Bent wheels for a newbie

[gwellman]

Hey all,

After about a month of browsing through this forum I found a boxster that I loved. I took it for a test drive and had a PPI done at a local porsche mechanic. The dealer was lacking in the customer service dept, but everything looked good so I took the plunge a week ago and I am now the proud owner of a 2003 boxster S. For the short story, skip to last paragraph.

The cars looks and feels great (in my novice opinion), but on the first night I owned it I noticed that the right tail light was out. When I pulled out the assembly the tail light seemed fine but there were two other bulbs missing all together (rear fog light and side marker light I think). Shocked but unphased, I bought replacement bulbs and installed them. They still weren't working. At this point the frustration began to set in.

I called the dealer (I bought it used from a BMW dealership) who was not at all helpful until I remembered that the original description of the car mentioned in passing that it needed a new tail light to pass the state inspection. Somehow this didn't show up the the PPI and the dealer had overlooked it when giving the state inspection sticker. Is it just me or is this a wildly simple thing to be passed in two inspections? It took more finagling than I expected, but the PPI mechanic eventually agreed to fix it (turned out one of the lights was installed backwards and had blown a fuse). That was on Friday.

On Sunday I bought winter tires from somebody local who had just sold his '02. We talked for a bit about the car and then he pointed out that my front rims are a little bent (greeeeaaaat). I can safely say that I remember every minute of driving this week old car and did not hit any big potholes/curbs. He suggested that I go back to the dealer and demand that they retrue them for me. It seemed reasonable that either the PPI mechanic or dealer should be responsible.

So now my question: are the bends bad enough to need attention? The dealer has begrudgingly agreed to have it looked at by his mechanics if I bring it in, though I assume that the mechanics will just say its fine and send me on my way. The whole dealer/mechanic experience has been a headache, so is it worth fighting them on this or should I just drive on?

Thanks so much!

Greg

PS - I should point out that I do not notice the bends when I am driving it (not that I have any experience).

(pics attached: front right, front right, front left)

[mptoledo]

The last pic doesn't look that bad but the first two pics would worry me a little. You want a perfect fit for the tire to seat. I would hate that to blow at high speeds. I am by no means a tire expert but what is the worst thing that can happen if you ask them to fix it? They say no? Well you already have that answer without asking. Did the ppi inspector check those? You can always check into your insurance.

Until an expert chimes in, I might take them to a reputable tire shop and see what can be done and how much it would cost. I don't know if you can "straighten" out these rims "SAFELY". I am sure two new rims aren't cheap.

Side note,(again, I am no expert), but they look like they are bent out not in. To me that would be the fault of who ever put them on last. I guess you could bend them out if you hit a railroad track hard. Do you see any marks on the bend point? Meaning usually if you hit something it will cause a scrape or sharp impression. If it was the tire shop taking the tire off it wouldn't show an impact mark. Just my 2 cents, good luck!!

OH, sorry,I almost forgot. Welcome to the Boxster club!!

[chaabouni]

My $0.02 on this:

First, on the light: there is no right rear fog light - only left. So, that's not dealer's fault. It's just the way they come.

The wheels: I had two front wheels bent on my last Audi (now gone) because the tire shop that replaced the tires did it by hand using hand tools (citing low profile issues and machine can't do it, blah blah blah) and they bent them! You don't have to hit a pothole to get them bent. If you do, you usually have some distinctive rash that goes along with that. So, I went to another tire shop to get a professional opinion on what to do. They said they can bend them back into shape. However, there is a slight problem with this solution. Aside from the cost, which can be high (they have to ship them to a 3rd party shop), they have to heat the wheels up with heat gun to soften the aluminum to bend it back. Doing this, compromises the structural integrity of the wheel, and therefore is not recommended for high performance cars, especially if you want to drive them at a good speed. Isn't that why we all have Porsches? So, even though it was an Audi, I had to spring up for a whole new set of wheels (fronts and back matching). The original shop would not fess up to their idiotic mistake. Live and learn - $1,500 later!

Good luck!

[jwade]

If you can, have the people that installed them replace them. I would not tollerate that workmanship!

These wheels are not cheap. If they balk, go get them in small claims court. Do you have a lawyer friend?

[mptoledo]

Originally Posted by jwade

If you can, have the people that installed them replace them. I would not tollerate that workmanship!

These wheels are not cheap. If they balk, go get them in small claims court. Do you have a lawyer friend?

good idea about small claims court, but check your limits in small claims, and most don't allow lawyers. Before that tell them that while driving on their mistake if you wreck the lawsuit will definately go up exponentially!!!

[gwellman]

I appreciate the feedback guys.

I looked closely and there aren't any marks at the bend point. The car came from NH, so it might of happened when the summer tires were put back on this year. Unfortunately I didn't own it at that point and don't know when or where that might have been done.

Any suggestions on where to go from here?

Thanks again.