Alloy wheel corrosion / repair and replace rights?

hieveryone

Hi all, 
Looking for some direction please. 
I bought an 18 month old BMW direct from a dealership December 2019. It had signs of corrosion/milky marks on one of the wheels, which was agreed to be repaired before we picked up, which it was. 
6 months later the same fault occurred on 3 of the wheels. It went into the centre for repair. They are diamond cut alloys and so they are shaved down each time to enable to take a layer off and get rid of the marks. 
They weren't happy with their own efforts and so repaired a 2nd time without telling me (only telling me after the fact). 
During this time I discovered that diamond cut alloys can only be repaired a certain amount of times before being rendered useless. 
BMW offered to powder coat or attempt another repair, which is what I went for - September 2020. 

Fast forward to today (6 months later) and it has happened again and they are refusing to either powder coat or replace the wheels. Car is now out of warranty (which I think they were trying for all along). 

Any ideas of consumer rights etc please? 

Many thanks

born_again

Best bet just get them powder coated yourself.

Diamond cut wheels are a big PIA. Most manufactures simply deny warranty claims saying it is stone chip damage or kerbing.

MattMattMattUK

hieveryone said:

Hi all, 
Looking for some direction please. 
I bought an 18 month old BMW direct from a dealership December 2019. It had signs of corrosion/milky marks on one of the wheels, which was agreed to be repaired before we picked up, which it was. 
6 months later the same fault occurred on 3 of the wheels. It went into the centre for repair. They are diamond cut alloys and so they are shaved down each time to enable to take a layer off and get rid of the marks. 
They weren't happy with their own efforts and so repaired a 2nd time without telling me (only telling me after the fact). 
During this time I discovered that diamond cut alloys can only be repaired a certain amount of times before being rendered useless. 
BMW offered to powder coat or attempt another repair, which is what I went for - September 2020. 

Fast forward to today (6 months later) and it has happened again and they are refusing to either powder coat or replace the wheels. Car is now out of warranty (which I think they were trying for all along). 

Any ideas of consumer rights etc please? 

Many thanks

Your rights will depend on if you can can demonstrate that there is an inherent fault with the wheels, are there any scuffs/marks/damage to the wheels? If so then the fault will likely be at your fault. Diamond cut wheels are lacquered, as soon as there is a minor scratch in that lacquer water will get in and oxidise the alloy underneath, that is why you get the milky look. If the wheels were not re/lacquered then they would have blemished all over. If the blemishes originate from an area that can not be scuffed (inside edge for example) then that usually indicates inadequate lacquering.

hieveryone

Your rights will depend on if you can can demonstrate that there is an inherent fault with the wheels, are there any scuffs/marks/damage to the wheels? If so then the fault will likely be at your fault. Diamond cut wheels are lacquered, as soon as there is a minor scratch in that lacquer water will get in and oxidise the alloy underneath, that is why you get the milky look. If the wheels were not re/lacquered then they would have blemished all over. If the blemishes originate from an area that can not be scuffed (inside edge for example) then that usually indicates inadequate lacquering.

MattMattMattUK said:

hieveryone said:

Hi all, 
Looking for some direction please. 
I bought an 18 month old BMW direct from a dealership December 2019. It had signs of corrosion/milky marks on one of the wheels, which was agreed to be repaired before we picked up, which it was. 
6 months later the same fault occurred on 3 of the wheels. It went into the centre for repair. They are diamond cut alloys and so they are shaved down each time to enable to take a layer off and get rid of the marks. 
They weren't happy with their own efforts and so repaired a 2nd time without telling me (only telling me after the fact). 
During this time I discovered that diamond cut alloys can only be repaired a certain amount of times before being rendered useless. 
BMW offered to powder coat or attempt another repair, which is what I went for - September 2020. 

Fast forward to today (6 months later) and it has happened again and they are refusing to either powder coat or replace the wheels. Car is now out of warranty (which I think they were trying for all along). 

Any ideas of consumer rights etc please? 

Many thanks

Your rights will depend on if you can can demonstrate that there is an inherent fault with the wheels, are there any scuffs/marks/damage to the wheels? If so then the fault will likely be at your fault. Diamond cut wheels are lacquered, as soon as there is a minor scratch in that lacquer water will get in and oxidise the alloy underneath, that is why you get the milky look. If the wheels were not re/lacquered then they would have blemished all over. If the blemishes originate from an area that can not be scuffed (inside edge for example) then that usually indicates inadequate lacquering.

