Buying vs powdercoating

[LionofZion]

Hey everyone,

I have been going through some advertising options on my vehicle, and I may be going with black wheels. Found a picture of my exact year/color with stockers, powdercoated black...looks pretty sweet imo. I did a lot of looking, and theres a place within an hour and a half drive that is running a special $240 for 4 wheels, including stripping them. Not a bad price at all, but they do not have the equipment to dismount, mount my tires. I'm sure after that's said and done, I am looking at $325-$350. At that price, would it make sense to just buy an aftermarket set, and sell my stock wheels? Idk what the actual demand is for them, but I've seen them on ebay for $150 each on average. Idk if I attached this correctly, but here's the stock wheels painted black.

 

[LtStiles]

Doing research for rims for my P5 I've found that getting new rims will cost $500+ if you go and find what you really want. That is just at $125 a wheel. Once you add in shipping,dismounting, mounting, and balancing you are looking at $7-800+. However, if you think you can sell your rims for $150 each you are looking at a monetary loss of ~$200. This gives you the rims you want for $200 assuming you can actually sell your set of rims for $600.

Side note: DipYourCar sells a kit that would let you plastidip your wheels with a gloss black finish for $44.50. They also have several tutorials on YouTube that are easy to follow. http://dipyourcar.com/shop/article_18001/Kit---Wheels-(Gloss-Finish).html?shop_param=cid%3D6%26aid%3D18001%26

 

[LionofZion]

Thanks stiles. I guess my question has more to do with the demand for the stock wheels. That will determine the likelihood of me looking for aftermarket options. I did some reading and found fairly mixed reviews on the plasticoating options. None that weren't praising the purpose of the product for intended applications, just that it wasn't consistently a one-shot solution to "real" looking wheels. I am, however, considering painting my brake caliper parts to match the car, and considering the plasticoating and engine component paints. On a side note, I see that you replaced your rear door speakers. I have the GT model, which comes with the Bose system. I'm not overly impressed with it, but don't care enough about that to sink money into a whole new system, so how much of a difference did you notice just replacing those speakers?

 

[WillD]

You can check out the "Completed Transactions" section of this forum to see who has sold their MS3 wheels and for how much. In my opinion I think you'd have a tough time getting $600 for gen 1 wheels even if they are in perfect condition. $250-500 is more realistic, depending on their condition and finding the right buyer.

A year ago I sold mine that were in absolutely perfect condition for $450, but I could've gotten more I just wanted to sell them quickly.

$240 is really good to strip and coat your wheels. If you are going to use the same tires with the new wheels the cost to mount/dismount them is going to be the same no matter what you do. So really you are comparing spending $240 vs the cost of whatever new wheels you want minus how much you sell your current wheels for.

 

[DuoofDeath1]

I would get yours coated. Do you have another set you can throw on while yours are getting coated? I had a set and i just took them to the tire shop i always use and they ripped the tires off for free. Now mind you that they were not very careful and did scratch the wheels but you are getting the stripped and coated black. You will not be able to notice even curb rash unless you are looking for it.

 

[LtStiles]

The plastidip is the quick fix method. I would much rather use it for blacking out trim pieces and emblems since they see less abuse. The rear speakers make a world of difference. I didn't have a Bose system, but my aftermarket head unit could easily overpower the stock speakers. At 2/3 volume they would distort and lose clarity. I replaced them with slightly smaller 5.25" speakers that were rated for 135W max. They don't have the low response like the stock ones, but my front speakers and sub offer plenty of mid and low.