[MrChumley]

Does anyone know if the bicolour 442s suffer from the hub corrosion that some other wheels get?

(Another) one of mine took a bit of a whack along with a bit of bodywork. Just wondering whether to do it all on the cheap and risk getting a corroded wheel later with no warranty, or put it all through the insurance and take a hit on the excess and no doubt next year's premium.

[NotGotABimmer23]

Any diamond cut alloy is high risk for corrosion.

[MrChumley]

Thanks. I thought that was probably the case but only seem to read about 403s on here - maybe just that they've been around a bit longer.

[TheLiverBird]

Originally Posted by MrChumley

Does anyone know if the bicolour 442s suffer from the hub corrosion that some other wheels get?

(Another) one of mine took a bit of a whack along with a bit of bodywork. Just wondering whether to do it all on the cheap and risk getting a corroded wheel later with no warranty, or put it all through the insurance and take a hit on the excess and no doubt next year's premium.

Had mine (442) replaced FOC under warranty after corrosion around one of the centre hubs. BMW Rochdale had car in for service, I mentioned it, they took some pictures for evidence and ordered the replacement wheel the same day, it was fitted a few days later. Think that there has to be no other damage to the wheel though for it to be replaced IIRC.

[MrChumley]

Originally Posted by TheLiverBird

Had mine (442) replaced FOC under warranty after corrosion around one of the centre hubs. BMW Rochdale had car in for service, I mentioned it, they took some pictures for evidence and ordered the replacement wheel the same day, it was fitted a few days later. Think that there has to be no other damage to the wheel though for it to be replaced IIRC.

Thanks. Those two replies are enough to convince me to go down the insurance route - paying the excess and getting a proper job done is not that different in cost from a wheel refurb and a smart repair so I was leaning that way anyway. No point saving £100 now and having to pay £600 for a wheel 18 months later.

[jonesdg4]

Have to say the diamond cut alloys are beautiful, but also a pain the arse for corrosion!
17 months old and dealer don’t seem very interested! Best thing I ever did was take out the alloy insurance!

[MrChumley]

Originally Posted by jonesdg4

Have to say the diamond cut alloys are beautiful, but also a pain the arse for corrosion!
17 months old and dealer don’t seem very interested! Best thing I ever did was take out the alloy insurance!

If they're corroding and they haven't been refurbed you should get them changed under warranty.

I find it bizarre really that they can't find something better to make them out of in the first place. Why offer a 12 year warranty on the bodywork and then fit wheels that won't last 2 years?

[SteveChester]

I don't know why they don't just powder coat them like other manufacturers- you wouldn't tell the difference - they would last longer - and BMW would save £000s on warranty claims!!!

[teaston]

Do not get diamond cut wheels refurbed, I had two of mine done and the lacquer around the middle started to white worm in less than a year!

[XK140]

Originally Posted by teaston

Do not get diamond cut wheels refurbed, I had two of mine done and the lacquer around the middle started to white worm in less than a year!

The first six words of your reply was all that was necessary.

[sensible]

I have one wheel with the white worm around the centre cap on a car that's 19 months old. Will be taking it in soon to try and get a new wheel under warranty.

I have another wheel that I have just had diamond cut due to kerb damage. They did a fantastic job and it's got a 12 month guarantee. I hope it stays good.

[TheLiverBird]

Originally Posted by teaston

Do not get diamond cut wheels refurbed, I had two of mine done and the lacquer around the middle started to white worm in less than a year!

Think the quality and 'lastability' of the repair depends hugely on where you get them done.

I had one wheel done (via local BMW dealership) at a place called Rhino Wheels after a tyre fitter dropped a wrench on it - the repair looked excellent at first, but after a month I noticed a multitude of defects: paint drips, white worm and scratches.

'Fortunately' I then scraped the same wheel leaving a car park - went to BMW again and found out that they'd changed who they use to a place called Rader Alloy Wheels because of dodgy repairs by Rhino Wheels. I booked directly with them (saved nearly £50 by doing so) and am (8 months later) still happy with the repair.

HOWEVER, many repairers only guarantee their work on diamond cut wheels for 6 months because of the difficulty of getting the lacquer to adhere to the diamond cut surface perfectly - because any, no matter how small, imperfections WILL lead to whiteworm.

