VW Ruined My Alloys..!!

[Moneyboi]

Hi guys!

So a over a month ago my car went in for new front pads. My car came back to me with the front passenger side alloy damaged. It was agreed that store manager would repair/refurb back to factory conditions. A week went by (communicating one day a week via email). I got fed up and contacted the person in charge of the store manager. He assured me everything would be sorted. Eventually they agreed to do the front two wheels at their cost and I’d have to pay for the rest two if I’d like them done.

I opted in to do all four. Collected my car last week and this is what my alloys looked like. Initially they look nice because they’re fresh but they are not OEM MK7 Austins?!

Before (Left) After (Right):

As you can see the alloys have been cut so deep that the black edge detail around the petal shape has been removed, which is what adds dimension to the alloys. The refurb has left them looking very flat and they have not been refurbed back to stock Austin alloys as agreed.

I paid £170 for the rear wheels to be done and feel robbed!

Anyone had any similar experience? Any advice? What shall I do?

 

[SRGTD]

From your pictures, the thin edge of the diamond cut surface around the edge of the wheel does look much wider than it was originally, which IMO is an indication that quite a lot of metal has been removed from the surface. Usually, diamond cut alloys can only be safely refurbished a couple of times, as re-cutting the face removes a layer of metal. Any more than two refurbishments and the structural integrity of the wheel could be compromised.

Looking at your ‘after’ picture, I’d be concerned that more metal than was necessary has been removed, and they may have been weakened as a result?

At the very least, I’d raise your concerns with the dealer.

 

[Finglonga]

First I would remove the dealer name for now from your post as naming and shaming may be too soon.



Second I would go and show the dealer manager how bad they look and see what he is going to do about it before you go to VW UK and complain about the damage. They charge top prices so you should be getting top service.

 

[nype]

Wow. Are you sure those aren’t some sort of aftermarket Austin replicas?

 

[Diggs24]

Wow. Are you sure those aren’t some sort of aftermarket Austin replicas?

That's exactly what they are. Cheaper than refurbishing them I bet.

 

[nype]

I was thinking these DAIs but they look a lot more like the Austins than his “after” pics.

 

[GTI-Jay]

My guess is they're just painted. You can't repair austins, because they're machined. So you'll loose the grooves. Some specialist wheel repairs shops would be able to re-machine them, but it'll cost more than what the Made in China wheel is worth !

So they rubbed them down and repainted em. That's all. $20 in effort per wheel most probably.

 

[GTI_Guy13]

Do you have any way to get a thickness reading? Maybe remove the center cap and use a caliper to measure thickness there? Just need to find an OEM one to measure thickness and can potentially get an idea on how much was removed. Just from looking at the before & after photos, it definitely looks like a lot was removed.

 

[ccbird]

Did they also take the time to change the rubber out as well???

 

[Moneyboi]

Did they also take the time to change the rubber out as well???

I took this opportunity to finally stick some decent tyres on Guess they did something right?

Looks like I’m going to get an update on Wednesday while VW investigate with the company responsible for refurbishing my alloys. Will keep you guys posted!

 

[RennWerks]

Moneyboi, from where I'm sitting I don't know that those who refinished your alloy wheels "ruined" them, but they clearly were refinished in a manner that you didn't expect. FWIW, while it's difficult to tell exactly what the repaired wheel looks like now from the photograph you linked, I don't think it looks bad at all. In any case, since you clearly are dissatisfied with their appearance now, I would think this would give you a leg up in working out a solution. Perhaps refinishing all four to look the same without cost would be a reasonable compromise?

 

[joesid]

Was this at a VW dealer? How bad was the damage? What was the turn around time for repair?

If possible, check the part numbers of the wheels, there are two versions of the Austin. You need to be within inches of the wheel to notice the difference. I assume the second/current version is a result of cost cutting.

My car originally came with 5G0601025BDFZZ, which are no longer available. They have been replaced by 5G0601025ASFZZ.

5G0601025BDFZZ:

5G0601025ASFZZ:

As seen in my photos, the spokes of the “BD” have grooves (you can’t feel them, the clear coat fills them in). The current version (“AS”), lacks the grooves, and the spokes have a smooth appearance. When I purchased a replacement wheel in 2016, the original version was NLA in the US.

Depending on the build date of your car, the part numbers might give you some clues. Regardless, you have a right what you actually paid for.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cezar]

That looks dreadful.


I just had mine redone. I had a tire shop fuck up the clear with their machines on all four wheels. Cost me about 800$ at a reputable body shop which was the lowest quote (highest was 3500$). (Yes they paid for it, yes I had to sue them, yes I did win)



They came out almost perfect. You can't really tell they were redone, even up close. But the body shop did have to send them off to a wheel specialist who then sent them off to THEIR specialist. So these wheels aren't something that terry out back with a paint booth can do properly.

 

[VDubberinDE]

Take wheel off car and check inside back for Vw logo and part number that would be cast in. Those look like China aftermarket wheels. Bet they aren’t vw wheels.

 

[Elwood]

First I would remove the dealer name for now from your post as naming and shaming may be too soon.

Second, I would take "VW" off the title of the thread. This isn't a VW issue. It's the dealer.