[R99]

Hi Guys.

My car is going in for her 1st service (2006 car which has done 10,400mls) on Wednesday, so while its there I'm going to get the dealer to look at a few issues with the car, none of which appear to be major, apart from a possible (but not confirmed) problem with either the battery or alternator....

Anyway, the wheels. I have the OEM 17" Polished R99 alloys on the car, which were supplied to the previous owner upon delivery...

Now, it is worth pointing out that three of the rims were refurbished by MINI themselves a few months back, because in her care the previous owner managed to kerb three of the wheels. I did not buy the car from a main dealer, but the work was carried out at my request at a later date by my local main dealer a few months after purchasing the car.

In the last month or so I noticed what looks like bird poo on one of the rims, but on closer inspection it is UNDER NEATH the lacquer (when you run a finger over it, its smooth) and looks like bubbling. . However this damage / defect is nowhere near the repairs which were carried out on the wheels, the area which is affected could be described 'as new'.

Today however I have noticed signs of the same thing happening on two other wheels, they are not as bad as the wheel which started doing this originally, but I fear they may became as bad

My question really is: Given that MINI themselves repaired the wheel (the job was carried out in their body shop and NOT outsourced to another firm) could I feasibly ask them to consider replacing the wheels, which are showing this odd bubbling effect? When I asked for the wheels to be repaired I was not told by anyone that it would affect my warranty.... my agrument is that this is happening even on the wheel which has not been referb'd so it cant be a result of the repair work.

Here are some pics so you can see what I'm on about, does anyone actually know what it is?

.



Any help would be much appreciated...

Regards,

James

[Loui]

I think they will refuse if the know the wheels have been refurbed, but its worth a ry, nothing ventured nothing gained

[R99]

Loui thanks for the reply. I had feared this may be the case, but at the end of the day I was not told that it would invalidate my warranty ...... surely they would have to take into account the fact that its happening on three wheels in total, one of which is unkerbed and has NOT being refurb'd? Therefore it seems a fault beyond my controll?

I could understand if it was happening due to the repair, but it is not.

James.

[David King]

If i was you, i wouldnt tell them that you had them refurbed, if they say anything because they have been refurbed id try other dealers that dont have that information

Good Luck
David

[Tonyt3]

If this is happening to opne of the wheels THAT HAS NOT been refurbished, then I would say that the refurb was irrelevant and that you should make a warranty claim.

However, the problem you will have is that BMW will likely say its the cause of some othe routside factor, most likely the solutions that you have been using to clean the wheels. Dont get me wrong, thats probably irrelevant too, but thats their likely arguement for refusing the claim.

As said above, dont mention the fact that some of the wheels have been refurbed, they can work that out for themselves if necessary. If they then come back and say 'its because they were refurbed', then you can counter with the 'well you did the shoddy work so you can replace them' argument.

[Root Ginger]

This type of damage has a name which escapes me at the moment. It is caused by moisture getting under the lacquer. I read about it recently on Detailing World. I'll see if I can find it...

[R99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tonyt3 (original)

If this is happening to opne of the wheels THAT HAS NOT been refurbished, then I would say that the refurb was irrelevant and that you should make a warranty claim.

However, the problem you will have is that BMW will likely say its the cause of some othe routside factor, most likely the solutions that you have been using to clean the wheels. Dont get me wrong, thats probably irrelevant too, but thats their likely arguement for refusing the claim.

As said above, dont mention the fact that some of the wheels have been refurbed, they can work that out for themselves if necessary. If they then come back and say 'its because they were refurbed', then you can counter with the 'well you did the shoddy work so you can replace them' argument.

That is exactly my argument, fair enough, on the wheel which has not been refurbished the damage is not as bad as the one pictured..... yet! But I suspect this is only going to get worse if it is not sorted out soon.

I am now pretty glad I got MINI to repair the wheels, because if push comes to shove, at the end of the day, THEY carried out the repair and DID NOT tell me this would affect any future warranty claim.

Oh and Tony thanks for the advice about the possiblity of them claiming I have used incorrect cleaning fluids, but I'm safe in the knowledge that only car shampoo has been used to clean them. Non of this uber strength wheel cleaner avliable.

When I take it in though I'm going to keep quiet of the refurb front unless they question it.

James

[118]

Quote: Originally Posted by davidking (original)

If i was you, i wouldnt tell them that you had them refurbed, if they say anything because they have been refurbed id try other dealers that dont have that information

Good Luck
David

I agree - don't mention that they have been refurbed, unless they ask

[Root Ginger]

Quote: Originally Posted by Root Ginger (original)

This type of damage has a name which escapes me at the moment. It is caused by moisture getting under the lacquer. I read about it recently on Detailing World. I'll see if I can find it...

