded as an "at-fault collision" which makes it likely that my rates will go up. Would it also affect the car's resale value since now it has technically been in a collision?

If I don't go the insurance route, the minimum I can get the wheel for is between 700-1000$, and assuming the tire needs to be changed as well I'm looking at between 1200-1500$ out of pocket including the wheel alignment.

I'd love to hear your opinions and what you would do in this situation. I've never dealt with insurance or ever had anything like this happen to my cars before so I'm hoping to learn from your experiences. I would really greatly appreciate any input you have .

Thanks,
Sam

Like Kevin and others said above, order a wheel from GetBMWParts.com for 1k and buy a tire or two depending on wear differential across the axle. Get it mounted and balanced by someone with a Hunter RoadForce balancer. It might be close to 2500 total if you buy two tires.

I would not try to fix that wheel. I am not sure if the tire is good or not honestly, but I would personally replace it if it were me. I wouldn't want to have someone mount it on a new wheel and find out it doesn't balance and then waste an entire trip.

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by chris719

I would not attempt to repair a forged wheel. I do not believe anyone can fix that wheel and guarantee structural integrity.

Haven't had any reason -- thank God -- to inform myself about wheel repair for my BMW.

But with prior cars the factory did not sanction repairs to cast wheels. Here's a cut/paste from the factory manual:

Straightening and welding work on light alloy wheels is not permissible!

Forgot to mention but one of my cars collided with a mule deer. Among other damage the passenger side front wheel was scuffed up. The body shop sent the wheel out to be refinished. The wheel shop ruined the wheel. It paid for a new one. IIRC at the time these wheels ran $1800. (Porsche Turbo wheel.)

[an4691]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for your replies! It's been a crazy month for me and I'm not talking about just the car though it had its own fair of problems, on top of the wheel. I apologize for the late reply, here's what I finally ended up doing.

I didn't mention this before but the day I was taking the car in for its regular service, it also gave me a drivetrain malfunction error. The car could run but not at full performance, it got up to highway speeds easily but no more. The BMW app showed me a notification about spark plugs needing to be changed, I assumed that was all related and the service would figure this out.

After the dealership investigated further into the powertrain issue, they found that the wiring and sensor harness was chewed up in places by an animal. They also found a bend in the rear wheel on the same side as the front wheel I posted earlier. So in all it was quite a lot of damage and the dealer recommended going down the insurance claim route. Ended up filing 1 claim under comprehensive for the animal damage and another for the wheels and tires under collision. I paid 2 deductibles, $500 each for me and the total repair bill ended up being around $7k so phew 😮*💨!!

They needed to order parts from Germany so it took them a while to get me my car back, finally got it on 11/25. My first experience dealing with insurance and repairs and other than the initial sticker shock, it was quite a pain free experience.

One interesting observation, the procedure to change the wiring and sensor harness must be pretty complicated. They billed 10 hours of labour for the job . At the dealer's rates that was $2200 to install a $400 part, I guess they must have had to pull out the engine and what not.

Alls well that ends well though!

[an4691]

Originally Posted by KevinC

$2500 for a new wheel and tire? Do you get an all-expenses-paid trip to Vegas and a "free" reach-around with that too? What an insult to hurl a ridiculous figure like that at you.

I'd just buy a replacement wheel off a forum member or Ebay, take it to your local Discount Tire or Costco and buy a tire (or 2 if the other tire on that axle is somewhat worn), and save 500%.

RIGHT!!! When they gave me that estimate my eyes almost popped out of my head. Had I gone the eBay + TireRack route, I could've had it in about 1100$ and would've got TireRack's complimentary road hazard protection(which i have used before and was so glad I had it).

[DanG]

Sounds like you had a rat problem. I also had rat damage but the dealer was able to fix the wiring harness so my bill was about $600. I now have rat traps by both my front wheels just to be safe.

[an4691]

Originally Posted by DanG

Sounds like you had a rat problem. I also had rat damage but the dealer was able to fix the wiring harness so my bill was about $600. I now have rat traps by both my front wheels just to be safe.

Yes, I've switched my usual parking spot. I've been parking in one particular spot the last year and I don't drive much so hopefully changing spots regularly will prevent this from happening again. I've been parking here for years and haven't seen any rodents all this time, my bad luck I guess.

[///M TOWN]

Originally Posted by an4691

Yes, I've switched my usual parking spot. I've been parking in one particular spot the last year and I don't drive much so hopefully changing spots regularly will prevent this from happening again. I've been parking here for years and haven't seen any rodents all this time, my bad luck I guess.

Place a rat box near your car

Rats come out at night

🐀

[MarlboroM2C]

[QUOTE=samsamdar;29539654]Another option would be to get the rim repaired and refinished. I'd only do this if you were looking to get all 4 of your wheels redone in a new color (it's impossible for a wheel repair shop to match the OEM two tone color).

Have to politely disagree. Although I haven't taken a magnifying glass or microscope to it, I had a curb rash wheel 788m repaired for $225 at Circle BMW Eatontown NJ. The service mgr Tim assured me they did a quality repair, and I was not disappointed.
I personally can not tell where the repair was made. They had the color and coat looking fantastic.