Curb Gash on new aftermarket wheels - replace or repair?

Hoping for some advice and or opinions on what you would do / I should do...

My wife smashed a curb and so one of the new (3 weeks old) black wheels has a deep gash on it.

I got quite angry, so she immediately ordered a replacement and said we could use the f'd up wheel for the spare.

Wondering if I should cancel the order for the new replacement to save money and just get the damaged wheel repaired for around $150 (Canadian) and continue on about my day or if I should replace the damaged wheel with the new replacement and use the new damaged wheel with a new spare tire to mount underneath?

I do a fair amount of off-roading, probably 3-4 times a month (on weekends). I don't do crazy stuff, more like medium trails with the odd rock crawl here and there, but I'm located in BC in Canada, where there's plenty of opportunities to scratch up wheels, that said, I do a pretty good job at avoiding wheel to object contact and have never scratched the previous stock wheels before upgrading to the new ones.

Am I being a silly little b*tch because she f'd up my new wheels and I should just get it repaired since there's always potential for f'ing them up myself on the trail eventually?

Do those of you who off-road on aftermarket wheels ever see damage from debris and objects? Or do they stay undamaged, just the tires that take abuse instead? Do you even care when they get damaged if they do?

cheers!

 

I have some of those on my wheels, never had issues. It’s a truck, if you don’t like that kind of wheel carnage I’d avoid doing any trails.

 

Adds character... especially since it's right by where your BFG's say "Baja Champion"

Tell people it happened when you ran your truck in a race

 

LOL, that's true! It's just.... to me it actually looks like curb rash from the mall instead of having some cool story to tell behind it. I'd much rather have it from smashing against some rocks 2000 feet up a mountain, but that's not the case =(

 

Keep the new wheel coming and use the wheel that got scuffed for the spare. Wifes got the right idea... Don't get me wrong, I would not have been a happy camper either, something like this happened to us a few years back and I just said "well I'll just get it fixed." My wife couldn't believe how mellow I was about the situation, got it fixed and life went on! Yaaa the gut reaction on these things....... I feel your pain!

 

Hey thanks for the input brother

As soon as I saw it, my immediate thought was "well, looks like I'm going to order a replacement", then I started thinking about just getting it repaired, but before I even started looking into wheel repair shops, she was already at her computer placing an order.

Since you've had yours repaired, is there a reason why you're recommending I keep the new wheel coming versus the repair instead?

I guess in an effort to save money, I'm just feeling like a new wheel isn't that justifiable enough versus getting it repaired.

I'm also a little worried that using the damaged wheel for the spare will add extra weight in the back, over and above what the stock spare wheel adds, in addition to less ground clearance with an 8.5" wide wheel and a BFG K02 versus the stock wheel width with a BFG K02.

 

Mine wasn't a wheel, I had to replace a big piece of glass in my tractor($400.00) that got shattered by a piece of gravel from the lawnmower which my wife was running. The situation was similar because the initial thought is;"Shit.. this is gonna cost more money", I guess what I really mean is, these things are 'material' things, and as much as we try to keep them looking and running good, shit happens and life is to short to get 'stressed' over the little things!

 

Shit happens. But if it was mine I would use it as the spare and buy a new one. Just my opinion.

 

Leave some mud and dirt on the wheels and most folks won't notice or care. After awhile the pain will go away and life will go on.

 

The first scratch is always the worse - use the truck for what you intended for, if you plan to keep showroom condition then replace the wheel, if you plan to use off-road as you said then you can expect more damage like this regardless how careful you are

 

Touch up paint and forget about it call it a battle scar
J

 

You now have a good conversation starter.

It’s just a wheel, accidents happen and it probably would have happened eventually.

 

Myself I would get repaired or replace. If it bugs the crap out of you replace it. Life is short and if you can afford it make it right. But this is coming from a single guy with no girlfriend or wife and no kids.

 

I've come to the conclusion that I'm just going to leave it as is and suck it up. I do a fair amount of wheeling with my 4R, so if I replaced it with a freshy, the freshy would get smacked on the trail at some point and I'd be pissed that I spent money on a freshy.

 

LOL, thought the same thing. Figured when I take it for a shower after wheeling, I just wont touch the wheels and tires, lol. Eventually the trails will fill in the gash, haha!

 

I came to the same conclusion today. the new one would get smacked on a rock eventually and I'd be pissed for buying a new wheel

 

agreed, the hurt is starting to subside, chatted with a couple people in my local off-road group and they said they just sand theirs a bit, throw a dab of primer on and use a paint pen to cover it up. showed me some pictures and I cant even tell there's any marks at all

 

so true, but I'm cheap as hell, lol! that being said, while I am married, we have no kids.

 

Even though I understand your frustration, from your photo, the gash seems minor. If this was my truck, I wouldn't bother paying to fix it or ordering a new replacement. Road-rash happens and over-time the other rims will be scuffed or blemished... it's really unavoidable. One other guy mentioned using touch-up paint to hide the gash and I would agree that would be a good option. Unless someone is looking for the gash, the paint should hide it well.

 

A bit of black paint or a black permanent sharpie will work wonders. Buy something nice you can both enjoy instead.

 

I'm not that bothered by it anymore for those very reasons. Oddly I'll feel even better about it when I smack one of the other wheels on a rock or branch. Once they get "warn in" a bit more, I'll be perfectly fine with it. My 4R looks used, so eventually the wheels will blend in, lol

 

I don't see what model 4R you have, but all but the Limited & Nightshade (I think) have a steel spare. IMO I would think any aftermarket alloy wheel would weigh less than the spare steelie...

 

OP you're getting there. I had a few "oops," and I looked at them every day for the first week...every week for the first month...and every month for the first few months. Then I forgot about them and I can't remember where it is unless I go looking.

Stop being a princess To be fair, I was a princess about it too when it first happened so I can relate.

 

yeah I didn't mind bashing the absolute hell outta the stock wheels, like they're ruined now, this is just the first time I've EVER purchased aftermarket wheels.

Gonna have to stop being a princess with them, I know. Honestly, after getting so many members opinions, I do feel a lot better about it. I also asked my local off-road facebook group to share pictures of their banged up black wheels, they laughed at me and said "welcome to the club". there were like a hundred pictures. waaaay worse than mine. though, mine will eventually look like there's, haha!

cheers man!

 

Ask her to take a selfie of her first “trail” scar and post up.

 

Its only money, not worth getting pissed off about. Especially with someone you love.

 

FWIW, did the same to my '15 Mustang. Hit it with a black Sharpy and called it good, and that was my "show and shine" car. Couldn't call it a "trail scar" on that one. LOL!

 

Tell them you thought it was a Subaru and went around rallying backroads.