Yes, the previous owner had an issue with one of the wheels and paid for a repair (not sure why), and it also showed signs of the milky appearance when we were buying the car (at 18 months old). There are no other scuffs or marks to the wheels - mainly because we've not driven anywhere recently! The milkyness/corrosion is originating from the centre cap, so not really somewhere that can be kerbed/scraped easily

hieveryone

born_again said:

Best bet just get them powder coated yourself.

Diamond cut wheels are a big PIA. Most manufactures simply deny warranty claims saying it is stone chip damage or kerbing.

We're not keen to get them powder coated because I think it will massively devalue the car - these wheels are specific to this spec of car. 

m0bov

How did you pay for the car?

MattMattMattUK

hieveryone said:

Yes, the previous owner had an issue with one of the wheels and paid for a repair (not sure why), and it also showed signs of the milky appearance when we were buying the car (at 18 months old). There are no other scuffs or marks to the wheels - mainly because we've not driven anywhere recently! The milkyness/corrosion is originating from the centre cap, so not really somewhere that can be kerbed/scraped easily

I would imagine that the wheels were not adequately lacquered, although many months on that would be hard to argue as, as a previous poster mentioned all it takes is a tiny stone chip for diamond cut alloys to start to discolour. If I were you I would get the wheels done somewhere with a good reputation for diamond cut alloys, but only just before you plan to sell the car, if it is the value you are worried about. Whilst the amount of times you can re-cut diamond cut alloys is limited, if done properly it is not nearly as limited as some make out, only a fraction of a mm is taken off the face if cut correctly. 

Unfortunately I am not really sure you have a comeback on this one, not because I do not think the garage did a shoddy job, it is highly likely that they did, but more than unfortunately, many months on, it will be impossible to prove they did an inadequate job.

visidigi

The problem you have is you accepted a repair under manufacturer warranty - you should have pushed for replacement.
DC alloys don't last - as soon as a tyre is replaced shoddily then the whiteworm will begin round the center cap - manufacturers are now designing the central hub piece to not be DC to avoid the claims.

Is this an M car? I don't see the alloy type impacting otherwise - plenty of people swap the styles on BMW's. I for one wont be having DC's again if the hub/bolt holes aren't painted

hieveryone

m0bov said:

How did you pay for the car?

Paid fully in cash. Does that affect anything? 

hieveryone

visidigi said:

The problem you have is you accepted a repair under manufacturer warranty - you should have pushed for replacement.
DC alloys don't last - as soon as a tyre is replaced shoddily then the whiteworm will begin round the center cap - manufacturers are now designing the central hub piece to not be DC to avoid the claims.

Is this an M car? I don't see the alloy type impacting otherwise - plenty of people swap the styles on BMW's. I for one wont be having DC's again if the hub/bolt holes aren't painted

visidigi said:

The problem you have is you accepted a repair under manufacturer warranty - you should have pushed for replacement.
DC alloys don't last - as soon as a tyre is replaced shoddily then the whiteworm will begin round the center cap - manufacturers are now designing the central hub piece to not be DC to avoid the claims.

Is this an M car? I don't see the alloy type impacting otherwise - plenty of people swap the styles on BMW's. I for one wont be having DC's again if the hub/bolt holes aren't painted

Yes it's an M Sport, but it's also the Gran Turismo version.

visidigi

hieveryone said:

visidigi said:

The problem you have is you accepted a repair under manufacturer warranty - you should have pushed for replacement.
DC alloys don't last - as soon as a tyre is replaced shoddily then the whiteworm will begin round the center cap - manufacturers are now designing the central hub piece to not be DC to avoid the claims.

Is this an M car? I don't see the alloy type impacting otherwise - plenty of people swap the styles on BMW's. I for one wont be having DC's again if the hub/bolt holes aren't painted

visidigi said:

The problem you have is you accepted a repair under manufacturer warranty - you should have pushed for replacement.
DC alloys don't last - as soon as a tyre is replaced shoddily then the whiteworm will begin round the center cap - manufacturers are now designing the central hub piece to not be DC to avoid the claims.

Is this an M car? I don't see the alloy type impacting otherwise - plenty of people swap the styles on BMW's. I for one wont be having DC's again if the hub/bolt holes aren't painted

Yes it's an M Sport, but it's also the Gran Turismo version.

M sport is not an M car - that are M2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or XM 4, 5, 6 or 7.

An M sport 3 or 5 Series GT doesn't have alloys specific to the model like M cars - swapping for other designs, as long as OEM BMW spec, would have no negative impact to the value, in some cases it may increase (and M alloys generally fit non M models).

I don't see BMW helping you as they are refurbed. It doesn't matter by whom - the dealer could have refurbed them before you bought the car - so any warranty claim would be void anyway. A dealer repair is not advisable during original warranty as it voids future replacements.