Wheel buckle

[TopDMC]

BMW have advised me that I have wheel buckle at the front
I'm on 326 alloys 8J 19"
Seems crazy to buy new wheel at over £500 if it can be repaired!
Three questions.......
- is a repair (assuming it is done professionally) safe and permanent?
- what sort of cost should I be looking at?
- can anyone recommend somewhere reasonably local to Wokingham, Berkshire

I realise that technically that first question was two

 

[mr wilks]

BMW have advised me that I have wheel buckle at the front
I'm on 326 alloys 8J 19"
Seems crazy to buy new wheel at over £500 if it can be repaired!
Three questions.......
- is a repair (assuming it is done professionally) safe and permanent?
- what sort of cost should I be looking at?
- can anyone recommend somewhere reasonably local to Wokingham, Berkshire

I realise that technically that first question was two

Hmmm here's the thing :roll: 99% of all wheels need weights to balance , a "buckled" wheel is one that won't balance within certain tolerances of weights . So my first move with your "buckled " wheel would be to take it somewhere independent & ask them to balance it whilst you wait . Watch it on the machine & see what weights are required in order to get a balance . If it won't then yes its feasible to have a wheel straightened but probably easier to buy a single spare off ebay

 

[cj10jeeper]

I'd take it that the wheel is buckled as a result of hitting a pothole or similar. A high proportion of larger rims are bucked these days from both increased rim size and as a result lower profile tyres and of course increased numbers of portholes.

You can see it really easily when they are rotated on a tyre balancing machine. You only need hold a pointer close to the rim to see it

Several of mine have been buckled like this and been fixed. The specialist only does it when safe and I've never had a problem.
Get them straightened, refurbed if required, tyre refitted, balanced and save you money

£50 is about the going rate

 

[Tyreman]

It's probably flat spotted rather than buckled......very common problem due to the state of the roads, it should be a relatively easy to repair as long as it's not excessive.

As previously mentioned about £50 should cover a repair and rebalance

 

[mr wilks]

CJ / Tyreman
Wouldn't it have been noticeable by the driver if the wheel was buckled :? always wary ( especially where i see mention of Bmw ) that a main dealer has "advised" :roll: call me a cynic :wink:

 

[cj10jeeper]

All my buckled rims were unknown to me until mounted on a machine and demonstrated.
Never would have known and indeed they could have been refurbished and balanced and I’d be no wiser

 

[Tyreman]

Yeah you would be surprised how many wheels are damaged and the driver isn't aware of the issue.........tyre pressure loss is sometimes an indicator

 

[mr wilks]

All my buckled rims were unknown to me until mounted on a machine and demonstrated.
Never would have known and indeed they could have been refurbished and balanced and I’d be no wiser

You've lost me there CJ :? doesn't a buckled rim mean defective therefore affecting its performance or safety ? at which point of course replace or repair ?
If you can't feel a buckled or unbalanced wheel when driving then are you not looking for a solution to problem that isn't there by having it straightened ?

 

[cj10jeeper]

All my buckled rims were unknown to me until mounted on a machine and demonstrated.
Never would have known and indeed they could have been refurbished and balanced and I’d be no wiser

You've lost me there CJ :? doesn't a buckled rim mean defective therefore affecting its performance or safety ? at which point of course replace or repair ?
If you can't feel a buckled or unbalanced wheel when driving then are you not looking for a solution to problem that isn't there by having it straightened ?

Well a few thoughts
Just because you can’t tell something is out doesn’t mean you don’t fix it. My XF suspension is good at masking things. My F may have buckled I don’t yet know about... When spotted at wheel refurb time I fix them
Doesn’t mean performance is immediately compromised or dangerous either. Alloy is soft and bend on big wide rims
Would you know if a rim was cracked or spring broken until someone spotted it during a test? Probably not

Don’t mix out of balance and buckled. One is cause one effect.. Just think your confusing yourself here

 

[Ducklakeview]

Personally, unless it's just extremely minor, and on the rim edge - I would never have one repaired. The alloy work hardens very quickly when it is manipulated, and becomes brittle. I've done it in the past with steel rims, but never with an alloy.

Mike

 

[mr wilks]

Don’t mix out of balance and buckled. One is cause one effect.. Just think your confusing yourself here

No i don't think i am :? Simply curious why a balanced wheel would need to be put in for "unbuckling" if the driver had felt nothing whilst on the road :?

 

[TopDMC]

Don’t mix out of balance and buckled. One is cause one effect.. Just think your confusing yourself here

No i don't think i am :? Simply curious why a balanced wheel would need to be put in for "unbuckling" if the driver had felt nothing whilst on the road :?

I reckon Inknow exactly where this was done. I remember a massive thump from a pothole and expected the tyre pressure to go down with the probability of a crack. It happened about 3 months ago and I can probably find it on the dash cam. Can’t imagine that I could prove it to the council, so long after the event.

Don’t notice any problem when driving, and continue to take corners without vibrations. The tires appear to be wearing (according to the BMW service) in an even manner.

Do I really need to repair? Everything seems fine, no loss of pressing and no vibrations.

Sent a mail to Henley auto care, I found them from google and they replied telling me they could repair a buckle, take about 2 hours and cost between £60 and £80. Anyone with any experience of these guys?

Thanks

 

[DibbleCorse]

No experience of the guys you mention but these guys are excellent, https://www.thewheelspecialist.co.uk/locations/maidenhead/

They also have branches in Kingston, Farnham and Fareham if those are nearer ....

https://www.thewheelspecialist.co.uk/alloy-wheel-repair/guide-to-alloy-wheel-repair/

 

[MACK]

CJ / Tyreman
Wouldn't it have been noticeable by the driver if the wheel was buckled :? always wary ( especially where i see mention of Bmw ) that a main dealer has "advised" :roll: call me a cynic :wink:

I'm with you here, we all know main dealer mechanics are a bunch of muppets and mercenaries. Be intersted to hear what the OP took the car in for in the first place. Interesting that a 326 buckled rather than cracked. They usually seem to cracked first

 

[Joycey]

I've had quite a few wheels straightened, pot holes are a nightmare where I live. Paid £75 a months back.

 

[TopDMC]

CJ / Tyreman
Wouldn't it have been noticeable by the driver if the wheel was buckled :? always wary ( especially where i see mention of Bmw ) that a main dealer has "advised" :roll: call me a cynic :wink:

I'm with you here, we all know main dealer mechanics are a bunch of muppets and mercenaries. Be intersted to hear what the OP took the car in for in the first place. Interesting that a 326 buckled rather than cracked. They usually seem to cracked first

The car went in for its first service at 10k miles
They send you a "health check video" by text and it was on here that it mentions the wheel buckle and recommendation to replace.
I looked at the video a couple of times and tried to enlarge. I really can't see anything

My view would be that, as I can't feel any vibration and I'm not losing any pressure, that it is just cosmetic.
I might just take it in to a tyre/wheel specialist for balancing and see what they think
I'll let you know what they say.

 

[TopDMC]

No experience of the guys you mention but these guys are excellent, https://www.thewheelspecialist.co.uk/locations/maidenhead/

They also have branches in Kingston, Farnham and Fareham if those are nearer ....

https://www.thewheelspecialist.co.uk/alloy-wheel-repair/guide-to-alloy-wheel-repair/

Thanks, I'll give them a call