I had to balance the wheels for my C4S, as i started to feel some vibrations.
The car have 13000 km, wheels painted by Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. Gloss color...

I go to a dealer in Marbella, Spain... I said them in advance that the wheels in perfect conditions, they have no scratches no any damage as i take good care of my cars. Wheels was with ceramic coating and etc.
We made pictures before they do the job and take a walk around the car. I took this step as here in Spain, dealers are well known for being careless... But here happened something, completely new level...

When i come to pick-up car i was shocked when i saw how old balancing weight was removed... At the beginning service manager said that what you want, this is the old weight, when he saw that i am not very happy with his answer, he asked the person who done a balance to come and take a look, so this person was completely not happy and all what he said, that he just used the tools what they have in their workshop and just go back to workshop... Than service manager said that he going to polish the wheels and i don't see anything...
I agreed... Later received the call that they need to paint wheels... I already said that i don't want that, as hardly they can do it as from factory. But they say come after few days and we talk.
And that's what i saw when come to pick-up my car. They painted wheels together with balance weights There is no words to describe their stupidity and carelessness... Also there is a few drops from paints and many of other painting imperfections, but to paint the wheel with balancing weights

Now i have to fight them to buy me a new wheels... As they said they need to contact workshop insurance... Insurances here a famous for saving money so probably they say just to repair that wheels again...
What a nightmare... Any advice how to deal with that?

 

Sorry to see this Mr. Speed. It's hard to find service techs who are not only competent but also respectful of others' property. Looks like a fingerprint in the clear coat on your bottom pic. I'd push to have them refinished by the shop of your choice AFTER a competent balancing and ensuring that the wheels are not bent. Good luck.

 

I love my dealer, but I would never ask them to paint anything -- even the barrels of wheels.
There's no magic to the removal of wheel weights. It's a heat gun exercise with prying and scraping.

I am not nearly as uptight about this stuff. Long ago, I learned to accept automotive imperfections, because they're always better than a half-*** repair job and your experience here is case in point. Truth be told, the scrapes are better than what you ended up with. If it had been me, I probably would have grimaced over the scrapes, get over it, and probably have my detailer or wheel guy address it at some point in the future. I'd enjoy a nice spirited drive in the car and forget about it.

These wheels could be professionally refinished by a wheel shop and look better than they did new for a fraction of the cost of a new set. Given the cost of these things, I am not sure that demanding a new set of wheels is a reasonable solution. It's more reasonable to simply get them done right. If you don't know a good wheel guy, find one. I am lucky to have a local guy that truly RESTORES wheels. He did a set of BBS wheels for me that looked better than when they were new, because his standards are higher. Yeah, pretty great.


Note:
For anyone who lives in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware, Nick is my wheel repair guy -- Straightens Wheel Repair (http://www.straightenswheelrepair.com/). Great guy and a Porsche enthusiast -- drives a Turbo with beautiful HRE wheels.

 

I have had serious gouges repaired to the point of invisibility. A good wheel shop can work wonders. Find a top tier shop and have the dealer pay for the repair. You are not likely to get a new wheel unless the dealer offers the courtesy.

 

Yes, i will have to find a good place to repair them and do all 4 wheels that they look identical... I didn't asked to paint them, they said they just polish and that's it... But how they can do things like this? That's not normal...
And before they done it, i said them to take extra care, made pictures of the wheels together with them and etc. So they was prepared for that, that i will check them after work done...

To remove balance weight you just need to use heat gun and tar remover or even WD40... Don't need to scratch with screw driver... Even if you want to scratch something, you can wrap a cloth over the end of the screw driver...

 

That is completely unacceptable. What did he use, a screwdriver?

I keep my barrels as clean as the outside of the car. I tell them; "if you scratch them, you buy them". Never haver they messed them up. HOWEVER, if you take it to a tire store, I swear they use a crowbar to remove them and paste some fishing lure looking weights on. My advice, that you seemed to have taken anyway, is go to the dealer and let them do it. Sadly, some meat-head torqued your wheels over. Don't despair, though. There are shops that can powder-coat those wheels to where they look better than the car's finish. I did my Ferrari's and they looked spectacular.

Push them and you'll get what you want. Really sorry about that, but you have a right to be pissed.

 

Yes, from the scratches he done it looks like he used a screwdriver... Yes, i was really pissed, here is only the part of story, as they can't finish install racing harness in my GT4 properly in three workshops visits, now i left a car fourth time...
Now i contacted the person responsible for a whole Spain after sale customer service... So i am going to see what they will say...

They must have some responsibility, as they use a Porsche name on their workshop door...

 

Wow. I feel your pain as there is nothing more disturbing than to see someone has been careless with your possessions and don't really seem to care. I would get it out of their hands and into a top notch reputable shop that can do the repair the right way. I would also look into having Porsche Exclusive do the rework if that is possible. Then fight with the shop over covering the cost. Sorry for the trouble.

 

Well, it sounds like you're all over it. Just know what you are requesting is not unreasonable, I and others would be seeking the same. Fix it to where it looks new, or give me a new wheel. Incredible.

 

That's good idea, i am going to check if Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur can do a repair (but i doubt about that), but worth a try. Than i was happy with that solution.

 

I got confirmation that dealer will change all my wheels to a new ones

Seems sometimes just need to give them a good fight and don't give up, but still need to wait until i receive them to be 100% sure that they do what they say.

 

Thanks for giving us a conclusion to the story. It's good that they're stepping up here.

 

When new wheels arrive, i will go there myself to stand behind their backs and look how they mount my tires on the new wheels...

 

Ask the dealership for one of the damaged wheels back, to make this:

 

Hose reel flex!