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Factory Wheel Upgrade...Good Value or Better to Buy Aftermarket?
I have an order in and am making a big investment in the current build in the RS Spyder Design Wheels. I really like them alot, but my build is on a pretty tight budget and wheels are the second largest option I have selected.
I'm wondering if it would be better to spec it now with some equipment that can't be added later, or could be added later but at much greater cost.
Generally speaking, are the wheels as a factory upgrade fairly priced, or can similar quality replacements (with tires?) be bought aftermarket at a similar or cheaper price?
In the place of the wheels, I might go leather package and/or sport exhaust.
I have an order in and am making a big investment in the current build in the RS Spyder Design Wheels. I really like them alot, but my build is on a pretty tight budget and wheels are the second largest option I have selected.
I'm wondering if it would be better to spec it now with some equipment that can't be added later, or could be added later but at much greater cost.
Generally speaking, are the wheels as a factory upgrade fairly priced, or can similar quality replacements (with tires?) be bought aftermarket at a similar or cheaper price?
In the place of the wheels, I might go leather package and/or sport exhaust.
Quality, aftermarket forged wheels will cost you anywhere from ~$5k and up. You do not want to cheap out here.
Buying OEM after the fact will cost at least 2-3x what it costs to purchase as an order.
If you aren't sure - just get the RS Spyder wheels. That's what I did. They look good. Worst case - you change your mind, sell the takeoffs and possibly turn a small profit.
Quality, aftermarket forged wheels will cost you anywhere from ~$5k and up. You do not want to cheap out here.
Buying OEM after the fact will cost at least 2-3x what it costs to purchase as an order.
If you aren't sure - just get the RS Spyder wheels. That's what I did. They look good. Worst case - you change your mind, sell the takeoffs and possibly turn a small profit.
Absolutely agree with above which is why I went with the RS Spyder wheels as well. They are "cheap" versus looking at quality after market wheels.
Personally I'd skip the RS Wheels - these can always be added after - but if you really want Leather Interior that would be cost prohibitive to add after the car is built, go with the options that cannot be added after the build, I'm sure the cost of adding PSE after the fact will cost more than the price of a set of RS wheels, and would be covered by the factory warranty - the current price for RS Wheels on Suncoast Parts is ~$7500
I think that it would hard to beat RS wheels for the $2540 option price. This is how I optioned mine and love them. They look great and are not too expensive of an option. However, I do agree that adding leather interior in the future would be cost prohibitive, where as rims may not be. GL
This is a slippery slope, but at a certain point it doesn't make sense to skimp on a car this expensive. Leather is a pretty significant option to skip out on, if it's something you want. $2.5k shouldn't be a make or break thing - just get the leather and the wheels and be happy.
You want these and you want them from the factory... You WILL spend more for lesser wheels aftermarket. This isn't the kind of car you monkey out with "Rims" later..
I think you have to remember that the option price for upgraded wheels is not the cost of the wheels. Their cost is in addition to the stock wheels that come for free. So, if you have any desire to have 2 or more sets of wheels (one for each winter, track, summer, etc.), then it might be worth spending the option money on another set of wheels instead of upgrading the wheels that come with the car (assuming the stock wheels are well suited to one of your uses).
Also remember that any money you spend on the optional wheels also gets taxed as part of the sale of the car and affects state registration (plates) and insurance too (increases value and MSRP).
My personal opinion is that the Sports Exhaust and Leather Interior are things that you will look at and interact with essentially every time you drive the car. If you have your heart set on those wheels being the only wheels you like, then you should get them. But as someone who has spent $0 on wheels on one car and over $3000 on optional wheels, I'd rather allocate that money towards leather or the exhaust. Leather interior makes the car feel 5x more expensive and luxurious (if that's what you want) and the sports exhaust is easy to use every time you drive the car and immediately gives you a more fun experience. I also work on tight budgets and sports exhaust is the first option I check every time I play around with the configurator.
Obviously not knowing the particulars, on the base, the Leather Package (not full leather) is $2800 and sports exhaust is $2900, while the RS Spyder wheels are $3740...my preference would be to spend $2k more on both of those options instead of the wheels. For example, getting the Carrera S wheels at $1790, the difference between those and the RS Spyder wheels pays for most of the leather package.
Again, just my personal opinion, but you can always change out wheels later if you really want to.
Like you I have spec'ed the RS wheels and they are the 2nd most expensive option in my build, after 18-way seats.
I'm fine with that, they really make the car look much sharper in my eyes and my experience is that aftermarket wheels generally come with some compromises.
I think you have to remember that the option price for upgraded wheels is not the cost of the wheels. Their cost is in addition to the stock wheels that come for free. So, if you have any desire to have 2 or more sets of wheels (one for each winter, track, summer, etc.), then it might be worth spending the option money on another set of wheels instead of upgrading the wheels that come with the car (assuming the stock wheels are well suited to one of your uses).
Also remember that any money you spend on the optional wheels also gets taxed as part of the sale of the car and affects state registration (plates) and insurance too (increases value and MSRP).
Stock wheels make great winters, and if you look on Suncoast you'll see the MSRP on a set of RS Spyder wheels and tires is $9,031 (discounted to $7,450).
Agreed. You have to spend real money to get wheels that match the quality and engineering of the rest of the car. There's no "cheap" way to do this well.
1) I don’t think you’ve said whether you’re ordering a c2 or c2s, but if the latter, you can get the Carrera S wheels painted platinum for about $1k, I mention this as an in-between choice in case a big appeal of the spider RS wheels is their color. If the design of the Spyders does it for you, then just get them.
2) at the price of what these cars cost, if the three options you’re considering are all highly appealing, just buy them all, I feel like I stressed out about every part of the buying process, but then after I got the car I never thought about that stuff again, I just loved the car and couldn’t believe I got so stressed out about the purchase decisions.
3) I assume you’ve gone to the dealer and saw all these wheels in person, but if you haven’t, I’ll just say that some of them looked pretty different in person than they did in pictures, for example the Carrera S wheels looked a little more substantial/interesting in person to my eye, the Carrera classics have this kind of barely-there look which is unlike just about any wheel I’ve ever seen, and the exclusive Fuchs-like ones definitely need to be seen in person. Interestingly, the RS ones look exactly like they do in pictures.
As others have said, I would go with an OEM wheel. Quality aftermarket wheels aren’t any less expensive.
Between full leather or SE, I think full leather is totally worth it. I had the standard interior in my Cayenne and went full leather in my Macan, I won’t own a Porsche without full leather.