Well, last night the idiot on the corner decided it would be a good wheeze to block me in such that the only way I could get out was to drive up on to the pavement. Naturally, this resulted in much scraping of wheeltrims and eventually when I got out one had come off. Pushed it back on tonight but the fit didn't seem all that secure - possibly a combination of this and the fact it got scraped and half pushed off last year when someone decided to reverse down the side of the car. Driving along tonight and there is a nice bouncy plasticy noise and yes, you guessed it, when I stop I find the trim missing.
Rant aside, this means I now need a new set of trims. (You could argue that as it was damaged by the woman who scraped along the car it should have been changed as part of the claim, but they said they couldn't change it as it wasn't a standard Toyota one....)
To get to the question, where is the best place to go for decent trims at a decent price? Halfords? Motorworld? My local car spares shop? I really have no idea on this one. Also, what is reasonable to pay? The wheels are 14" if that makes much difference. I'm not after really flashy ones, but neither am I after the cheapest, nastiest ones on the market.
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I would try a scrap yard Steve and get an original Toyota one.
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Would need 4 - was confirmed by a dealer they aren't standard Toyota fit.
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I would just nip down to Halfords or any other local car parts store. We got a decent looking set for £12.99 - look better than the original ones. Once fitted secure them with a few plastic cable ties.
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Have a look on e-bay. I got a replacement set for my wifes old clio, genuine renault for £18.
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I did not bother replacing them when someone stole the trims off my company Vectra.
I do recommend that those of you with the trims cable tie them on.
I had incident on my motorbike a few years ago when I spotted a wheel trim which had detached from a fast moving car bouncing down a hill towards me Barnes Wallis like.
I only just avoided being hit by the thing. It must have bounced and rolled for around a quarter mile.
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Few years ago, I bought a Mondeo at auction in Peterborough. Came home down the A1, left at my exit and as I slowed down for the roundabout, I laughed out loud as I was overtaken by a wheeltrim which I thought must have come off a car still on the A1.
Got home and, guess what, no wheeltrim. Went back to the roundabout and it was still there, undamaged.
I've bought them in the past from Halfords. They were about £15 and were fully functional and reasonable looking. Ebay is probably a good bet for originals.
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Nicolles clio needed a new set. 15 quid down at Halfords for a decent set that look ok. Adjusted the inner wire things to a tighter fit and they fit and look a treat.
Yes she has scraped one already.
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Nicolles clio needed a new set.
[snip]Yes she has scraped one already.
Are you sure that the damage didn't occur when Papa borrowed the car? ;-)
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Few years ago, I bought a Mondeo at auction in Peterborough. Came home down the A1, left at my exit and as I slowed down for the roundabout, I laughed out loud as I was overtaken by a wheeltrim which I thought must have come off a car still on the A1.
That happened to me with a transit van, but it wasn't a wheeltrim - it was the spare wheel - the carrier had come undone. Fortunately it didn't hit anyone!
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That happened to me with a transit van, but it wasn't a wheeltrim - it was the spare wheel - the carrier had come undone. Fortunately it didn't hit anyone!
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Many years ago, I experienced a spare wheel falling off the rear cradle of truck in front of me.
The BIG problem was I was on a push bike, at speed, going down hill, in the rain, with a cape on acting like a sail and the wind behind me. Absolutely no chance of going rural.
I managed to miss it and the traffic missed me thank goodness.
A couple of miles on I caught up with said truck and said a few words but he could not have cared a fig.
You certainly do not forget events like that.
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I did not bother replacing them when someone stole the trims off my company Vectra.
Ah, you've gone for the 'Mad-Max' look then ;o)
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I'm not sure what the 'Mad Max ' look is Dave but I was certainly mad when they were nicked. The local Vauxhall dealer wanted £80 to replace them so I thought 'stuff it' why do wheels need these useless bits of plastic anyway.
I'm just hoping that my white wheeltrimless Vectra is assumed to be an unmarked Plod and the nutters and tailgaters keep away from me on the road.
