Dealer damaged my alloys. Your thoughts please.

[MrVix]

I smell a great big stinking rat here!!

I would first of all make sure you have something in writing from the dealer stating that these are the original wheels and that they were kerbed after you initially viewed the car and before you took delivery. I suspect they will be quite keen not to do this in which case the alarm bells will ring even louder.

Either way check the wheel manufacturer dates and if they do not tally then imo they are at best guilty of sharp practise and dishonesty and at worst deception.

Good luck with this but as others have said I would insist on New Rims even if they appear not too have been swapped and if they have been swapped then the skys the limit.

 

[Rataxes]

Took off a couple the alloys, one front and one rear today (too cold to take off all four!).

The manufacture date appears to be shown shown by way of a moulded grid on the inside of a spoke with 12 squares and a number beside it, as shown in the attached pic. The number is 13 on both, which I assume is year 2013.

The squares appear to have a punch mark in them. One wheel has six of the twelve squares punched which I assume is June manufacture, the other wheel nine of the twelve punched which could either be September or March depending on how you interpret them (do the punched or un-punched squares represent the month?).

I checked the VIN of my car and the delivery date (I think that's the date the car left the factory) is mid-December '13, the car being registered in March '14.

The question is, is it likely a wheel made in June has been sat around to be fitted to a December build car? Your thoughts appreciated.

 

[prprandall51]

No. Personal opinion, but that is too long. Car manufacturers won't store parts that long and wheel manufacturers won't make wheels unless the factory is ready to take them. Interestingly, my wheels are about the oldest part of my car, pre-dating car build date by around 1-2 months (impossible to be more accurate as date stamp on wheels seems to only be to the nearest month) - but June to December is too long for kanban / JIT (Just in Time) manufacturing process.

 

[prprandall51]

PS: All your wheels will have been made within a day or two of each other - and they will definitely carry the same manufacturing month - if they are all original.