Struggling to find the thread now. Wish I could remember what this is called as going in there with the scientific term for what has happening would certainly stop them doubting you.

[FergusM]

Well I had a similar issue with my BMW330..one wheel was re-furbished by the supplying dealer before I got the car (ex-management and was 6 months old when I collected)....when the alloys started corroding I complained and BMW replaced 3...but not the 4th that was re-furbished. They point blank refused to replace, did not care that damage was not near bit that was refurbished etc etc.

In end I had to buy a 4th alloy to replace the one that they would not replace...I was well unhappy.

So if at all possible don't tell them they were re-furbished and hope they don't notice.

[minimad17]

good luck with it....i personally would say that its unacceptable for these wheels to look the way they do....and that you will not rest unless they A) try to refurb again or B) replace.In regards to the non-refurb wheel - if the dealer does find out about your refurb work....you would obviously say you were told that it wouldn't affect the warranty and more importantly you would say that your non-refurb wheel was in fact 'refurbished' and quite evidently that wheel is in fine and dandy. Thus the refurb has got nothing to do with the distortion of the other wheels. With this account they will not be sure what to do - thus putting the onus on them and should sort out your wheels. Make sure you stress to them that you only use a very weak shampoo (as you said you do) so they cannot even begin to blame other wheel cleaning products for the damage. Concerning the R99 polished finish....a couple of dealers have told me they are a murder to refurbish back to 100% so once again good luck buddy! hope this helps.....et us know

[SiBradbury]

I personally dont think the fact it has been refurbed is even relevant.
If thier bodyshop had carried out a repair on a wing or bonnet etc and this kind of laquer damage appeared, i'm sure they'd still be obligated to fix it.
The Consumer Goods and Service Act says somethin along the lines of "repairs must be carried out with the appropriate level of care and skill" and it could be argued that this is not the case with the repair done to your wheel.
Whats the point of using a BMW approved bodyshop if they dont guarantee the quality of their work?

Obviously all this would depend on how long ago the repair was carried out. Lots of other factors can affect paint over time. If it was longer than a coulple of months back, i'd suggest that it probably wasn't reasonable to expect anything other than a goodwill gesture...

[R99]

Thanks for the further responces guys...

The wheels were refurbed on the 17th March... so about 2 and abit montns ago now.

Si, thanks for the reply (am I right in thinking you used to work in a dealers?)

If the refurb issue is brought up as an excuse, my line or argument is going to be that why did they carry out a repair on the wheel, if they knew it would affect my warranty? Further to this, it is evident on a wheel which has not been refurbed, that the same problem exists. Thirdly the damage to the wheels is no where near the refurbished areas, so how can this refurb have caused the problem to the wheels?

Regards,

James.

[118]

good luck James - let us know how you get on

[R99]

Thanks 118. I really do hope this will be resolved easily, because as far as I can tell, this can only get worse, and spread?

James.

[SiBradbury]

Quote: Originally Posted by R99 (original)

Thanks for the further responces guys...

The wheels were refurbed on the 17th March... so about 2 and abit montns ago now.

Si, thanks for the reply (am I right in thinking you used to work in a dealers?)

If the refurb issue is brought up as an excuse, my line or argument is going to be that why did they carry out a repair on the wheel, if they knew it would affect my warranty? Further to this, it is evident on a wheel which has not been refurbed, that the same problem exists. Thirdly the damage to the wheels is no where near the refurbished areas, so how can this refurb have caused the problem to the wheels?

Regards,

James.

I dont work in the dealers but i do work in the retail motor trade.

If i was in your position i would go to your dealers and basically say "my car is under warranty and there is a paint defect on my alloys" and leave it at that. Don't mention refurbs at all at this point. If they bring up the subject of the refurb, then point out that the defect is

a: not necessarily on the refurbed wheel (unless its obvious which one they refurbed)
b: also evident on the standard paint finish on the other wheels
c: nowhere near the refurbed area

If they only offer to exchange the none-refurbed wheels then you can argue that if they won't offer a warranty on the refurbed wheel then they can not rule out that it was the refurbisning work that CAUSED the defect on that particular wheel. When they argue that is not the case (which they will), you can reply that, in that case, the defect would surely still have appeared regardless of whether they had refurbed the wheel or not and that you are entitled to have it replaced.

And dont underestimate the power of Citizens Advice. They are fantastic with this stuff.

[R99]

Si thanks for the further advice, much appreciated,

[R99]

Update here:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/wheels-ty...ml#post3053049