Bent Wheel Repair

[DriveHard]

Anybody ever had this done before? Did it work? I have two of the 17" wheels on my Fiat with a bend in them. The bend is on the inside, which I hear could be repairable. Just wondering if they are ever "right" again?

 

[Wolf359]

I've had a few Mercedes wheels bent back. Happened with 18 and 17 inch rims. They were about $95 a rim. I guess they were fine afterwards, they were balanced and didn't notice any vibration afterwards. I did have one with a crack too, wasn't worth fixing, it would have required welding it and then bending it back and it was cheaper just to buy a refurbed oem wheel on eBay.

 

[skyactiv]

I have had alloy wheels fixed several times and wrote about on here. I've used these people locally for years now: http://wheelmedic.com/services

 

[skyactiv]

 

[Ethan1]

Aluminum isn't good at bending, then bending back, and retaining its strength. Just an anecdote: I had a customer's car with a bent rim. I marked the bend with a paint pen and sent it out for straightening. It came back, the customer went on his merry way for a day or two, and he was soon back with the same rim... bent in the same spot... as evidenced by my original paint pen. Some minor pothole or bump in the road had found the soft spot which was caused by the repair.

 

[Traction]

Just 2 weeks ago I had someone manage to bend the heck out of all 4 wheels, and destroy all 4 tires on a 2017 Jaguar F-type with the optional 20 inch wheels. Replacements were over $8000, and I had them all repaired for $600, plus $1200 worth of new tires.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359

I've had a few Mercedes wheels bent back. Happened with 18 and 17 inch rims. They were about $95 a rim. I guess they were fine afterwards, they were balanced and didn't notice any vibration afterwards. I did have one with a crack too, wasn't worth fixing, it would have required welding it and then bending it back and it was cheaper just to buy a refurbed oem wheel on eBay.

it's illegal to weld a cracked rim

 

[DriveHard]

Thank you for the feedback. Guess I will give it a shot...especially since I can no longer get the aftermarket rims that are on the car (which look amazing). THANKS!

 

[George Bynum]

Originally Posted By: Chris142

it's illegal to weld a cracked rim

Would you cite something here? your city, state, the US? To what does it apply? Thanks!

 

[Ethan1]

Yeah that's an old rumor that gets passed around the tire shop. Lawmakers don't codify automotive repair procedures other than to say that you should follow OEM guidelines or the nebulous and problematic "industry standards".

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: Chris142

Originally Posted By: Wolf359

I've had a few Mercedes wheels bent back. Happened with 18 and 17 inch rims. They were about $95 a rim. I guess they were fine afterwards, they were balanced and didn't notice any vibration afterwards. I did have one with a crack too, wasn't worth fixing, it would have required welding it and then bending it back and it was cheaper just to buy a refurbed oem wheel on eBay.

it's illegal to weld a cracked rim

Is that state or federal law? I can't remember the price, but the guy I used to bend it back said he didn't do it and he had to send it out to get welded. Maybe whoever does the welding is licensed? Anyway, it was going to be more than $140 which is what I paid for a refurbed OEM rim on eBay, they had replicas for $125. The refurb place offered $20 for the old bent rim, but wouldn't offer anything for the cracked one.