Bumped my alloy :(

Yucca · 29 Mar 2009 at 17:10

Evening all,

Bumped my mercedes clk alloy of the curb and now it is dented slightly and scratched.

New one from merc will be silly money so went to Quick Fit in Birmingham where they apparently fix such mishaps.

I have been told that it will be £40 and will look as good as new. They file it out apparently and dont add anything to the alloy (ie they don’t weld on any metal or anything!).

I am a bit sceptical, how can a dent and scratches be filed out?!

Anyone has such work done before?

Any advice would be appreciated.

paradigm · 29 Mar 2009 at 17:16

I'll eat my own shoes if they don't use body filler.

Yucca · 29 Mar 2009 at 17:20

He said they dont add anything because it can come off as high speeds over time/when you jet wash your alloys.

paradigm · 29 Mar 2009 at 17:24

But yet they are more than happy to stick cruddy self adhesive weights to your wheels to "balance" them.

Can't see how they could possibly level out a low spot unless they were to take enough away from the surrounding area that it is no longer "low".

IAmATeaf · 29 Mar 2009 at 17:41

I thought they didn't use body filler but some special stuff? Well that's what I was told when I asked about getting alloys repaired ages ago.

MrMoonX · 29 Mar 2009 at 19:50

quickfit just dont they will bodge it beyond all proportions, they cant even change a tyre without screwing it up

Hxc · 29 Mar 2009 at 19:51

If I owned a decent Merc I would certainly be going somewhere other than quickfit if I had the choice.

Turbo-G · 29 Mar 2009 at 19:57

Best bet is to go to www.yell.com, find a few wheel refurbishers, visit them, get a quote and make a decision from there.

Janesy B · 29 Mar 2009 at 19:58

The guy from Kwik Fit is talking out of his arse. There's a special filler which can be used. Go to a proper place to get them refurbed. Kwik Fit can barely install an exhaust and put a tire on a wheel.

paintguy · 29 Mar 2009 at 20:24

Most scratches can easily be removed with a sander or file. You'll lose some of the shape on the lip, but it can be made almost unnoticeable.

Dents are a very different matter though...

iaind · 29 Mar 2009 at 20:33

When I bought the mondeo, all 4 wheels had been badly kerbed and some were bubbling up (18s, hence the kerbing). Took them to a local alloy wheel specialist who did them for about £80 per wheel (slightly higher than normal cost due to chrome finish and the size). They welded new metal into the dents, smoothed everything down, relacquered them etc - they came back looking new.
Wouldnt trust kwik fit to do it!

Fropome · 29 Mar 2009 at 20:40

Wicksta · 29 Mar 2009 at 20:44

I doubt Kwik Fit do it themselves, they will subcontract it to a proper wheel refurb place I would have thought.

Fropome · 29 Mar 2009 at 20:45

Dogbreath · 29 Mar 2009 at 20:50

paradigm said:
But yet they are more than happy to stick cruddy self adhesive weights to your wheels to "balance" them.

You'd rather have the uber-crap clip on weights that gouge off the lacquer and start corrosion would you?

Housey · 29 Mar 2009 at 20:55

I can reccomend Shorade Motor Repair in Cannock who did the 4 wheels on my RS4 a couple of weeks back for £85 a wheel. They send the wheels away but as they have excellent quality standards (Porsche bodyshop of the year many times) they can be trusted to ensure they are right before you see them again. In fact I would reccomend them for any bodywork too as they did a simply stunning job on the door of my GT3 but they are not cheap and won't do insurance repairs on many cars as most insurers won't pay their prices.

Nowt to do with me either just in case the OCUK Police get twitchy...