Refurbishing Wheels

[hsd3]

Hi

I have a 1999, 3 Door RAV4. Its in good condition and only done 40000 miles and I intendto keep it for a few more years yet. The wheels look tired and could do with refurbishing. They are the original steel one. Any one got any recommendations in the Leicester area ?

Thanks, H

[bothwell_buyer]

Hi

I have a 1999, 3 Door RAV4. Its in good condition and only done 40000 miles and I intendto keep it for a few more years yet. The wheels look tired and could do with refurbishing. They are the original steel one. Any one got any recommendations in the Leicester area ?

Thanks, H

The 2 main choices is whether to get the wheels shotblasted and powder coated/painted, or whether to go for alloys. I think the former is maybe about £40 a wheel??

alloys - you can go either new or 2ndhand. The alloys I have on my 1st RAV now are 2nd hand and came off a Lexus - 18" - and I paid a good price for them - considerably less than new ones. I just had to buy 1 new one for the spare.

New alloys - there's a wide range and any specialist will advise you which will fit. You can view a lot of the wheels on sites throughout the internet.

I found it cheaper to buy alloys than to buy Toyota steels new.

[hsd3]

Thanks for reply - Toyota want approx £200 to do 4 wheels - problem is they need car for 4/5 days.

I was put off alloys by insurance quotes always asking if I had alloy wheels - I assumed that they bumped up the price ??

Maybe I'll have a look around at some alloys.

Thanks, H

[Hoovie]

Be worth getting actual quotes with and without the wheels to see the actual differential - may be minimal?

eBay is a great source for alloys - shot/sandblasting is a good option for rusty steel wheels to get them looking good again.

If you have a power-washer, you could try that on them as well, then get wheel paint and laquer from a automotive supplier. I beleive you can actually get an attachment for some powerwashers that allow you to use it as a sandblaster type device.