Diamond cut wheels do (IMHO) look great, but once their integrity has been compromised (tyre fitter being careless, bollocks driving out of a car park, accident etc etc) you're in for a journey of pain trying to get / keep them looking good. Many just give up and get the whole set powder coated once one's been damaged - and I can't say I blame them. However, if like me, it's on a PCP deal I'm not sure on how doing this would affect the return of the car?

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by kylemacca01

Any diamond cut alloy is high risk for corrosion.

Machine/diamond cut wheels have always been a poor choice, if durability is important. I remember my Dolomite Sprint back in the 1970's suffered the same problems with the lacquer. As did all the Triumph cut alloys. Was in the trade back then running a Rover/Triumph body shop and the machine cut alloys were a pain.

Noticed a late model Range Rover at the weekend, immaculate condition, except all the alloys were showing spiders, all over the diamond cut faces. Looked awful. How anyone would want to run diamond cut wheels run up here in Scotland, I don't know, asking for issues in no time. Not practical at all, particularly if we drive with salt on the roads during winter.

May look good, but what a stupid way to finish and try to protect one of the most vulnerable parts of a car.

[Glenn1981]

All 4 of mine are in a mess if I am honest, combination of living in London and the wife driving it, although I am guilty of a couple of them I'm sure.

I have been thinking about a few routes to getting them looking back to their best, but not sure what to do.

I need tyres in a few thousand miles anyway so option1 would be buy a clean unmarked set with good tyre tread for around £1000 and then that may be cheaper, may even be able to sell my worn set for a few hundred to shave some of the cost of.

Get mine fixed and powder coated black or grey and then get new tyres.

The expensive option, get different alloys like m performance or BBS and the body kit and have my F31 looking cool for the last 2 years of my PCP and just take the hit on the kerbed alloys when I hand it back, but be able to sell the other alloys on.

Probably end up going with option 2, but still not sure.

Anyone know how much a diamond cut refurb is?

[JD6]

Do any alloys remain corrosion free for 3/4/5 years?

My experience of BMW alloys, whether powder coated or diamond cut is that they always corrode within that sort of time frame. While I don't have a solution, getting the wheels replaced FOC at the 3 year point, at least means the wheels look pretty decent until 6 or 7 years old, when I would sell.

It has the added advantage of getting rid of any kerbing which happens in the first 3 years too! Do other manufacturers have the same problem?

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by JD6

Do any alloys remain corrosion free for 3/4/5 years?

My experience of BMW alloys, whether powder coated or diamond cut is that they always corrode within that sort of time frames.

Running summer and winter wheel sets, now into the 7th year with hardly any marks on either set.

We have loads of road salt and muck up here, so worst of conditions for any alloys. I've not had problems over the years with BMW alloys, but would not want diamond cut alloys.

Regular washing, apply a wheel sealer before fitting on seasonal changes.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Running summer and winter wheel sets, now into the 7th year with hardly any marks on either set.

We have loads of road salt and muck up here, so worst of conditions for any alloys. I've not had problems over the years with BMW alloys, but would not want diamond cut alloys.

Regular washing, apply a wheel sealer before fitting on seasonal changes.

I run winter/summer sets too and wash the car fairly regularly, but don't apply a sealing product, so perhaps that makes the difference.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by JD6

I run winter/summer sets too and wash the car fairly regularly, but don't apply a sealing product, so perhaps that makes the difference.

Never used sealer on my E39, style 32 wheels were still good after 8 years, all year use. Main problem I've observed is grit/stone damage, any little mark can spider if not touched in.

I do see lots of badly corroded alloys up here, on all marques. I guess a lot of users don't wash off the road salt.

[dobbo99]

If it were my money, upon refurbishment time I would be having them painted/powder coated.
Having a diamond cut refurb will be a waste if money as the white worm will be back sooner rather than later.
Most places will do a nickel or chrome finish which will look good enough.

[jonesdg4]

Just visited the dealer and they have said the 403m would be replaced under warranty as it’s a known fault. They also said Bmw have changed wheel supplier due to the poor quality of them
All good now. Booked in next Wednesday following for warranty work

[MrChumley]

Originally Posted by jonesdg4

Just visited the dealer and they have said the 403m would be replaced under warranty as it’s a known fault. They also said Bmw have changed wheel supplier due to the poor quality of them
All good now. Booked in next Wednesday following for warranty work

That's good - no claim needed then.

[scusswold]

Does anyone still have any example photos of the corrosion, that has meant their wheel(s) were replaced under warranty ?

Thanks