Get alloys repaired / buffed at Jaguar Service or independently?

[gc301]

Hi All

I'm London based. My MY2017 F Type R will be due for service in a month or so. Ive got slight kerbing on 2 of the black "tornado" style 20 inch alloys, done by me annoyingly, going through those stupid width restriction kerbs in London neighbourhoods before I got used to the width of the car.

Does anyone have advice on whether to go to an independent place to get the scuffs / kerbing buffed out somewhere near SE or S London, or just let Jag do it themselves at the service if they offer? Will Jag absolutely rinse me on the cost of the work compared to an alloy place specialising in it?

Any advice welcome.

Many thanks!

[scm]

Jag will farm them out to an independent (over whom you'll have no cboice) and put a hefty "service charge" on, so you'd be better off doing your own research and finding a place to do them for you. Maybe someone on the forum has a recommendation?

[RPSN]

I'm assuming the scuffing has gone through the wheel paint and into the alloy? If so and the damage is very slight you could take any rough edges off it with some fine sandpaper rolled onto a small piece of wooden dowel or pencil. I’ve previously used a piece of dowel which is approx 5mm diameter and 20mm length (sandpaper is the same length). You have to be very careful not to sand outside the affected area as you don’t want to make things worse. Remove any dust, grease etc and touch up with something like Hammerite Metal Paint Smooth Black. Saves paying for wheel refurb every time you have very slight kerbing.

If you’d prefer to have the wheels professionally refurbed I can highly recommend ‘The Wheel Specialist’. Search the forum and there’s plenty of info about them. They have a branch in St Albans but that’s probably a fair distance from where you are?....
https://www.thewheelspecialist.co.uk/lo ... /st-albans

[Duvetday]

I can recommend a place I went in Kent if you PM, not sure if there are any rules about advertising on these forums

[gc301]

Many thanks all - I don't mind driving to St Albans for a job well done. Lots of good reviews about The Wheel Specialist - their online quote system actually defaulted to their as-yet unopened Croydon branch which I might avoid and just go straight to the St Albans one.

I asked for another quote for a place nearby called GWM autos who have suggested doing all 4 wheels instead so they all look even, rather than having 3 wheels refurbed and one looking out of place. The Wheel Specialist quoted £342 for the 3, GWM quoted £420 for the 4.

Will have a think which route I go down.....

[honeybadger]

Lepsons in Gillingham, Kent have a decent reputation. I haven't used them personally, though.

[RPSN]

Many thanks all - I don't mind driving to St Albans for a job well done. Lots of good reviews about The Wheel Specialist - their online quote system actually defaulted to their as-yet unopened Croydon branch which I might avoid and just go straight to the St Albans one.

I asked for another quote for a place nearby called GWM autos who have suggested doing all 4 wheels instead so they all look even, rather than having 3 wheels refurbed and one looking out of place. The Wheel Specialist quoted £342 for the 3, GWM quoted £420 for the 4.

Will have a think which route I go down.....

In your original post you mentioned that you’ve got slight kerbing on 2 of the black "tornado" style 20 inch alloys. However, if 3 of the wheels are kerbed bad enough for professional refurb then you might as well have the 4th wheel done. The Wheel Specialist may be a bit more expensive but the quality is there and they also come with a 12 or 6 month guarantee as explained here https://www.thewheelspecialist.co.uk/guarantee

Note: Steel Wheels and Split rims are not covered by The Wheel Specialist guarantees due to the nature of their manufacture.

As far as I'm aware the 'Tornado' wheels on your car don't have split rims even though they have bolts/screws around the outer edges of the rims.

Good luck whichever route you go down.

[elugelab]

I just had our Merc diamond cut alloys done at the Wheel Specialist in St Albans and they made them look like new - brilliant service and great product. Luckily I only live 10 mins from them.

[Duvetday]

Lepsons in Gillingham, Kent have a decent reputation. I haven't used them personally, though.

I have used them for black wheels, to me they were as new when done.

One of my locking nuts split during the job (as Jag nuts tend to...) and they sourced and paid for (better) replacements without argument which impressed me.

[Tim Atkinson]

We do a lot of wheel refurbishment. First, I'd say that the advice above to avoid Jaguar dealers is very sound. We've seen some awful cases going as far as rattle-can 'renovation' on scuffed wheels. None of them have in-house facilities, so you'd simply be paying for an unknown workshop to do them plus a handling charge. You need a specialist where the wheels are chemically stripped, powder coated, and baked in a proper paint oven. With Tornados, removing and refitting the machine screws can be awkward, though we haven't had problems. We have seen wheels refurbished with the screws in place, which looks awful. A refurbished wheel is noticeably different to a non-refurbished, so we always do at least both on the same side, usually all four. For completeness for other readers, it's worth mentioning two things which don't apply to Tornados, first, that diamond-turned wheels can only be refurbished to that finish two or three times, as material is removed each time on the lathe, though after that they can still be powder-coated, including in Shadow Chrome finishes, which resemble the Gyrodyne diamond-turned effect, and second, that very few places can correctly apply the SVR or R emblems on wheels which have them, and often those that claim they do simply apply decals (we're able to do them properly thank goodness). It's certainly true that with specialists, you get what you pay for.