I just bought new tires from The Tire Rack for my wife's A3 and had them mounted and balanced by a local Bridgestone dealer that I have used for years. While washing her this weekend (the car) i noticed major scratches on all four rims. They are about an inch and a half or two inches from the edge of the rim and go around the rim. All four have the scratches/gouges, as it actually goes clear into the metal. I just took it up to the guy who installed them and he said they would wet sand them down and repaint. Now he did say he would order the paint from Audi.

Does that sound right? This guy just defaced all four of my rims and admitted he knew the guy who did it and what an idiot this guy is.

Should I press to have all four rims replaced verses repainted? I feel bad as I have delt with this guy for years and I paid him less than $100 for mounting and balancing four tires, but I feel as though he should have replaced the rims.

Any thoughts from you guys? Now I know you are biased as we all love our cars, but is that really standard practice?

How will the rims look after repainting?

 

That SUCKS!

I would want all of them replaced. I would tell him that if he thinks he can repaint/repair the rims where they are to the exact same condition as when you brought them in then okay. Otherwise, he needs to replace them. You have to expect to receive your vehicle back in the same condition. It is there profession/business to mount tires and do so without damaging your car. I don't know what the legal obligations of the business are, but those are my feelings.

I would be SOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo PI**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

First of all,

Get their admittance of guilt in WRITING and contact their company and log a complaint.

Once thats done, tell them that you want to get your dealer to look at the RIM. My dealer in Mission Viejo offers a service to repair curb rash on any audi rim so hopefully yours will to. Ask their opinion on this matter and hopefully this will give you some ideas.

As for what I would do if some ****head scratched my rims, I'd demand for a replacement. If they say no, I'd go though my auto insurance w/ an attorney. But thats just me... I wish the best for you.

 

Same happened to me, also Bridgestone dealer...weird!!!!...Mine were not to bad but still....not good enough. I do not believe paint will work and suggest you push for replacement.

 

Sorry to hear about your rims [&:] From what you described, I definitely think that they know their wrong doing and I agree with A3Night's.

Some of us MINI owners have pretty much the same problem when installing/removing the run-flat tires that BMW put on from manufacture. These tires require special tools to remove/install them. Even when I put my MOMO rims on my the MINI with TOYO tires, the guys at the tires store was kind enough to refer me to his other branch because they don't have the tool and he's affraid of hurting the rims.

Anyway, good luck on your rims!