Hi guys,

So like a d*mn fool, I chipped my rim on the curb this weekend in my 09 Coupe that I've kept in great condition. I thought I was being super cool and sidestepped a speed bump so I would only have to go over it with one wheel and I scraped the curb.

It isn't horrendous and this sort of thing happens, but I obviously care enough about it to post in this forum. There are two scrapes on the spokes with a bit of the rim taken out and the edge close to the tire is also damaged but to be honest it really isn't that noticeable so I am more concerned about the spokes.

These are just the stock 17's by the way and the integrity of them is fine as far as being bent and causing dangerous situations for me and my passengers. They are totally fine - this is just a cosmetic thing.

So, my options as I see them are such:

1) I could just sorta forget about it because it isn't really that big a deal at the end of the day.

2) I could keep my rims and try to mess around with it a bit to make it look better. I've read some stuff on the internet about sanding down the affected area and using something to fill it in and then painting it the same color as the rest of the rim. I don't think I'd be able to do a fantastic job with this, but maybe I could sand it a bit to kinda even things out and then it will likely get darker over time with wear. This seems to be a viable option, and the most cost effective.

3) I could get the one rim from my dealer (I have a service contract with them, but I believe that wheels are excluded. I will put in a call tomorrow to be sure but I am not counting on it). If I did this, what would a reasonable price be for one rim? The guy at town fair tire (who checked my tire and said it was fine) said they would probably charge $250. Is this too much? Is it worth it to try to find one rim on the internet or elsewhere? If anyone has expertise about this or experience and has a good feel for the market it I would appreciate advice about what I should shell out.

4) I could just get a set of nice rims. My car is black, so maybe something darker could look cool. Could I do this for $300-$400? The one thing to keep in mind is that I am a professional guy in his 20's so while I do like to party and all that I need something that doesn't look ridiculous around more conservative business types. While I have always dreamed of putting my car on 24's with chrome rims, I just couldn't do this because of my job.

Any and all insight is much appreciated. I think at the end of the day #3 is probably the way I'll go if I can get the rim for not too much. If it is too expensive I'll go with #1 or #2 depending on the feedback. #4 is probably the least likely outcome, but I am open to it. Thanks!

 

Are those rims painted silver or are they clear-coated over the machined aluminum?

If they are clearcoated, I'd hurry up & put SOMETHING on the scratches. Clearcoat in a brush-bottle from AutoZone or something like that. It won't be invisible, but it'll keep the remaining clearcoat from continuing to peel as the underlying metal corrodes.

If they are painted, then it's easy. Silver touch-up paint with clearcoat over that. Some automotive-paint supply stores will mix up paint to match your wheels. If you use wheel-paint from someplace like AutoZone it'll probably have larger metal flakes, and will not match real well (unless you paint all 4).

As far as #4, you can spend way more than that if you want. Check out Tire Rack. Where are you located? For me, I'd be inclined to use the factory rims for snow tires then get other rims with tires. (depending on the size that's been my excuse to get 17" while using the stock 16" for snows)

 

You might try here and see if they can help you.Might be a savings compared to a new rim if the dealership is going to mark them up very high.

www dot wheelcollision dot com /honda1.htm