Almost every week we have a customer who bought used rims on Craig’s List, Ebay, or a friend or acquaintance. They either put them on their car and felt a vibration, or the tire installer noticed that a wheel was bent when balancing the newly mounted tire.

When we check out the wheels, at least one of them has a lateral bend, thus it’s not repairable.  Sometimes the buyer has recourse but most of the time the excitement of getting a great deal turns to the disappointment of getting screwed.

The moral to the story is BUYER BEWARE!  Never purchase used rims without first seeing them spin on a wheel balancer.  There are two types of bends:  The first is a radial bend whereby the wheel is bent around the radius, thus the tire “hops” when spun.  This type of bend is almost always repairable.  The second type of bend is lateral whereby the impact was hard enough to bend the spokes, thus the wheel “wobbles from side to side” when spun.  Lateral bends are not repairable.  Sometimes radial bends can make the wheel look like it is also laterally bent, when in fact removing the radial bend renders the wheel 100% useable.

KwickSilver will check out your wheels free of charge.  Just call to schedule an appointment.  You’ll be glad you did.