ProtonGuy
Can your father claim on his insurance for the damaged wheel? depending on NCD etc it could soften the blow.
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What about ringing a couple of other Volvo Dealers and asking how much they would charge for said wheel? This should tell you whether the price you have been quoted/charged is in the right ballpark.
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L\'escargot.
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Par for the course; thanks to the poor steering lock and not then being familiar with it, I kerbed the front offside 17" Amalthea on my V70 when the car was only a few weeks old. This gave me the idea of using it as a spare to replace the space saver and buying a new Amalthea to fit on the car. When I was quoted £280 (two years ago) I changed my mind.
A quick Google of UK web sites also revealed circa £300 to be normal for an OEM Volvo 17" wheel.
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Just to confirm: £280 incl VAT but plus tyre and fitting.
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Most of the prestige brand OEM alloys are this sort of price. I could only advice that if it happens again try and find a specialist who will sell you a refurb, or find one from a reputable dismantler. Jaguar wanted 250 pounds for a "dimple" 15 inch alloy when we wanted to change our space saver for a full sized. Our Jag specialist sold a refurb to us for 40 pounds, and this now has done 5000 miles on the car and is still looking great.
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Certain non relevant comments removed from this thread. Sorry for any sensible and on topic replies that got lost in the clean up. DD
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For once, my deleted comments were actually relevant - I know I know - I'm losing it.
I was saying that I think Ford's "MP3" alloys are 300 odd quid a pop.
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When I read threads like this I realise why I don't buy a prestige marque. I've also never understood the appeal of allow wheels, or low profile tyres either.
But then again, I'm a miserable cheapskate who does not care about image!
Leif
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Having had alloys I wouldn't buy a car without them now.
No alloys usually means a lesser spec anyway.
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I'm too quick with the post button! If the car was good though and had steel wheels, I'd put alloys on afterwards. Nothing flashy. Tasteful ones of course.
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"Having had alloys I wouldn't buy a car without them now"
Adam, Why not?? Can you specify exactly the advantages of 330 quid a time alloys over steel wheels?? Plus the cost of tyres??
That sounds very stroppy, it's not meant to be, and I am sure you won't take it as a stroppy question (!!!) but I really can't see the justification for someone who "is getting on a bit" paying that much for wheels on a Volvo Estate. Maybe on a high performance car, driven hard, on track days perhaps - but an old bloke in a Volvo??
OK, OK just say they look nice and they are what he wants to spend his money on and it is justified, but why then ask if he is being "done"?
Phil
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Nope. Can't give you a technical advantage Phil. I just think they look nicer. I suppose I'm a bit of a snob - more so because the only 2 cars I've ever owned have had them on. They may make the car handle better, they may not but I just think alloys complete the look of the car.
My opinion could change if I ever have to replace one but for now, I'm lucky enough not having to have shelled out for them.
To be honest, they look nice and the are what he wants to spend his money on and it is justified. ;-)
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"To be honest, they look nice and the are what he wants to spend his money on and it is justified. ;-)"
I think I may have asked for that as a reply!!
Phil
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Cheers for the replies.
At least I can see it's fairly 'normal'.
Yes he is going to claim on his insurance now and put it down to experience.
I was interested by the comment about the poor steering lock-something else that he has mentioned before. Plus poor fuel economy.
But that's going off topic so I will leave it there. Thanks.
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It cracks me up to see the number of 4x4s with aloy wheels. When buying my curent trooper i had steel rims fitted and have put the aloy wheels into storage until I come to sell the vehicle. What is the point in driving a 4x4 if you canot drive up a kerb or off road without the risk of costly wheel damage.
paul
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Yes he is going to claim on his insurance now and put it down to experience.
Not sure if your Dad's insurance will do the same thing as my Dad's did, but they wanted to know how many MM's of tread was left on the damaged tyre. Reason being, if half worn, then they would only contribute half the cost of a new tyre, and so forth. Fortunately in my Dad's case, he still had 7MM of tread remaining. A new tyre had 8MM so they fully compensated him for the price of a new tyre.
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To be honest, they look nice and the are what he wants to spend his money on and it is justified. ;-)
I think that this sort of attitude ought to be encouraged.
The more people who spend money on alloy wheels to appeal to car thieves, the less likely it is that those of us with steel-wheeled cars will be walking home. Thanks, Adam! ;-)
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When I read threads like this I realise why I don't buy a prestige marque. I've also never understood the appeal of allow wheels, or low profile tyres either.
Perhaps it's partly safety. Yes, just like powerful cars can often be particularly useful when overtaking, low profile tyres and/or alloys could be better in an emergency situation. If you are faced with a situation where you have to swerve hard, would you prefer to be driving a car with low profile tyres or the same car with regular profile tyres?
