Corolla 2000's wheel trims looking v.tired so thinking of giving it a Xmas present of alloys.... but I don't want 'aftermarket' jobs making my Corolla look like a boy-racer mobile and devalue the whole thing. The higher-spec Corollas had nice Toyota-made alloys, but when I asked my dealer how much they were as spares, they quoted £1000+ !!
2 things -
are there any suppliers doing Toyota parts over the internet cheaper ?
or
would alloys from breakers be any good ?
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Only an opinion, but I'd never buy wheels (of any sort) from a breakers. Seeing as they're pretty vital to your safety, you wont know what's happened to them on a previous car (Warped, dented e.t.c) I'd stay clear of them.
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Only an opinion, but I'd never buy wheels (of any sort) from a breakers. Seeing as they're pretty vital to your safety, you wont know what's happened to them on a previous car
Surely this applies to any secondhand car you buy?
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I'd only buy used wheels which I could observe on a wheel balancing machine - that makes it easy to check for any bent rims etc etc
--
groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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I think DL is right. Wheels and tyres bought from breakers often have a bad name, but you can (and probably do) inspect them far better than the same items screwed to a secondhand car.
Be picky, look for wheels where you can see the state of the car they came from, and as DL says, make sure they are straight and undamaged. Make sure the tyres haven't just been fitted to the rims (could indicate the originals suffered terminal damage) and then you should be OK.
Regards
john S
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presumably I could take the alloys to a decent mechanic to have them checked - would Kwik Fit be any good (since I'd need new tyres, too) ?
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Surprised to see "decent mechanic" and "Kwik Fit" in the same sentence - then I realised it was a question not a statement!
Seriously, my opinion is that you would be better using a trusted local independent. If you post your approximate whereabouts, I'm sure someone will have a suggestion...
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I've seen an article about alloy wheels on bikes where specialists will soak the wheel in a vat of blue dye, let it surface dry, then cover it in white powder. Any cracks in the alloy then show up blue as the dye in the crack soaks into the powder. Probably a good idea to get all alloys checked once in a while, as failures tend to be catastophic rather than gradual in the case of steel rims.
Unfortunately, I've lost the article and can't remember the companies offering this service - anyone else know? Quick search says the following chaps do it - there must be more:
www.kellysearch.com/gb-company-80014989.html
I also suspect that you can buy dye pens and powder for the same purpose; anyone know where?
V
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Vin
It's a standard industrial method of checking for surface cracking on metal components, know as 'dye penetrant testing'.
Any non-destructive testing company should be able to carry it out - not a clue on costs though. The only problem is that unless the wheels are stripped to base metal it may just find cracks in the laquer coat, which could condemn an otherwise sound wheel, or the laquer could disguise a crack beneath it, which is dangerous. It's bad practice to do this on painted components.
Is it necessary on a regular basis? Given the problem of the laquer coat, with well designed wheels, no, unless they've been subject to abuse such as kerb or debris impacts, or run with loose bolts. Such abuse should be visible anyway, as the laquer coat will show damage. I imagine the reputable wheel renovators should do this as part of their process.
Regards
John S
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Like when you buy a used car, just have a good inspection and make the decision.
Have a close look at the condition of the wheels, the valves, the tyres, and see if they look like they had a 'normal' life and with no signs of neglect or abuse. If there are tyres on them are they iregularly worn or cheap makes or odd fitments? Or are they a set of matching hardly worn Michelin Pilots? You just need to inspect them carefully as though you were buying a used car.
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I would rather buy alloys from a breaker than from a refurb outlet. You are more likely to see 'honest' alloys before they have been tarted up, i.e. have any damage hidden.
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thanks everyone - good advice as ever, .... now .. to find nearest breaker with some Corolla's ... :-)
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About 3 yrs ago I a bought an alloy wheel to replace the steel spare on my alloy equipped Corolla and they charged me £81 +VAT.
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Looking at what has been said so far, I would be more inclined to buy from breakers. Alloys are more noticeable for damage than steels. If they are checked out off the car. And prefferably without tyres on any damage will be evident. I am not sure how easy it would be to repair a damaged wheel as and I may be corrected here but as an alloy would need expert welding to correct any cracks in wheel. They are also more inclined to show any kerbing/damage climbing a kerb at speed etc:
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The boy-racer look is to have huge alloy wheels with low profile tyres. If you buy aftermarket alloys and stick to the same size wheels as you have now you can fit the same tyres on and then you won't have the boy-racer look. Halfords do some fairly cheap non boy-racer look alloy wheels with new tyres already fitted for £300 to £400.
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hi guys,
about the alloy wheels,Halfords are doing some ripspeed 6 and 12 spoke wheels on offer at the moment.15" with 195/50/15 tyres for £200.
they are multifit so i guess they should be able to get a fiiting kit (bolts,spiggot rings etc"for your car.
as for scrap yard/breaker alloys,as most people say.as long as there is no obvious damage to the alloys then why not!but i would get new tyres fitted a.s.a.p.
good luck!
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Can't see these on Halfords website, are they only in-store?
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Hi,
yeah...these are a when its gone its gone kind of thing.
you should be able to get them from bigger stores (not only the ones with a ripspeed dept inside).
i havent been on the website for ages but i think there is a branch locator on there.should tell you your closest superstore.
cheers.
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