Restoration and repair of car rims - how much does it cost and what is it?
By collecting good wheels even from an average car, you can make a unique car. A set of new aluminum rims often costs several thousand zł. It will be cheaper to buy used wheels and repair them.
Although modern cars are better equipped, alloy wheels are usually an optional extra at a hefty price tag. That is why many new cars leave car dealerships on steel rims. Similarly, on stock exchanges and commission stores. Here, even those cars that they used to be on are sold without alloy wheels. Retailers prefer to take discs apart and sell them separately. Fortunately, an impressive set of alloy wheels can be assembled for little money (examples of prices for new and used wheels at the end of the text).
Gunpowder is better than a gun
The easiest way is to buy a set of used discs. Their prices are often even 50-60 percent lower, and minor damage can be easily and cheaply repaired. More and more disc repair shops are appearing on the car service market, and even vulcanizers offer a comprehensive service that includes cleaning, straightening and painting wheels. The price of repairing a disc depends primarily on the material from which it is made. Steel wheels are the cheapest, but the task is not always easy.
– The standard repair price is about PLN 30-50 per piece. However, steel is a hard material. It allows you to straighten up in the area of \uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbthe edges without much difficulty. Serious lateral damage is difficult and sometimes impossible to completely repair, says Tomasz Jasinski from a wheel repair plant in Rzeszow.
After straightening, the steel rim usually requires varnishing. If it's badly damaged and rusty, it's best to sandblast the entire rim to get rid of corrosion and deep pitting in the paintwork. In a professional service, after sandblasting, the rim is protected with an anti-corrosion agent. Only then can you paint. Sandblasting and varnishing a set of 250-inch steel rims will cost around PLN 300-XNUMX.
– There are many ways. Most often it is sprayed or powder coated. The gun gives a good effect, evenly distributes the paint. But a more permanent way is powder coating in a special chamber. This results in a harder layer of varnish that penetrates even the smallest gaps,” says Artur Ledniowski, varnisher.
See also: Wheel geometry. Check suspension tuning after changing tires.
Repair of alloy wheels looks a little different. Since they are made of a softer material, they are easier to bend but also straighten. In the case of light alloy wheels, the easiest way to get rid of the deformations that lateral runout leads to, often imperceptible to the naked eye.
“Cracks are a much bigger problem, especially around the center hole and temples. Least of all, serious defects on the outer, visible side of the rim are repaired. They can be welded, but the rim will always be weakened in this place, and the cost of repair is at least PLN 150. Additional elements, such as chrome edges, are usually replaced with new ones, adds Jasinski.
Straightening the slight curvature of an aluminum disc is costly. about 50-70 zł each. Lacquering depends on the pattern and color. The most popular colors - silver and black - cost about PLN 50-100 each. Multi-layer varnishes are even twice as expensive. If the rim is even, but has a lot of deep scratches and abrasions, putty and smooth them well before painting. To apply the final layer of varnish, such a rim should also be coated with a primer. Unlike steel rims, aluminum doesn't like sandblasting. It is soft and after such processing deep pits are formed in it, which are then very difficult to mask with a primer and varnish.
New rims are much more expensive than used ones - prices for aluminum and steel rims
How much do we save when buying used discs? For a set of new original discs for a middle-class car at a dealer, you need to pay at least PLN 2. That's how much 000-inch wheels cost for the new Volkswagen Passat. But the 16-inch version costs more than 17 PLN. Meanwhile, a set of discs used in this size can be bought for about PLN 5. If they are not badly damaged, the elimination of minor defects and varnishing will cost no more than 000-1 PLN.
An interesting alternative can also be new, but not original rims. Their prices are much lower than those offered in ASO, and the quality is often not inferior to them. For example, for the aforementioned Passat B7, a set of 16 rims can be purchased for around PLN 1500, and 17-inch rims for around PLN 2000.
New 13-inch steel wheels cost about PLN 400-500 for 4 pieces. A 14-inch kit costs a minimum of PLN 850, while a 16-inch kit, for example, for the mentioned VW Passat costs about 1200 PLN. The price of a used, but simple kit in the car market will in any case be half as much. Even adding money for sandblasting and painting, we will save 30-40 percent of the price of a new set.
