The Big Alloy Wheel Rant

dr.fuzzenstein

So I bought about my 3rd car in the last 4-5 years. I mostly buy bangers for cheap by the side of the road form dodgy looking strangers. And mostly those cars are wrecks, but what do you expect for a couple of hundred Euros?
The usual, engine dripping oil, suspension knackered, most switches not working, car not being serviced in ages, etc...
But one thing they ALL had in common:
Most or all of the alloys that where on them where FUBAR. Of course, if you buy cars from shifty looking blokes that means they where normally owned by spotty little dickheads who belted them across a quarry at a hundred miles an hour whilst aiming at potholes and boulders.
So you either live with it, get the wheels straightened or go to your friendly scrappy and pick up a few second hand ones that aren't quite as badly fcuked.
This time it was going to be different though. Just got a job after being out of work and having some money left over from my redundancy, I was feeling flush. So I decided to get myself down to a reputable main dealer, trade in my old banger and go for the whole 4 year old car, fully serviced with history, 3 months warranty, just been fully checked and valeted for you, 1 careful lady owner, couple of grand experience. Because I drive to work about an hour there and slightly more back (traffic), I needed a car that I could sit in, start up and drive without having to worry what bit is going to fall off or blow up this time. Fire and forget, no worries, start her up and let her rip.
But no!
When I bought the car first I noticed that two of the alloys on it where bent at the outside rim.
That kind of dent in a wheel will require you to hit a very large and deep pothole at full speed without even slowing down. Fair enough says I, it's a people carrier and they are driven by people distracted by kids roaring in the back and they can't always look where they're going.
So I approached the smiling salesman, made a deal and attached one condition onto it:
“I don't care if the car has a few marks on it, but it has GOT to have four absolutely round wheels on it”
I made sure I repeated the point at him several times and it seems like he understood.
Picked up my car, he told me wheels where sorted, got in, onto motorway, my car is a boneshaker the likes of which I have never seen. I have owned 11 year old cars with 140000 miles on them that drove better. It's a piece of ****, no boyracer could even do that much damage.
My point is:
Are all garages and tire places completely thick when it comes to alloy wheels?
I have tried on numerous occasions to explain that a bent wheel is a fcuked wheel.
It is fit for the bin and nothing else.
It affects roadholding, stability, cornering, braking, disrupts the ABS, destroys the suspension and wheel bearings.
The only answer you get is “Ahsurenowgrandgrandshe'llbealrightjushtshtick'erondebackshe'llbeflyingitahgrandsureit'sok”
To which I can only repeat the above.
Is it maybe the Irish aren't used to motorways? Sure, farmer John could drive my car for 10 years and never even realise that the wheels aren't right. How could you at 30 km/h on a backroad.
Does the training to work in a tire place involve a lesson entitled “alloy wheels, sure who cares if they're round” and “the advantages of using old 50p's for wheels”
Is this just ignorance and stupidity, or do these people know full well they're selling you something that's damaged, wrecks your car and is quite possibly dangerous, but they just don't give a sh*t?
I'm sorry to say this, but this doesn't happen elsewhere. Because of the invention of motorways an cars that are capable of travelling at more than 40 km/h an hour it has become necessary to fit round wheels and balance them carefully FRONT AND BACK.(another rant).
Or is this just a Clare thing?

SV

It's just a Clare thing..sorry for your troubles.

daveharnett

Not just a clare thing. The quality of most of the country's roads allow standards to be pretty low. At 130kmph or less, anything that's remotely balanced will feel ok. And most of the population outside the pale believe that travelling above 130 involves witchcraft.

