Damage to alloy

spluff

We had a puncture in our car and was taken to the main dealership.

They have just rung me to say a screwdriver bit was in the tyre.

The alloy has been damaged when they took the tyre off.

They are saying it is not there fault and that they couldnt get the screwdriver bit out which then has scratched the alloy when removing tyre.

They want me to pay for a new alloy as they are not accepting responsibility.

I have told them this is not right and I shouldnt be responsible for the damage.

Does anyone know what I can do? Are they right?

Thanks

smashingyour...

So can't it be repaired?

gilbert_and_sullivan

This isn't right and a tyre man who takes pride in his work would have ensured the tyre was removed in such a way as to avoid this damage..if the offending item couldn't be removed it should have been pushed all the way through and would have dropped harmlessly inside the tyre.

I suspect the debris in question isn't responsible at all and through mishandling or bad working practice the tyre removal machine has indeed damaged the wheel.

Proving this will be difficult however, but i would want to see the wheel in question regardless (i suspect they will be reluctant), an embedded srewdriver bit could scratch the wheel bead inside possibly meaning it needs minor refurbing, but severe damage to the wheel can only have come through shoddy working practice and from the machine itself not a blade sitting in the flexible carcass.

Maybe go and get the wheel involved anyway (i would whatever you do) and tell them that you are taking it to an expert for inspection.

Strider590

Not usually in a dealerships interest to make up extra work. So the damage is probably real....
Did they do the damage? Well unfortunately dealerships sell cars and employ low paid apprentices instead of experienced mechanics, so maybe they did.

I'm wondering how bad the scratching could possibly be........

Also wondering if someone who works there has taken your car out and kerbed the wheel OR taken another car out, kerbed the wheel and replaced it with yours to cover up their incompetence.

It's why I never use dealerships and why I always watch when people are working on my car.

salubrious

Agree with gilbert and sullivan, this kind of damage is perfectly avoidable with a bit more care.

Johno100

Replace an alloy for a scratch:(

You can get a mobile refurbisher to repair and re-lacquer for about £65 per wheel. Surprised the dealer doesn't have one he uses and it could be done at trade price. I'd expect the dealer to pay but maybe negotiate a contribution due to betterment.

spluff

the alloy is diamond cut - it costs £700 to replace and ?? to repair with bmw

i am not happy they damage my alloy and then say because its unusual i have to pay for the damage they caused because they couldnt get the item out of my tyre... my friends said they should have been able to get it out as its in the tread or if they couldnt should have been careful to avoid damage

pictures below :-

neilmcl

OP, what sort of "damage" are we talking here? Like others, I can't see how this could cause such damage as you'd have to replace the alloy. Have you seen the alloy damage, can you post pics of that?

spluff

smashingyour...

neilmcl wrote: »

OP, what sort of "damage" are we talking here? Like others, I can't see how this could cause such damage as you'd have to replace the alloy. Have you seen the alloy damage, can you post pics of that?

He's just said it's a diamond cut BMW alloy.;)

spluff