Mercedes - replica wheels worth it?

sticker

Hi,

I just bought a mint black 08 C-Class Avantguard with standard sport alloy wheels.
Would this link below be a recommened option when I don't want to bankrupt myself?

Anyone deal with these guys?

http://www.alloy-wheels.ie/mercedes.html

Thanks

dar83

Keith in Alloy-Wheels is a sound man, he'd be able to advise you on what would be good or not for the car.

Reps can be ok, but you get what you pay for. They're usually heavier and not as strong as the OEM wheels or premium after market wheels. If you really must buy a set in the short term and have your heart set on it, you should be ok. Personally I would save up and get a better wheel either OEM or premium aftermarket when you can afford it. If you're based in Clonee you should drop into Discount Tyres/Alloy-Wheels.ie and have a chat with Keith, look at what he has and see what price he can do for you on something you like.

sticker

dar83 wrote: »

Keith in Alloy-Wheels is a sound man, he'd be able to advise you on what would be good or not for the car.

Reps can be ok, but you get what you pay for. They're usually heavier and not as strong as the OEM wheels or premium after market wheels. If you really must buy a set in the short term and have your heart set on it, you should be ok. Personally I would save up and get a better wheel either OEM or premium aftermarket when you can afford it. If you're based in Clonee you should drop into Discount Tyres/Alloy-Wheels.ie and have a chat with Keith, look at what he has and see what price he can do for you on something you like.

Thanks for reply -

What is OEM? - does Keith do OEM?

Is premium aftermarket 2nd hand?

fancy pigeon

dar83 wrote: »

Keith in Alloy-Wheels is a sound man, he'd be able to advise you on what would be good or not for the car.

Reps can be ok, but you get what you pay for. They're usually heavier and not as strong as the OEM wheels or premium after market wheels. If you really must buy a set in the short term and have your heart set on it, you should be ok. Personally I would save up and get a better wheel either OEM or premium aftermarket when you can afford it. If you're based in Clonee you should drop into Discount Tyres/Alloy-Wheels.ie and have a chat with Keith, look at what he has and see what price he can do for you on something you like.

I once slid sideways into a roundabout with these on my old C Class. Result: arms bent, new rear subframe required but wheel okay and just scuffed

A lot to be said for OEM wheels over reps

sticker

fancy pigeon wrote: »

I once slid sideways into a roundabout with these on my old C Class. Result: arms bent, new rear subframe required but wheel okay and just scuffed

A lot to be said for OEM wheels over reps

Thanks

dar83

sticker wrote: »

Thanks for reply -

What is OEM? - does Keith do OEM?

Is premium aftermarket 2nd hand?

OEM mean Original Equipment Manufacturer. It's basically the original style wheels you can buy from the Manufacturer, that are usually made by one of the Premium brands (BBS, Ronal etc...) but possibly only available through the dealer network for those specific styles.

Premium Brands, as mentioned above would be Brands like BBS, Ronal, O.Z., Borbet etc... These would not be second hand (although you can find them as such) but would be unique wheels in design that are the same quality/standard as the OEM wheels would be. As a result they would not be cheap, but they would be the best route if you want to replace existing original alloys on a car.

Hope that helps.

sticker

dar83 wrote: »

OEM mean Original Equipment Manufacturer. It's basically the original style wheels you can buy from the Manufacturer, that are usually made by one of the Premium brands (BBS, Ronal etc...) but possibly only available through the dealer network for those specific styles.

Premium Brands, as mentioned above would be Brands like BBS, Ronal, O.Z., Borbet etc... These would not be second hand (although you can find them as such) but would be unique wheels in design that are the same quality/standard as the OEM wheels would be. As a result they would not be cheap, but they would be the best route if you want to replace existing original alloys on a car.

Hope that helps.

Maby thanks. I'll drop into Keith and see what he suggests.

selectamatic

No shortage of 2nd hand orm Mercedes alloys in the country done deal, breakers yards etc that'd be the best/cheapest option as long a you were vigilant

sticker

selectamatic wrote: »

No shortage of 2nd hand orm Mercedes alloys in the country done deal, breakers yards etc that'd be the best/cheapest option as long a you were vigilant

Thanks. Will have a look on Done Deal/Adverts... But will probably head to Keith in post above first seeing as he is recommended.

colm_mcm

I don't know the guy, but I can't see him telling you to avoid replicas and to buy some second hand real ones on donedeal instead cos they're better!

DakarVert

I'd rather genuine second hand than new replica ****e

Alanstrainor

Went through this same thought process and just ended up going with the real deal. Was looking at replica BBS CH wheels, and went with real BBS CK instead. I'm glad I did, but at the same time I don't know if I would have faired much differently with replica wheels. It's just hard to know what you're getting when it comes to replicas.