Diamond cut alloys - clearcoat/lacquer failing - warranty?

Haggisman

Haggisman

Haggisman

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I noticed when washing the car over the weekend that the clearcoat on 3 of the 4 alloys is peeling quite badly.

Interestingly, I got the car used, and when I got it, I noticed that one of the wheels had a little yellow sticker on it (which incidentally I've found impossible to remove!). This is the only one which is not peeling (and in fact basically looks brand new).

Coincidence? Or as I suspect, a hint that this particular wheel was refurbished/replaced in the past...

The wheels have no physical damage to them, never been kerbed, and only been washed with normal car shampoo, no harsh acidic cleaners, the failure looks like it's started from the centre cap.

It's a 4.5 year old Kia, so this should be covered under the 5 year paintwork warranty right? (is this classed as paintwork) Going to speak to them later/over the weekend, but if anyone can give me some ammo to back up my argument in case they decline it, that would be handy!

Failing that - any ideas roughly what I would be looking at in terms of charges when returning the car at end of lease? Looking at the BVRLA guidelines, any damage where there is bare metal exposed is outside of wear and tear :(
 
Don't know about coverage under warranty but when I've been looking to chop cars into places like WBAC they basically expect diamond cut alloys to be a mess and don't really change the price even if you mark them all as damaged.

Considering they all just go off to auction I'd assume they use similar guidelines and therefore wouldn't worry about it too much unless you want to refurb them. Worth talking to your lease provider before splashing out.
 
Yeah, I'm going to give them a call too and see what they say, if it's <£50 or so a wheel I'll just leave it and take the hit, otherwise I might check if they'd be happy with me getting them powder coated, which should at least give them a more robust finish,

(or I'll just bodge them with some wet&dry and a rattle can of lacquer the week before giving it back :cry: )
 
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if you have something written from Kia that they consider it just normal wear and tear , you can keep that in your back-pocket or possibly better, pro-actively present it to lease company,
depending on how noticeable it is ?
 
Have to say I hate diamond cut alloys - 3-4 years in and 9 times out of 10 they start worming/water getting under the lacquer and they then look tatty even if you are careful with them - unless you thoroughly clean and apply a new protective coat every couple of years or so.
 
Front 2 on my i3 are rotten. Never been kerbed. Only ever washed with ph neutral cleaners.
 
I've had several cars from new with Diamond cut wheels. They all do this. It only takes a stone chip to break the lacquer and then its game over.

Never managed to get anything done under warranty.
 
Mine are shocking for white worm, bloke round the corner from me is apparently good so I’ll give him a call when it’s time to trade in.
 
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Yeah, I've seen a lot of reports of them basically not being fit for purpose - they look nice when the car is brand new, but after a year or 2 it seems almost inevitable that they start to peel, lesson learned and definitely something I'll be avoiding on the next car if possible.

Spoke to the lease company and they've asked me for some photos, so I sent those over, also asked the question about getting them powder coated in a single colour (although not too hopeful about that!)
Spoke to Kia who advised to take it to my local dealer, local dealer say it will be ~£160 just to "investigate" - obviously this will be covered if it is deemed to be a warranty issue.
 
I've had diamond cut alloys replaced just before the three original manufactory warranty ran out from VW,BMW and Mini without fuss they never last more than 3 years before the white worm starts impossible to avoid on Scottish roads if you are using them through winter doesn't matter how well you coat or clean them.

All the extended warranties I have seen exclude the alloys.
 
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Diamond cuts are a pain. Expensive to refurb and you have to cut material away to do it, so you can only repair them a couple times. Many people just do a regular paint job on them when the times comes.
 
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I was quoted £40 per alloy for any damage when I sent one of my leases back, one alloy had a kerb rash about 3cm long. Thankfully the pickup driver didn’t spot it so no charge in the end.
 
Did one of mine recently on a terrible pothole which has formed around a drain.


Bear in mind the rim protector on the Asy 6 - still managed to clip the wheel.


 
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Nasher said:
Diamond cuts are a pain. Expensive to refurb and you have to cut material away to do it, so you can only repair them a couple times. Many people just do a regular paint job on them when the times comes.
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Yeah, if it was my car I'd just get them powder coated solid silver :(

kefkef said:
I was quoted £40 per alloy for any damage when I sent one of my leases back, one alloy had a kerb rash about 3cm long. Thankfully the pickup driver didn’t spot it so no charge in the end.
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Which lease company was that out of interest?
 
Haggisman said:
It's a 4.5 year old Kia, so this should be covered under the 5 year paintwork warranty right? (is this classed as paintwork) Going to speak to them later/over the weekend, but if anyone can give me some ammo to back up my argument in case they decline it, that would be handy!
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It should be - Mercedes replaced one of mine after whiteworm started appearing when the car was 2.5-3 years old.
 
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