How long should a 108 refurb last?

[stehanson]

Hi Guys,

Having bought the Z nearly a year ago, i'm finally starting on getting the things done that have niggled me since taking ownership! and looking round the car during cleaning it earlier in the sunlight concerned me that the wheels that were refurbed just before I took ownership are bubbling up again in places, and in one place have split slightly.

The wheels where re-furbed less than 12 months ago so I wonder if this is normal or should I be contacting the company who did them, though I have not got the actual invoice in the folder only the estimate! -only problem is the car was from down south whereas i'm up north!

Any help appreciated!

 

[itguy]

Ooo dear, that's not good.

There are a few factors which will affect how long it lasts.

How good the job was
What has been used to clean the wheels
How many miles / untreated stone chips the wheels have had since refurb.

Worst case, poor refurb (little prep, just a high build primer and flash over with top coat), combined with a nasty salty winter and lots of wonder wheels acid cleaner = short life.

Have you taken a wheel off to see what kind of job was done?

If not, take one off and look for the BBS logo and model number markings. If a cheap job then they'll be quite blurry as they will have too much paint on (where they've just sprayed over). If a decent job then they'll be really clear as they'll have dipped / sandblasted the wheel back to bare alloy before refurb.

 

[itguy]

Ooo - have just noticed the estimate said "outers only".

Did the just have the outer section of the split rim done? All of your corrosion looks like its on the star inner...

 

[Bing]

Mine had been refurbed when I bought my car in Sept 2011 and were almost perfect, including the polished rim. I have slight bubbling round a couple of the small bolts, and a little on the inside of the wheel where the finish was not quite perfect. Nothing up the stars, though I have a ding on one that I guess will start to bubble eventually. Mine are nowhere near as bad as yours.

Couple of observations though - firstly, I have some nasty (in the sense they REALLY need a refurb) daisies for winter so my 108s have not been exposed to too much salt ; secondly, when you clean the wheels you must clean in/around all the little bolts because salt, brake dust and lots of other horrible corrosive crap will just sit in there and start to get under the paint. I use a tooth brush :wink:

 

[Z4M-2006]

£90 a wheel ..

Surely it must have been a full refurb,or the guy thats had them done has been heavily shafted?

Either way,they should really last longer than 12 months if a decent job was done. If you was closer i would go in and discuss it with them,but surely logistics makes it a non starter?

 

[Jembo]

18 months on & mine do not look like that, though I have been using Winter Wheels.

As Bing mentioned, how we'll do you clean them (once a week?) do you expose them to winter salt? Have they suffered any stone chips? If it's over 12 months, unlikely to now have any come back... unless that date was just the estimate & u have a couple of days left

 

[stehanson]

Just a post to clarify and update the thread: Having now spoken to the company that did them!

Ooo - have just noticed the estimate said "outers only".

Did the just have the outer section of the split rim done? All of your corrosion looks like its on the star inner...

Yes indeed this is the case, and tbh the outers are fine apart from nsf which I touched on a kerb a few months back (my fault,nothing to do with the refurb)

It appears their cost for refurb is £125 (+vat) a corner and the previous owner was charged £75 (+vat) per corner to split down and just work on the outers which were kerb damaged

I wash wheels most weeks, jet wash from distance and wash down by hand each wheel using normal shampoo, no harsh chemicals etc, so im guessing they have not been touched since manufacture (save for the outers)

So they willhave to be done when I have some spare cash, probably wait till after the winter tbh as they are not too bad atm,but far from perfect!

 

[Adamski]

One year on from having mine done, and they're still as fresh as the day they were done.

Mine were powder coated and done in a custom finish though.... so wont have the same lacquer bubble issues as yours.

Saying that - mine didn't come out to play in the winter, so didn't get salt and all the other nasties all over them


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[stehanson]

One year on from having mine done, and they're still as fresh as the day they were done.

Mine were powder coated and done in a custom finish though.... so wont have the same lacquer bubble issues as yours.

Saying that - mine didn't come out to play in the winter, so didn't get salt and all the other nasties all over them


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oddly enough I just posted on your MOT thread about your nice looking wheels, prior to reading this reply