Damnit! Curbed wheel!

[sethsquire]

I'm SO careful when parking, but that didn't prevent me from biting the curb as I made a U-turn coming into a street spot just now. I'm so pissed at myself.

What do people usually do about this? I called a local place and they told me they could refinish it for 150 bucks. However, (a) I don't know about the quality of the work; and (b) there is a good chance this could happen again in the next 34 months, so maybe I'm better off waiting until closer to the lease return. Still, I hate the idea of driving with those blemishes on my wheel... is there anything I could do to remediate it slightly short of getting the wheel refinished?

 

[Alfer]

Did similar in a drive thru a while back. I cringed when I heard the noise. Wasn't major hikey but still...

 

[canucklehead604]

that's hardly any damage, but i get your frustration and desire to repair it. this topic has been covered in the wheels forum:
Curbed my rim


definitely look at using a mobile repair unit which will be cheaper than a brick and mortar shop. ~$100 or less would cover something minor like your damage.

 

[sethsquire]

Did similar in a drive thru a while back. I cringed when I heard the noise. Wasn't major hikey but still...

Yeah I heard the crunch and I was praying I wasn't what I thought. No such luck.

And thanks canucklehead, I just ordered some 9 dollar duplicolor graphite wheel paint on amazon. I suppose I could give it the ol' college try before paying someone else to do it.

 

[rcd123]

Hyundai Parisian Gray Met B/C - Hyundai - Express Paint

If I recall they have most everything. Never tried it, let us know if you do.

 

[Bourbonncigars]

Compared to most that's a baby scratch. No way I'd get that fixed this soon into the lease. Let's be honest, if you did it this time then it's very possible you'll do it again. Personally, I'd wait. I'm OCD about my cars, but this would be an extra expense that may have to be repeated.

 

[sethsquire]

Compared to most that's a baby scratch. No way I'd get that fixed this soon into the lease. Let's be honest, if you did it this time then it's very possible you'll do it again. Personally, I'd wait. I'm OCD about my cars, but this would be an extra expense that may have to be repeated.

Oh I agree its not the end of the world, I don't like it one bit. I ended up running over to Advance Auto Parts and grabbing the graphite wheel paint. I'm going to wash the car tomorrow, grab some masking tape and sandpaper and see what I can do as far as damage control. No way it'll match, but it can't be any worse than the white scuffed aluminum.

 

[EdP]

Oh I agree its not the end of the world, I don't like it one bit. I ended up running over to Advance Auto Parts and grabbing the graphite wheel paint. I'm going to wash the car tomorrow, grab some masking tape and sandpaper and see what I can do as far as damage control. No way it'll match, but it can't be any worse than the white scuffed aluminum.

Aside from the personal pain, I wonder if it would be an issue at lease turn in. The paint may be a big help though.

 

[Fingers McGee]

I'm SO careful when parking, but that didn't prevent me from biting the curb as I made a U-turn coming into a street spot just now. I'm so pissed at myself.

What do people usually do about this? I called a local place and they told me they could refinish it for 150 bucks. However, (a) I don't know about the quality of the work; and (b) there is a good chance this could happen again in the next 34 months, so maybe I'm better off waiting until closer to the lease return. Still, I hate the idea of driving with those blemishes on my wheel... is there anything I could do to remediate it slightly short of getting the wheel refinished?

I've had this done before and I was amazed how well they turned out. Go to a few dealers and ask who they use and you'll be fine.

 

[Toddasaurus]

Interested to see how it all turns out - keep us updated on it!

As for me, I ended up taking mine in to a shop and had them repair my rim. They re-finished the entire rim, and it took significantly longer than what they initially quoted me. Also, the match wasn't 100% perfect, but it was pretty dang close to the 3 other rims. The finish and paint looks perfect on its own.

Despite the frustration of waiting and driving on my stupid spare for so long, and paying for a job that I thought would end in a perfect color match, I still think that I would have been worse off by just not fixing it. It just kills me, my OCD wouldn't allow it. Hah. Ever since then I still am obsessive about watching out for seemingly hidden curbs, and assume that my car's track is wider than it really is. I would like to think I've learned my lesson and will be vigilant enough to avoid curbing my rim again.

All of that said, I feel your pain!!

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[sethsquire]

Well I was about to try and spritz the duplicolor paint to hide it a bit, when I realized that I had purchased some Dr. Colorchip (chip repair kit) for my old Infiniti, which was the color Graphite Shadow.

I was generally underwhelmed with the chip-repairing properties of the kit, but figured to color might be close-ish to the wheels on the G70. The paint in the kit won't bond to anything but bare metal, so I figured if it looked terrible there was no risk of permanent harm because it would just come right off the undamaged areas.

Results are below. It looks like what it is - an amateur job by yours truly - but it actually is a substantial improvement, and it's barely noticeable from more a few feet away. To get a halfway decent job done I really need to take some sandpaper and sand down the damaged metal because that's what makes it noticeable, but it's too hot and I don't have the right sandpaper, so I'm okay with this for now. Figured I'd wait on getting the full-boat refinish.

 

[sethsquire]

From a little further away. Really it's barely even noticeable. Not too shabby for a patch job.

 

[Toddasaurus]

Yeah, you really would have to be looking for it to notice it.

Nice thing is that if you get sick of it you can still always take it to get repaired.

 

[nellie1289]

I will just state the obvious. Have a pro fix it. You will be much happier.

 

[Ruissimo]

Welp.

I did this the other day also. Someone dropped their phone at the baseball field and called us because we were close by. Turned around at a gas station and some jackwagon took both turning lanes to turn left. I forced it through and bam, nicked the curb ever so slightly.

Not as bad as these pics, but noticeable to ME. The first nick is always the worst.

That's what I get for doing a good deed! Someone left their credit card in the gas pump the other day and I returned it to the clerk. I'm still waiting for the karma to hit...

 

[PMCErnie]

Live with it. Before too long you’ll acquire more similar damage. Consider it to be like patina.

 

[sethsquire]

Glad to see I'm not alone. With my ghetto fix, I'm already learning to live with it.

 

[nellie1289]

Live with it. Before too long you’ll acquire more similar damage. Consider it to be like patina.

Maybe it’s jusf me but I have had 10 new cars in 20 years and have never curbed or damaged a rim ever. Not saying it can’t happen I just think it would be infrequent and i would Fix so not in my head. Lol

 

[canucklehead604]

^ lol. Guess what will probably happen in the near future?

 

[sethsquire]

Maybe it’s jusf me but I have had 10 new cars in 20 years and have never curbed or damaged a rim ever. Not saying it can’t happen I just think it would be infrequent and i would Fix so not in my head. Lol

Depends on where you live, I basically parallel park on the street every night. The gaff here was that I wasn't parking, I was just making a U-turn close to the curb.