Good day everybody

Recently I got roped into a discussion about having mag-wheels repaired after hitting a pot-hole. This guy on Facebook was advertising mag repairs and even showed some before and after pictures of damaged wheels.

If done properly I cannot see a problem with this, however, let’s investigate.

Mag-wheel manufacturers spend a lot of money on the design and quality of each wheel. And no car manufacturer would purchase a set of wheels without there being on file a NDT certificate and films for each wheel.

Mag-wheels are lighter than the standard steel rims and are slightly more flexible. A good hit from a pot-hole is able to bend, crack or even break a wheel.

Most insurance companies would not even consider repairing a damaged wheel and would rather  pay for a replacement.

So here comes the question:

Would you buy a set of second hand wheels that may have been repaired, for a good price?

Road side mechanics spend a lot of time blending the surface of a wheel so it doesn’t look like any repairs have been done. Asking for a NDT or X-ray report is like speaking to a wall.

Let’s look at this scenario:

While traveling with your family in your car, with freshly fitted second hand wheels, the right front wheel breaks apart due to a bad repair job. The car swerves uncontrollably into oncoming traffic and only some people survive the accident.

Your insurer will investigate to see what caused the accident, and guess what, they won’t pay. The wheel was not up to manufacturer’s standards.

So I explained this to the guy on Facebook advertising mag repairs, and for the second time in so many weeks I was called a racist.

I really don’t care what they call me, when it comes to wheels on a car, my family will be safe.

Keep up the good work guys.

Supplied for publication by kind permission of the author – Hennie de Wet