Wheel refurb, now happy

Jamezee · Post by **Jamezee** » Thu 14 Apr, 2011 22:14

( Had all 4 refurbished £264 inc VAT

Not happy with result

Being re-done next week by same body shop hopefully to a better standard.

Will post pic's when I can face looking at the disaster again

swamper · Post by **swamper** » Thu 14 Apr, 2011 22:15

who did them?

Jamezee · Post by **Jamezee** » Thu 14 Apr, 2011 22:18

A main BMW dealer

Sheri3663 · Post by **Sheri3663** » Thu 14 Apr, 2011 22:33

i bet your gutted!!!!!! hope it works ut. which dealership?

Jamezee · Post by **Jamezee** » Thu 14 Apr, 2011 22:52

I am a bit annoyed

I will give them the chance to sort it next week and hope that their workmanship is as good as their customer care.

In the meantime I shall be driving around with brown paper bags over the wheels

Mouldy · Post by **Mouldy** » Fri 15 Apr, 2011 10:18

Jamezee wrote:A main BMW dealer

Are you sure it was actually done by the dealer and not subbed out to someone like a mobile wheel refinisher. I know someone local to me who does lots of remedial work for main agents, doing paintless dent repairs, wheel refurbs, upholstery and trim repairs. When he works for the dealers, because he does a lot of work for them, his prices are reduced compared to working for the general public.

I wouldn't be surprised if your dealer paid someone like my friend to do a quick job and paid about £30 - £35 per wheel and charged it back to you at a considerable profit.

In my opinion, the only way to get a proper wheel refurb is to go to a specialist, who will strip, repair and powder coat them to give a quality, long lasting finish. It shouldn't have cost any more than you paid for all four wheels, either.

Mine were done about two years ago by The Wheel Clinic;

http://www.wheelclinic.co.uk/

and they still look as good as the day I got them back and I seem to recall that Mike Fishwick used the same company to do his, too.

Jonttt · Post by **Jonttt** » Fri 15 Apr, 2011 11:47

Yep most dealers sub out the work but that is no excuse for BMW's own quality control not allowing a shoddy job to be handed back to you.

I would get it sorted first to a standard your happy with and then ask for the principles email address and let him know how disppointed you were with their quality control (copy it to BMW UK customer services)

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Fri 15 Apr, 2011 11:49

I had the wheels on the Capri sandblasted and powder coated for £200

BimBeema · Post by **BimBeema** » Fri 15 Apr, 2011 12:05

Yes I've too heard that main dealers sub these type of work out (dent removal, refurbs) to mobile do'ers. They don't have the inhouse expertise and equipment in their garages and mobile refurbs can be very hit & miss.

I had mine refurbed by a specialist who stripped the old finish off, sand blasted, etc, etc and its been fine for 4.5 years, whereas mobile refurbs, just fill the damaged area, sand it down & spray over it without stripping the old finish off.

theduck · Post by **theduck** » Fri 15 Apr, 2011 13:37

I had my alloys on my last car done under warranty by the main dealer. The track wheels I painted myself had less runs in the finish than the ones done by the dealers!

Mouldy · Post by **Mouldy** » Fri 15 Apr, 2011 15:59

Jonttt wrote:Yep most dealers sub out the work but that is no excuse for BMW's own quality control not allowing a shoddy job to be handed back to you.

I would get it sorted first to a standard your happy with and then ask for the principles email address and let him know how disppointed you were with their quality control (copy it to BMW UK customer services)

Jon, I couldn't agree more, but going to a BMW dealer is no guarantee of quality for this sort of work. In my opinion, you would be better going to a wheel refurb specialist in the first place, paying less and getting a better job done at the same time.

Jamezee · Post by **Jamezee** » Sat 16 Apr, 2011 11:34

Mouldy wrote:
Jamezee wrote:A main BMW dealer
Are you sure it was actually done by the dealer and not subbed out to someone like a mobile wheel refinisher. I know someone local to me who does lots of remedial work for main agents, doing paintless dent repairs, wheel refurbs, upholstery and trim repairs. When he works for the dealers, because he does a lot of work for them, his prices are reduced compared to working for the general public.

I wouldn't be surprised if your dealer paid someone like my friend to do a quick job and paid about £30 - £35 per wheel and charged it back to you at a considerable profit.

In my opinion, the only way to get a proper wheel refurb is to go to a specialist, who will strip, repair and powder coat them to give a quality, long lasting finish. It shouldn't have cost any more than you paid for all four wheels, either.

Mine were done about two years ago by The Wheel Clinic;

http://www.wheelclinic.co.uk/

and they still look as good as the day I got them back and I seem to recall that Mike Fishwick used the same company to do his, too.