EPM

You bought a used car and the dealer did the job on the cheap as otherwise it was going to eat his profit. Bring it back ffs

dr.fuzzenstein

EPM wrote: »

You bought a used car and the dealer did the job on the cheap as otherwise it was going to eat his profit. Bring it back ffs

Course I'm bringing it back ffs, whaddayathink I am, thick?
The point is that 90% of people will happily buy a car with destroyed wheels and never know because they're too ignorant to notice that the whole car and the steering wheel is shaking.
The whole car thing down the counthry hasn't quite caught on yet, having grown up on the Autobahn it genuinely pains me to see the attitude towards cars in this country.
Keeping 200 Euros worth of crap in your garage whilst a 20000 Euro car rots in the drive.
When I came here, every third windscreen was shattered, I've seen better cars in Mexico and Morocco.
Things have improved somewhat since, but the vast majority of people don't know, don't want to know and don't care about cars.
It's a pity that most of them are tire fitters and mechanics.
I have tried over the years to work out how an Irish garage works. My conclusion:
You pull in, find a moron who grunts at you while you explain exactly what is wrong with the car.
You pick car up again, pay your money only to find out that the garage has completely ignored what you told them, carried out some random job on the car that at best does nothing and charged you for it.
Then comes the half an hour of (as a customer) trying to make a trained professional understand the basic principles of his trade.
I do everything myself.
Brakes, oil changes, filter changes, suspension work, shock absorbers, exhaust, ignition system, electric work, there's little I cannot do.
Most of the other stuff a good mate of mine helps me out (welding, head gaskets, etc...)
Very rarely I ever go to a garage, but every time I go I wish I hadn't, staffed by sullen morons who don't give a fcuk about you or your car or their trade. Waste of time, I just wish I had a lift in my garage at home, I'd never have to darken the doorway of these moronic conmen ever again.

mickdw

I think you are being rather odd about this. Garages will try it on. Main dealer or not. Did you not test drive the car before taking it on the day? Thats what I would have done if I had found this shiver on an initial test drive. It was foolish of you to just drive it off the forecourt without checking. We all know it will be much more of a struggle with the garage once you have actually taken the car.
Ya, you must take it back but I think you should look at yourself here for making a schoolboy error. I think you are of the opinion that because you are suddenly buying a 4 year old car as opposed to a scrap heap that it would be factory fresh. A 4 year old car will be very very well used & abused specially with the roads here so nothing should be taken for granted.
In relation to keeping odds & ends in the garage & leaving the car outside, well you will find people keep stuff in the garage which is not capable of lasting even a short period outside whereas with the car, it will happily live outside & given that people like to swap cars every few years & also seeing as next buyer will not know or care if the car has been housed, its value or usefullness wil not be affected in any way

Thoie

I had a dealer tell me "they're supposed to be like that" when I pointed out that the tyres were badly and unevenly worn. Oddly enough, the one I bought had 4 perfectly normal tyres with a normal tread.

Lesson: everyone, everywhere will chance their arm for a bit of profit.

dr.fuzzenstein

I looked at the car initially and pointed out two warped wheels to the dealer and told him I want a car with round wheels not 50p's.
He assured me it was sorted.
I'm not upset that there are cars with bent wheels out there, I'm upset that I told him that and he still tried it on.
Bringing it back on Monday and told him I want it up on a ramp and I will spin every wheel by hand and check for wobble.
Let's see if he tries it on a second time, going to SIMI is the next step, small claims court after that if he refuses to put it right.
Don't think I'm putting up with this sh*t.

Thoie

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

...I'm upset that I told him that and he still tried it on.
Bringing it back on Monday and told him I want it up on a ramp and I will spin every wheel by hand and check for wobble.
...
Don't think I'm putting up with this sh*t.

I applaud you for this, but think about the economics from the dealer's perspective. If only 1 out of every 10 people he does this to will go to that kind of trouble, it makes dodgy wheels financially viable for him. I suspect the likelihood is that it's less than 1 in 10 do actually bother.

If a new set of wheels costs €400, and he only gives them to the 1 in 10 (like you) that comes back and demands them, he saves himself €3,600 on the people who can't be arsed/don't notice. In fact, if, by arguing with you (making someone come back 5 times before giving them new wheels), he can bring that number down to 1 in 50 then it's even more worth his while.

It's still really bloody annoying. Sometimes I hate economics.

dr.fuzzenstein

Thoie wrote: »

I applaud you for this, but think about the economics from the dealer's perspective. If only 1 out of every 10 people he does this to will go to that kind of trouble, it makes dodgy wheels financially viable for him. I suspect the likelihood is that it's less than 1 in 10 do actually bother.

