Wheel replacement vs bearing

AFF8879

Hi there

I had the below advisories on my MOT and rang my local garage this morning to get a quote for fixing them. The guy on the phone asked me if I had any noticeable noises/problems with the steering, which I don’t, to which he said it wasn’t worth bothering getting the wheels fixed (just the tyres). Firstly - whilst I have no reason to distrust this garage and have used them before without issue, does this sound right? 

Secondly - probably going to sound really stupid here - is there a difference between getting the wheel bearing replaced vs the whole wheel/hubcap etc? Because I also did a search online for mobile mechanics, and can only find tyre replacement and wheel bearing replacement… not “full wheel replacement” or anything similar. Thanks!!

Advisories

Road wheel slightly distorted Nearside Front [5.2.2 (c) (i)]

• Road wheel slightly distorted Nearside Rear [5.2.2 (c) (i)]

• Tyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (Both Front) [5.2.3 (d) (il)]

Ectophile

The wheel bearing is the bearing that attaches the wheel to the car.  It allows the wheel to go round and round while the car doesn't.  There's no need to replace that unless it's failing.

Nobody uses hubcaps any more.

So it's the wheel, or "wheel rim" that would be replaced.

400ixl

Can you see any dents in either side of the wheel rim? This is likely what the MOT is reporting.

What the garage is saying is that if you don't have a vibration through the steering wheel then the distortion is not causing a balancing issue. It may be that the wheel has been balanced already to take this into account.

Cracking and perishing is subjective and may not mean the tyre needs replacing yet.

Get a local independent tyre specialist to have a look and advise.

maxmycardagain

AFF8879 said:

Hi there

I had the below advisories on my MOT and rang my local garage this morning to get a quote for fixing them. The guy on the phone asked me if I had any noticeable noises/problems with the steering, which I don’t, to which he said it wasn’t worth bothering getting the wheels fixed (just the tyres). Firstly - whilst I have no reason to distrust this garage and have used them before without issue, does this sound right? 

Secondly - probably going to sound really stupid here - is there a difference between getting the wheel bearing replaced vs the whole wheel/hubcap etc? Because I also did a search online for mobile mechanics, and can only find tyre replacement and wheel bearing replacement… not “full wheel replacement” or anything similar. Thanks!!

Advisories

Road wheel slightly distorted Nearside Front [5.2.2 (c) (i)]

• Road wheel slightly distorted Nearside Rear [5.2.2 (c) (i)]

• Tyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (Both Front) [5.2.3 (d) (il)]

you MAY need two wheels and a tyre
have you kerbed it?

forget the bearings

Grey_Critic

I note it says Front Tyres - how much tread is on them?

Goudy

I presume your wheels are alloy?
If so you can take them to a wheel refurbisher and they will strip them of paint, true them up and repaint them far cheaper than buying replacements. You would likely get all four refurbished for the price of one new wheel from the dealers, even if they have a diamond cut finish.

I can't work out where you have got wheel bearings from, there's nothing you have posted to suggest it requires them.
If one or more are worn, the MOT test would have picked it up as they test them as part of the MOT test.
The wheel bolts onto the hub assembly, which have a bearing inside them, there is n o bearing in the wheel.

I wouldn't worry about them but would say some mobile mechanics might want to change the whole hub assembly (if it needs wheels bearings) which includes a new bearing rather than just the bearing itself as they probably won't carry a hydraulic press in their van to press out the old bearing (and in the new) from the original hub assembly.

Find a competent wheel refurbisher that can true the wheels and fit two new front tyres, job done.

alan_d

The advisories don't mention anything about the bearing, so why are you suggesting to replace it?
Sounds like 2x damaged wheels (maybe from a pothole?) and 2x damaged or cracking tyres.