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I'm not sure what the 'Mad Max ' look is Dave
Black wheels, just like Mad-Max's car had.
Never understood why manufacturers paint the wheels black when they fit wheel trims. If they were painted silver, then perhaps it wouldn't be so obvious when a trim goes astray.
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If they were painted silver, then perhaps it wouldn't be so obvious when a trim goes astray.
In which case you'd be less likely to give them £20 for a bit of plastic and wire worth £5 to them.
Now, I wonder why they paint them black, then.....?
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Now, I wonder why they paint them black, then.....?
So they dont show that you have a steel wheel costing £25 behind the £5 bit of silver plastic.
Or so the brake dust doesnt show up
StarGazer
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Never understood why manufacturers paint the wheels black when they fit wheel trims. If they were painted silver, then perhaps it wouldn't be so obvious when a trim goes astray.
My Peugeot 305 had silver-painted wheels, and none of these trim things. I think that several other cars of a smilar vintage took the same approach.
It looked fine, and avoided all this messing with bits of plastic.
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Quite sgree, my Mk1 Escort had silver painted steel wheels which lasted outside without rusting for over 25 years until I sold it.
The central part was covered by a small pressed steel hub cover to protect wheel nuts and central wheel bearing nut and split pin. I never lost one of these hub covers and the wheels still looked like new.
StarGazer
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silver painted steel wheels
Now that I think about it, so did my old Mk1 Astra. They rusted, but I just repainted them with Hammerite.
As for bouncing trims & spares, none beat the two occasions on which a skip lorry without a tarpaulin has lost a lump of metal while ahead of me.
One time was on the M6. Fortunately, I was considering an overtake and thus knew the lane next to me was clear - one sharp swerve and the metal flew through the now vacant space that had been occupied by the head of the future Mrs P. It hit the headlights of the Transit behind me.
The other time was on a country lane. Nowhere to go - it came within inches of killing me and just bounced off the driver's door instead. I notified this to the firm concerned within an hour - they took 6 weeks to reply and then just said (a) I was probably a liar and (b) it was too late now to know who was driving.
My views about uncovered skips on the move are not printable.
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>> silver painted steel wheels Now that I think about it, so did my old Mk1 Astra.
My Mk1 Astra wheels were painted gold. It was done to either match the two-tone black/gold paintwork (EXP model), or Vauxhall found that the chocolate under the silver foil melted a lot easier than if they were covered in gold foil!!
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I had incident on my motorbike a few years ago when I spotted a wheel trim which had detached from a fast moving car bouncing down a hill towards me Barnes Wallis like.
I'd second Helicopter's appeal. SWMBO has a similar incident on the B4525 between Northampton and Banbury. Never saw where it came from but it took the rubbing strip and a chunk off the BX's bumper plus some more dings in the plastic bonnet. Would have made a real mess of a more modern car with co ordinated trim and a steel bonnet, never mind a more vulnerable road user.
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Yes, daft thing is that up until last Saturday they *were* tied on, but I had two new front tyres on and he just cut them off, didn't bother replacing them and I didn't have any long enough handy to do it myself.
May have a look in Motorworld if I'm passing tomorrow, otherwise it's Halfords on Monday lunch.
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Talking of flying objects , I still recall with horror the incident on the M40 when a brick or similar came flying toward the car - I assume from between the wheels of a lorry and smashed into the windscreen of the Polo I was driving.It all happened so quickly.
All I can say is thank heaven that the lamination held firm - the bonnet had a large dent , the wiper was mangled and the screen looked like a spiders web.If the screen had gone then I'm sure that SWMBO or I would have been killed.
Any object on the road has the potential to cause an accident - I hit a lump of concrete in the middle of the A24 on my motorbike at around 50 mph- I did not see it because the cars in front just drove over it and it was suddenly there - I managed to stay on but went over it
It was very expensive replacing two buckled wheels.
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If you have a card, then both Makro and Costco usually do good quality sets at a decent price, usually less than a tenner.
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