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When I read threads like this I realise why I don't buy a prestige marque. I've also never understood the appeal of allow wheels, or low profile tyres either.
Safety! All other things being equal, wouldn't you have more control of a car that had low profile tyres versus regular profile tyres, given a situation where you had to swerve to avoid something?
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For once, my deleted comments were actually relevant - I know I know - I'm losing it. I was saying that I think Ford's "MP3" alloys are 300 odd quid a pop.
Oh god, my Focus has those fitted! :-(
Blue
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*Think*
I saw them on a Focus last year and went over and asked the bloke what they were because they were so nice. They were 3 something - it could have been for the lot which I doubt - so I'm guessing it was each!
I have to say, and I'm not just saying this because you've got them Blue, I think they're some of the nicest alloys ever and if I had the dosh burning a hole in my pocket, I'd get 'em.
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I remember I had a Citroen ZX Aura with alloy wheels, but the design of them made them look more like wheel trims!
I, too, burst the front tyre and split the rim on a pothole and ended up having to claim off insurance. As well as the cost of the tyre, wheel etc, I also got them to include a full alignment and geometry check as the car had taken a right battering when it hit the pothole.
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I've had alloys on my last 3 cars, but the Bora (poverty spec) has steel wheels.
I do not have to worry about cleaning them. They won't corrode. If they get damaged (unlikely) they will be cheap to replace.
I have nice fat tyres, and my teeth don't rattle when I go over bumps.
They don't look as good as alloys, but would I pay £1000 to get VW alloys fitted? Of course not!
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I've heard that OEM alloys are usually cast/forged, and therefore of a far higher quality than "boy-racer" style replacements at £80-120 a wheel.
Only slightly related, this was always the case with aluminium cycle components as drop forged cycle cranks were far stronger than the flashy billet aluminium ones that, in this instance, cost a lot more.
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Is it really worth claiming circa £300 on the insurance.
With the excess and loss of NCD I wouldn't dream of it.
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Interesting development that Vauxhall have made new wheel covers for steel wheels on the latest 1.8 Vectra models that looks very much like real alloys. However, much cheaper to replace if things go wrong. See URL. I actually think it's very clever!
www.carpages.co.uk/vauxhall/vauxhall-vectra-27-08-...0
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Interesting development that Vauxhall have made new wheel covers for steel wheels ....
Quote "the entire Structure wheel assembly, including the cover, is only marginally heavier than the equivalent 16-inch alloy wheel."
That settles the argument that alloys are heavier than steel wheels then ;o)
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I've heard that OEM alloys are usually cast/forged,
What other ways are there to make a wheel? I can't see them being ground out of a solid block, somehow!
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Yep, that's how some are made, or milled out of thinner blanks for the expensive three piece alloys.
If you ever watch American Hot-Rod hey sometimes mill out a whole wheel from cylinder of aluminium, which of course will not be molecularly aligned.
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www.indiacar.com/index2.asp?pagename=http://www.in...m
'ere ya go, try this link.
Do the [url] url [url] tags work here?
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Do the [url] url [url] tags work here?
No. You just need to put http:// in front of the www address - unless of course it's a link to a video clip; in which case leave the http:// off as they tend to take up a lot of the site's bandwidth.
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Mine 320d Sport has 18" alloys fitted as standard with some elastic bands wrapped round for tyres. I had had the car 3 days when I found a pothole at night and needed new tyre/wheel. I took photo's next day of damage, and the road and complained to the council and after a long battle thay agreed to pay my insurance company back for the new one. Quite pleased really as the bill came to £590 for an 18" rim and a 225/35/18 Bridgestone like the originals.
It doesn't exactly have the power to need that size tyres (Backs are bigger!!) and it makes the car tramline like crazy in the inside lane of the motorway. Everywhere else it is planted on the road.
Would I have them again? Definitely, for no other reason than they look really nice.
Pity I am about to replace all four tyres for the first time though....might change my mind after that.
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Ford used to do a steel wheel with a hub cap cover that had the holes exactly matching the larger holes on the steel wheel, and also bolted directly onto the wheel. They were standard fit on the 1987/88 GLS sierra, iirc, and because you were unable to see the steel wheel through the holes in the hub cap, just straight through to the brake disk, it looked fairly similar to an alloy wheel. cheaper to replace the hub cap too, but more complicated due to having to remove the wheel nuts to get it off.
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Alloy wheels when new look nice.
When 10 years old they don't.
10 year old steel wheels can be repainted - four in total - for about £2.00
But since few people keep cars 3 years..
Steel wheels anytime for me...
madf
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10 year old steel wheels can be repainted
So can alloys. OK, maybe not for about £2, but it still can be done on a budget.
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