996AE

New wheels arent going to happen.

This a bummer but a good time to change color.

Costco will pay the bill!

Porsche_nuts

I'd be shocked if you got new wheels. I think they will have you fix them as the damage is fixable by a good wheel repair shop. I think they would be OK with paying about $500 to fix the wheels, and not OK with paying a few thousand for new wheels.

If you can get new wheels out of them, great - but I doubt it.

Homeles

Gotta ask. What were you expecting when you went to Costco? So you saved $100 and look what you ended up with! Sorry to be blunt, but I was never accused of being politically correct. As others have said, best you can hope for is a refinish with them paying the bill. Best of luck.

The Fat Kid

That sucks, but they will likely pay to have them touched up, or refinished. I am pretty sure they will "LOL" if you demand new wheels, unfortunately.

+1. I LOVE a good deal, but can't imagine handing the keys to a kid at Costco...

I go to an indie Porsche/Audi shop where I know the tech doing the installation, otherwise I would bite the bullet and go to the dealer.

996AE

No Costco bashing.

I am sure he regrets the decision already.

Besure to have the wheel done at a professional wheel shop. No some mobile guy with a paint gun. Done right they will be as good or better than new for 150-250 a wheel. Its cosmetic so not a big deal if done correctly.

Bemo

We are not bashing Costco. I'd go there for tire work as much I'd go to a Porshe dealer to buy groceries!

I was quoted $340 flat fee to install new tires at the dealer, while not inexpensive, it's hardly a lot and certainly worth the peace of mind.
Now, oil changes at $325 are a pure rip off but if I wasn't DIY-ing, I'd pay that too.

996AE

Sorry, poor attempt at humor.

phow

I''m telling you from experience that if you demand (3) new wheels, Costco is just going to write you a check for the cost of replacement wheels. From there, you can decide if you want to settle for a simple repair or go forward with a replacement. That is your call, not Costco's.

^ Sure you may get a little resistance at first but if you stick to your guns, it will happen.

You are in no way obligated to make things easier on the shop that damages your wheels. If Costco demands to refinish the wheels, make it their responsibility to specify a shop of their choosing and have them make the appointment on their end. Chances are that Costco won't do this since it will put further liability on them if anything further goes wrong. They are hoping YOU assume liability at this point by taking the wheels to a repair shop of YOUR choosing so they can remove themselves from the situation.

I worked in this particular industry for 10+ years and have seen this exact scenario multiple times.

911boy

I agree 100% Lex.
Having said that, wheel repair is probably what you should expect as wheels arent bent or anything. Good luck OP.

spiderv6

I recently had a nail and needed to replace a tire. Dealer had one in stock, was competitive with TireRack (actually I believe that's where they get tires from) and was reasonable on installation as well.

For the peace of mind I was more than prepared to pay the "extra" $50 or whatever it was.

Not bashing the OP, I have plenty of experience of doing things to save a few $$ that I later regretted (as we no doubt all do).

fast1

You can demand whatever you like, but demanding new wheels for cosmetic damage is laughable. If someone puts a ding in your door because they inadvertently opened their car door too wide, do you expect a new car door?

About ten years ago while driving on the highway, a truck ran over a stone which went airborne and it damaged one of my wheels. I called my Porsche dealership, and they put me in contact with a mobile wheel repair service that repaired the wheel perfectly, not good but perfectly. I knew exactly where the damage was and I couldn't detect where the repair was made. The guy charged me $75 back then and it took him about ten minutes to make the repair.

Hopefully it won't be necessary to sand and repaint the entire wheel, since this would require loss of the wheels for at least a day. Moreover, it would probably be necessary to repaint the fourth wheel since I have yet to see the repainted wheel match the color of the unpainted wheel perfectly.

Finally, I agree with others about whom I allow to replace my tires. From the school of hard knocks I've learned that this is not a place to try to save a few dollars.

Tpup

Your dealer should know of a great wheel refinishing place in a town the size of Dallas. I had to have 2 wheels done and they look brand new. I'd just get them refinished and ask Costco to pay for the rental; should take about a week to do.

If there are no good shops in Dallas I'll send them to Wheel Enhancement (in CA).

Good luck.

studlee

OP...any updates?

DerekS

OP - Seriously, take it to RAC Performance in Carrollton and talk to Hans. He will put your car on a lift, get the wheels refinished, and you'll be good to go. And next time use him for the tire replacement.

...Max...

Yet to hear back from Costco claims ppl -- may have to go pound heads a bit next week. Thanks to everyone here, I now have a battle plan; will see how it fares after a contact with the enemy

@DerekS - do you think it would be a "while you wait" repair at RAC Performance? That might prove to be quicker than a dealer appt.