pennetta

Always hand washed it since I got it in April. Figured with the winter coming I'll eventually have to go to a car wash anyway. I have the staggard wheel sport package and the rear wheel, I guess, came in contact with the metal rails that guide the car and now I have a scratch.
1. Does BMW sell a wheel touch-up kit?
2. Anybody else have this problem and are there types of car washes that are wheel safe.

Wiu-Bimmer

Did you get the wheel protection plan?

Blackonblackonblack

What wheel protection plan? Can I get this after I've purchased it? It was never mentioned to me.

Wiu-Bimmer

When I bought mine the sales agent offered a five year tire and wheel protection plan that covers everything that might happen to them due to road conditions (Not sure if car wash is included), I bought it, it was a little over 200USD.

I also bought a three year windshield protection plan and I did get a cracked windshield and getting it replaced by the insurance company has been a pain but I've heard good feedback from some other people in this forum about the wheel and tire plan. Perhaps it varies from dealership to dealership.

amigo525

boy sorry to hear that..but guess what? I will go to thru car wash too. Winter is coming.
:bashwall:

I hope those car wash dont mistreat my baby...more bang on the wall :bashwall:

bmwin14rsm

This happened to me with my new 2001 325i when it was 2 weeks old. Typically, the purpose is malfunctioning equipment at the car-wash. It took me 6 weeks of a letter writing campaign against the car-wash, but I got the owner to buy me a new rim. I proved the exact spot the car was damaged and showed the owner the equipment was malfunctioning. The disclaimer on the car-wash ticket or board does not exclude the owners from negligence.

I threatened to expose this defect to a local newspaper and TV station who does consumer affair stuff. It worked for me. Good luck.

If you do need to go into a car-wash check the enterance ramp first. Typically there are two 2-1/4" diameter bars that start at an open "V" which guide your rims into alignment with the track. The week link of this system is the bars start below your rim and as they get closer to the track the bars start raising. With low profile tires, the rims actually start climbing on top of the bars. When the two "V" shaped bars transition to parallel bars, the welding between them is not at a quaility which prevents chipping. A good car-wash has a thick hard plastic covering these "V" shaped bars protecting low profile rims. If you have an aspect ration of 50+ on your tires you are typically ok. Take in mind the ratio also is a part of the width of the tires.

JDN

It ain't gonna happen unless I can use my own stuff and wash it myself. I'll do that on the road, but no way am I going to let some machine latch on to my baby and drag her through the muddle.

Wiu-Bimmer

It ain't gonna happen unless I can use my own stuff and wash it myself. I'll do that on the road, but no way am I going to let some machine latch on to my baby and drag her through the muddle. [/quote]
This is what I do, I go to those self car wash places, I do one pass of high pressure water, one pass of high pressure soap, then I use the shampoo foam brush and go smoothly through the whole body, rinse and then I drive to the gas station laser wash. I go home and buff the wheels with the blue disposable towels.
It ends up being around 8 bucks but it works for me.

kigerka

I have to go to a self car wash. I spray the car, fill up a bucket and then wash with a chamois cloth.(doesn't hold dirt like a sponge) Rinse it off and dry with a larger chamois cloth. Costs ?3-4 Euros max

530E60NL

I use the self car wash too sometimes... I always check the brush there because sometimes theres sand in it.. brrrr