If a new set of wheels costs €400, and he only gives them to the 1 in 10 (like you) that comes back and demands them, he saves himself €3,600 on the people who can't be arsed/don't notice. In fact, if, by arguing with you (making someone come back 5 times before giving them new wheels), he can bring that number down to 1 in 50 then it's even more worth his while.

It's still really bloody annoying. Sometimes I hate economics.

He actually openly admitted that he's just pulling these wheels of similar cars and hoping to come up with 4 wobble free wheels that way. It makes me sick to hear, there could be a family heading off in a car with four fcuked wheels that won't handle and stop properly, but he doesn't give a ****, he's made his little pile of money.

dr.fuzzenstein

Well, I got a result.
I initially pointed out two very obviously warped alloys, they where bent on the outer rim, nearly impossible to do unless you hit a very large pothole at 100 km/h dead on without slowing down.
I then ended up with 3 out of 4 wheels that where 50 p'd, it was horrendous to drive, like a clown car.
I finally brought it back for the last time and guess what?
I have 4 perfect alloys on my car with new rubber on them!
Did a test run on the motorway, no problem to 120 km/h and over (no one around at 6am). In fact not even a trace of wobble at 140.
Sadly we seem to be back in the Ireland of the early 90's I remember without any fondness whatsoever. Not much money around and to get some you have to dodge, weave, wheel, deal, steal, cheat, get one over, trick, con, pull the wool and let no sucker keep his money.
Sadly there's no nice way of doing business.
Always bring a friend who knows what they're doing and always think "what's the other guys angle", because at the end of the day the other guy wants your money, plain and simple and he'll try to get it any way he can.

Eric Cartman

a huge lesson in alloy wheels ive seen many people learn the hard way, unless your buying them new never go for ones with low profile tyres, theyre always f*cked

veetwin

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Always bring a friend who knows what they're doing and always think "what's the other guys angle", because at the end of the day the other guy wants your money, plain and simple and he'll try to get it any way he can.

The glaring question is why did you hand over money to a dealer for a car with banjaxed alloys? As you say most people won't notice or care yet you did and still paid him. OK you pointed out the original wheels were faulty and he replaced them with faultier ones. Then you paid him and drove off....

dr.fuzzenstein

veetwin wrote: »

The glaring question is why did you hand over money to a dealer for a car with banjaxed alloys? As you say most people won't notice or care yet you did and still paid him. OK you pointed out the original wheels were faulty and he replaced them with faultier ones. Then you paid him and drove off....

Well it was a mistake, new job, I'm gone 12 hours a day and i can barely make it to the dealership and yes I made the mistake of trusting a salesman.
But there is legal protection for buying even used cars from a dealership, first step sort it out with the salesman, then go to SIMI and finally go to small claims court since they cannot sell you faulty goods. So I knew I had some protection there, unlike buying private or "sold as seen" where i would have been stuck with it, but buying from a SIMI registered dealer with warranty you have a comeback:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/consumer-affairs/motoring/advice_on_buying_a_used_car_in_Ireland
I just didn't think he'd pull the same stunt twice.
As I said, went back again and now sorted.
But the main reason for the rant is that 90% of people won't know or care that their wheels are banjaxed.

EPM

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

As I said, went back again and now sorted.
But the main reason for the rant is that 90% of people won't know or care that their wheels are banjaxed.

Firstly good that it's sorted and that you can enjoy your new wheels:)

Secondly - I have never paid over cash until I was totally happy. But unfortunately 90% of people don't care so long as the car is all shiny:(

dr.fuzzenstein

But it is shiny!
Mmmmmhhhh, Shiny...

veetwin

Fair play to you OP for sticking to your guns and getting satisfaction. As you say most would not know or care about their alloys. A case in point is a neighbour who brought home a lovely shiny one year old car from a main dealer. When I pointed out the condition of the alloys which were horrific he brought it back and got new ones fitted but would not even have noticed if I hadn't pointed them out to him.