cadboy2006CS

I know that there have been many posts talking about wheels but this is somewhat specific; what is the deal with "EuroTech Luxury Wheels" and others that offer Wheels at such Low Low Prices....Yes I know, cheap is as stupid does...but really, is there anyone out there that buys OEM Wheels at such high cost or do many of you utilize these 'reproduction' folks?

BTW, I'm in the market for 20" Turbo Wheels for my 06' CS....tires not necessary...

Slow Guy

Personally, I would buy a "reproduction" wheel but not a Chinese made repro. US, Italian ect. ok as long as they were both DOT and TUV approved.

cadboy2006CS

Is the bias against Chinese based solely on their general lack of quality issues that consumers are aware of nowadays or is their specifc evidence that the Chinese Foundries are shipping crap to the N.A. Market?

Slow Guy

Milk poisoning, lead paint on toys, school construction, mercury/lead electronics "recycling" contamination, ect. ect. and all of this to their own people. Why would they give a rats *** about the quality of my wheels? Sorry, no thanks.

HD2pct

Crappy quality and exploitation is found everywhere - even in the U.S. China doesn't have a monopoly there.

IMO, the best reason to have bias against Chinese goods is that in general, China has no regard for intellectual property rights, and in some cases international law in general as applies to business. That is huge, and has an economic impact far greater than does "low quality". China is in a "grow at all costs" mode, and that is just the way it is.

FWIW I did buy EuroTech wheels just to support my winter tires (because I hated the winter wheels I had) and they are an exceptional buy, and the seller is quite good. I have no idea whether they are made in China. I didn't ask.

Slow Guy

And we have people here in the states that have no regard for intellectual property rights, piracy isn't limited to China either (S/W, movies, clothing just to name a few).

But yes, that, and corporate/government espionage. What amazes me is that companies will build a factory in China and not expect that their trade secrets won't be walking out the door at every opportunity. I'd much rather they build their plants in the US, or at least a country with a democratic (or at least non-Communist) form of government.

OK, that's enough time for me on the OT soapbox....

HD2pct

Oh yeah Bill, I totally agree. At least in the U.S., you have tools to fight some of it, as long as you are willing to pay the piper. My IP attorney charges 425 bucks an hour and even though I have become the proverbial "jailhouse lawyer" and handle my own stuff most of the time, just copying her on my correspondance nets a big bill. But I digress.

As far as businesses locating there, that is the very definition of "making a deal with the devil." Nothing like a market of 1.3 billion to get your attention.

OTOH I bought those EuroTech wheels and for all I know, that is where they were made. So maybe we all have our price.

Slow Guy

Oh I understand, it's not like I don't ever buy anything made in China, you can't help it these days. But if the Chinese DVD player I buy turns out to be of crappy quality it's not going to have the same impact as if the Chinese wheels are crappy quality. JMHO

cadboy2006CS

Yes, this Wal-Mart World we live in is sadly eroding one`s ability to source good manufactured products.

As a manufacturer myself, I am proudly doing my business in N.America, paying good wages and producing quality products that serve the community on whole.

But I am lucky, my products are too heavy to practically import from Asia. Time to Market is the most important factor.

However, we do resell some products that are manufactured in foundries in China, and on the whole the quality is good. That comes with a caveat, that is that our supplier must constantly stay on top of the production unit in China in order to ensure that the quality standards are met.

So I would say that like any business, regardless of the location, good management is the key to building quality into a product line.

Beleive me, if I could get a good reproduction from a US Foundry I would, but I would suggest that the price would double and being the end-user, how can I be certain that the quality standards will be any better or worse....

I agree, however, in this case with your comment about the DVD player, wheels are not something I am prepared to have failures with.

Thanks for the input!

ljugete

OEM is what I recommend (tire Rack has some descent wheels too).

egr58

I'm interested in your wheels / tires if cadboy2006CS isn't.
Regards,
Gregg

Slow Guy

WheelEnhancment.com has OE wheels at a much better price than most of the dealers. I was quite surprised at the quote they gave me for the OE 21" Cayenne GTS style wheel but like I've said I don't want them in 21", I would much prefer them in 20".

cayenne-kimo

Email sent.

stealthn

Bill, Just keep shopping for a deal, I got my 20" Champions from a fellow enthusiast for $1500 and he paid for shipping. There are good souls out there that can "help a dude out".

Slow Guy

There aren't too many aftermarket wheels that I've seen that I would spend $$$$ on but those look pretty darn nice (considering the angle). Most definitely fits my demand for being able to get the wash sponge in there easily for cleaning. Damn nice buy!