They have there own body shop etc they dont sub out for the refurb, they do for dents though

Mouldy · Post by **Mouldy** » Sat 16 Apr, 2011 11:46

Jamezee wrote:
Mouldy wrote:
Jamezee wrote:A main BMW dealer
Are you sure it was actually done by the dealer and not subbed out to someone like a mobile wheel refinisher. I know someone local to me who does lots of remedial work for main agents, doing paintless dent repairs, wheel refurbs, upholstery and trim repairs. When he works for the dealers, because he does a lot of work for them, his prices are reduced compared to working for the general public.

I wouldn't be surprised if your dealer paid someone like my friend to do a quick job and paid about £30 - £35 per wheel and charged it back to you at a considerable profit.

In my opinion, the only way to get a proper wheel refurb is to go to a specialist, who will strip, repair and powder coat them to give a quality, long lasting finish. It shouldn't have cost any more than you paid for all four wheels, either.

Mine were done about two years ago by The Wheel Clinic;

http://www.wheelclinic.co.uk/

and they still look as good as the day I got them back and I seem to recall that Mike Fishwick used the same company to do his, too.
They have there own body shop etc they dont sub out for the refurb, they do for dents though

A coat of paint will never be as hardwearing or long lasting as powder coating, whoever the bodyshop is run by.

Jamezee · Post by **Jamezee** » Tue 19 Apr, 2011 20:48

Car is back with them and wheels are being stripped powder coated and lacquered and four new centre badges fitted. It has been sent to a third party wheel place in Manchester. They have given me a courtesy car in the meantime.

Top marks for customer service....just waiting for the result's now

skeete · Post by **skeete** » Tue 19 Apr, 2011 21:04

Jonttt wrote:Yep most dealers sub out the work but that is no excuse for BMW's own quality control not allowing a shoddy job to be handed back to you.

I would get it sorted first to a standard your happy with and then ask for the principles email address and let him know how disppointed you were with their quality control (copy it to BMW UK customer services)

+1 from me too.. Make sure you let them know you are disappointed and that you are a Forum regular, drop hints in a very subtle way that all 100+ of your forums friends were shocked to hear of the poor quality but the great customer service.

Push for a discount or something free like a Main Dealer Insp1 service etc..

Jamezee · Post by **Jamezee** » Tue 19 Apr, 2011 21:07

I got a call from bmw uk on Saturday morning asking about the dealer and if I was happy with the job, they are ringing me back at the end of the week

Jonttt · Post by **Jonttt** » Wed 20 Apr, 2011 00:36

Jamezee wrote:I got a call from bmw uk on Saturday morning asking about the dealer and if I was happy with the job, they are ringing me back at the end of the week

Thats great, BMW UK really do take this kind of thing seriously and each franchise is rated on customer service but... be realistic, every company makes mistakes, its how they deal with them that counts, recognising there is a problem and fixing it without inconveniencing you is the main thing and it looks like they are doing that, your not going to get a free service out of them but you may get a discount on the price etc.... (there is no harm in asking).

Sheri3663 · Post by **Sheri3663** » Mon 25 Apr, 2011 20:55

Any news? How have the wheels turned out?

Jamezee · Post by **Jamezee** » Mon 25 Apr, 2011 22:05

Dropped her off Tuesday, wheel's supposedly sent off the same day, still not done by Thursday, dealer and wheel place closed Friday (BH) only open 4 hour's Saturday, closed Sunday and today (BH) ....

Let's see what tomorrow brings

Getting Zithdrawals now

maurice the martian · Post by **maurice the martian** » Tue 26 Apr, 2011 07:59

They need a big kick up the arse end.
And you need some compensation for all the zedding in the sunshine youve missed out on

Jamezee · Post by **Jamezee** » Wed 27 Apr, 2011 20:46

Well, finally got the Zed back and am really pleased with the result (will post some pics Tomorrow)

They have been fully stripped powder coated and lacquered and look like new

, the finish covers all the alloy including inside the rim right the way back

they are all nice and smmmmoooooooooooottthhhhhhhh now

and have some nice shiny weights and brand new centre badges.

The main dealer's were

http://www.williamsstockportbmw.co.uk/? ... fAodgSMFCQ

and the wheel's were fully refurbished for William's at

http://www.thewheelspecialist.co.uk/?ad ... 4QoduEO-CA

I know it was a bit drawn out but in the end I got the result I wanted. Williams to be fair did not argue after the initial mess up and provided me with a courtesy Bugatti Fiesta whilst they sent the wheel's off. The body shop manager Terry was very helpful and The Wheel Specialist did a fantastic job on the wheel's.

I will be steering clear of kerbs in the future

Titan · Post by **Titan** » Wed 27 Apr, 2011 21:14

Jamezee wrote:The body shop manager Terry was very helpful and The Wheel Specialist did a fantastic job on the wheel's

Most of us Terrys are

Glad you have got it sorted and the Wheel Specialist came up trumps again

TaffZee · Post by **TaffZee** » Wed 27 Apr, 2011 22:17

Glad you have it all sorted

Jim

billz · Post by **billz** » Thu 28 Apr, 2011 04:57

Good for you Jamezee, will we be seeing them on Saturday for the 2nd day of the cruise

bill