Alloy Repair. Have I been had

Martin_o03

Have I just been had with the price of repairing 2 scuffed alloys?

It was the outer rim of both that were damaged and it was a hire car so I had to get it fixed quickly.

They charged me £90 per wheel for welding and another £90 per wheel to refurbish both of them..so all in 360.

I've had 4 wheels refurbished in the past for less than that. It was the added welding that made it more expensive. Does this make sense? Forgive my stupidy. It's done now and I was panicking about returning the car..would just like to know what you would expect to pay.

tedted

Where the wheels cracked to require welding??

DullGreyGuy

Martin_o03 said:

Have I just been had with the price of repairing 2 scuffed alloys?

It was the outer rim of both that were damaged and it was a hire car so I had to get it fixed quickly.

They charged me £90 per wheel for welding and another £90 per wheel to refurbish both of them..so all in 360.

I've had 4 wheels refurbished in the past for less than that. It was the added welding that made it more expensive. Does this make sense? Forgive my stupidy. It's done now and I was panicking about returning the car..would just like to know what you would expect to pay.

You were quoted £360 for repairing 4 alloys, you paid £360, presumably the hire company hasn't raised any concerns with the alloys... what's the problem?

If you thought £360 was toppy then the time to question it was before commissioning them. 

£90 a corner is more than the average service but if you had cracks or chunks missing or had a special finish then you weren't in the market for a basic polish service. The quote for repairing our previous car's alloys were £120 a corner 6 years ago so compared to that you got a good price. 

rollingmoon

Yes, you've been stiffed. Welcome to everyday life in the UK!

fatbelly

I would say it's on the high side. Maybe shop around a bit and compare quotes next time.

However the way things are going I can see those sort of charges becoming standard. It's tough trying to make a living out of a small business.

Did they do a good job?

photome

DullGreyGuy said:

Martin_o03 said:

Have I just been had with the price of repairing 2 scuffed alloys?

It was the outer rim of both that were damaged and it was a hire car so I had to get it fixed quickly.

They charged me £90 per wheel for welding and another £90 per wheel to refurbish both of them..so all in 360.

I've had 4 wheels refurbished in the past for less than that. It was the added welding that made it more expensive. Does this make sense? Forgive my stupidy. It's done now and I was panicking about returning the car..would just like to know what you would expect to pay.

You were quoted £360 for repairing 4 alloys, you paid £360, presumably the hire company hasn't raised any concerns with the alloys... what's the problem?

If you thought £360 was toppy then the time to question it was before commissioning them. 

£90 a corner is more than the average service but if you had cracks or chunks missing or had a special finish then you weren't in the market for a basic polish service. The quote for repairing our previous car's alloys were £120 a corner 6 years ago so compared to that you got a good price. 

I think the OP paid £360 for 2 wheels

400ixl

So many variables, what size were the wheels, did they need diamond cutting, assume they had to remove and refit the tyres, where are you located?

You have certainly paid at the very top end and depending on what had to be done then iy could have been way over the top.

£180 a wheel I would expect it to be a 21+" wheel with tyre fitted that needed welding and straightening, scuffing repaired, powder coating and a diamond cut in central London.

If it was a 19" wheel that needed welding, scuffing repaired and just powder coating then I would expect to pay maybe £100 each. Without welding £80 a corner.

facade

£180 a wheel sounds steep, but if they were diamond cut alloys, they can't just smear filler in the gouges and paint over them, they have to put metal back with the welder, then machine it away again to leave the shiny silver surface.

Diamond cut alloys are a pain with low profile tyres and modern unnecessarily wide cars, the rim touches the kerb first, just a slight brush will gouge the rim. 

Goudy

If they had been welded on the rim to replace gouged out metal, they'd have needed cutting back anyway to flush the welds off, if they were diamond cut finished or not.
They don't just add metal to the rim and paint over it.

So you've had two wheels removed, detyred and stripped of the old paint.
Gouges and missing metal welded back in.
Had them turned down flush again and probably check for trueness.
Repainted and baked.
(if they are diamond cut, the faces would be cut again at this stage)
Lacquered and baked.
Tyres refitted, probably with new valves, balanced, then fitted back to the car.

What did you expect you pay?

Nobbie1967

You may have paid a premium for a quick turnaround if you needed to return the car, but it doesn’t sound outrageous.

MEM62

Yep, royally stitched up as they say in this part of the world.  I buckled two of the wheels on my SLK hitting a pothole.  The repairs to these and refurbishment of all four cost me £450.