New wheels.. which ones?

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
Would a dealership or garage ever be interested in taking wheels off your hands?

No. You could trade them in against new wheels but you'd get buttons for them. Put them on Gumtree and wait. If you sell them individually rather than as a set you'll get a little more for them. Which wheels is it?
 
  • Like
Reactions: redtee34

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
What's the used alloys/wheels market like for Seat in the UK? I want to sell 4x18" alloys+tyres for a Leon and replace with 17" (have read you don't feel potholes nearly as much with 17s). Is it reasonable to expect to be able to sell the wheels fairly quickly or am I in for a long ride? Would a dealership or garage ever be interested in taking wheels off your hands?
I don’t know what the used alloys market is like for Seat, but I’ve recently had a very good experience selling a set of used genuine VW wheels on a VW forum. These were from VW’s accessories range and not a set of wheels that could be spec’d from the factory on a new VW. IMO a Seat enthusiasts forum should be a good place to sell genuine Seat alloys if they’re a popular style and size of wheel in good condition. I’ve now sold two sets of VW alloys; the most recent set advertised on a forum and the previous set in a VW publication a few years ago and both sets sold quickly.

With the most recent set, I advertised then on 10/09/2020 and sold them three days later for the asking price. To maximise the chances of a quick sale, I’d recommend cleaning them thoroughly - not just the face side, but the reverse side as well, and apply some wax / quick detailer or similar product (face and reverse side) so they look their best. If the wheels have tyres fitted, then apply some dressing to the tyres too. Take pictures of the front each wheel, and at least one of the reverse side of a wheel showing the manufacturer marks / Seat part number / size details on the back of the spokes to show they’re genuine Seat wheels. And above all, ensure they’re realistically priced.

I included the following info. in my ad;
- full details of the size; width, diameter, offset, bolt pattern and centre bore size
- condition / whether any marks or scuffs, kerbing damage
- whether they’d ever been damaged (buckled or cracked) and had any structural repairs
- whether they’d been cosmetically refurbished
- condition and size of tyres, tread depth, and whether any puncture repairs.
- whether buyer needs to collect the wheels or whether they can be couriered (at the buyer’s expense).

The guy that bought mine made a five hour round trip to get them, and said they looked like new (they were just over four years old, but had never suffered any damage nor had they been refurbed, and they did look pretty much like new). If he hadn’t bought them, there was another forum member who also very keen to buy them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: redtee34
Aug 13, 2020
35
1
Mine would also be genuine Seat ones. Encouraging to hear about others' ability to sell quickly on forums. Guess circa 60% original value might be a sensible starting point for if they're in decent condition?
 

BigJase88

Jase
Apr 20, 2008
3,767
1,069
Just my opinion, but I would always put OEM wheels on a car.

High quality aftermarket wheels are expensive, cheap ones a liability. They are not as strong and if you kill one it might be harder or impossible to buy a replacement. There is a Polo I drive past every day that has odd wheels on it!

When you tell you're insurance company about the wheel swap, which you should, they will ask you if the wheels are OEM. If they are, they're happy. And aftermarket wheels are like mods, they put a lot of people off buying the car. I wouldn't buy a car with aftermarket wheels on it. I want everything to be as factory as possible.
Thought you were looking into aftermarket Romac alloys for your own car :unsure:
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
Mine would also be genuine Seat ones. Encouraging to hear about others' ability to sell quickly on forums. Guess circa 60% original value might be a sensible starting point for if they're in decent condition?
That’s pretty much what I what I got for mine; 60% of the price paid for the wheels (ex tyres) when new. Oh, and if you’re selling with tyres, include details of the brand of tyres in the ad, especially if they’re a premium brand such as Michelin, Continental etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: redtee34

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
Thought you were looking into aftermarket Romac alloys for your own car :unsure:

I've thought about aftermarket wheels several times, just like I've thought about buying a Ford. But when reason prevails one doesn't go through with it ;0)
 

Yern

Active Member
Apr 25, 2019
625
311
Just my opinion, but I would always put OEM wheels on a car.

High quality aftermarket wheels are expensive, cheap ones a liability. They are not as strong and if you kill one it might be harder or impossible to buy a replacement. There is a Polo I drive past every day that has odd wheels on it!

When you tell you're insurance company about the wheel swap, which you should, they will ask you if the wheels are OEM. If they are, they're happy. And aftermarket wheels are like mods, they put a lot of people off buying the car. I wouldn't buy a car with aftermarket wheels on it. I want everything to be as factory as possible.
When I was in dealer (in a former life) if a vehicle with non OEM alloys suffered a wheel bearing noise/failure then it wasn't warranty and customer would have to pay.
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
When I was in dealer if a vehicle with non OEM alloys suffered a wheel bearing noise/failure then it wasn't warranty and customer would have to pay.

OEM wheels are built to a high standard and are expensive. Sure, some aftermarket wheels are also very high quality but manufacturers and insurers aren't going to go to the trouble of researching your wheels. If they're aftermarket they'll just assume that they could be Chinese crap or the wrong spec and act accordingly.
 

BigJase88

Jase
Apr 20, 2008
3,767
1,069
Believe it or not but SEAT don’t make alloys

they are sourced from BBS / Ronal / Borbet / Enkei / plus many many many others, and guess what those guys also make aftermarket wheels

:unsure: o_O

To add i have cracked 2 OEM BMW alloys in my time and turned a Honda OEM alloy into an egg.
 

BigJase88

Jase
Apr 20, 2008
3,767
1,069
Buying OEM alloys 2nd hand is also a risk, why are they for sale? Most on ebay etc are from salvage yards so that to me means the cars more than likely been a write off and those wheels have been in some sort of prang, maybe been an upside down job.

it’s always a risk. I ummed and arrred for ages when picking new wheels. Looked at OEM and then was worried about finding an unsmashed / straight set in decent condition that didnt need a refurb and didnt have chinese tyres on and they were few and far between.
Then i started looking at the likes of BBS brand new almost clicked buy on a set of BBS but then in the back of my mind i was like no, wait a minute the missus is going to turn them into 50 pence pieces. So i just bought the cheapest alloys from wheelbase (reputable company) think they were £499 for the alloys and if she smashes them to bits then i just buy another set at £499
 

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
Believe it or not but SEAT don’t make alloys. They are sourced from BBS / Ronal / Borbet / Enkei / plus many many many others...

I know, but it's not the point. The manufacturer and insurers know that OEM wheels are made to a quality and specification that's approved for the car. Aftermarket wheels could be just as good, or better, but they don't know that. Your insurance company isn't going to check the exact wheels you've bought to see if they're good quality, the right offset and all that crap. They just lump all aftermarket wheels together.

Call your insurance and tell them you've changed the wheels on your car. First question they ask you is are they OEM wheels that were an option on that car?

Or play the insurance lottery and just don't tell them you've fitted cheap Chinese wheels to your car. See how it plays out if you have an accident.
 

BigJase88

Jase
Apr 20, 2008
3,767
1,069
I know, but it's not the point. The manufacturer and insurers know that OEM wheels are made to a quality and specification that's approved for the car. Aftermarket wheels could be just as good, or better, but they don't know that. Your insurance company isn't going to check the exact wheels you've bought to see if they're good quality, the right offset and all that crap. They just lump all aftermarket wheels together.

Call your insurance and tell them you've changed the wheels on your car. First question they ask you is are they OEM wheels that were an option on that car?

Or play the insurance lottery and just don't tell them you've fitted cheap Chinese wheels to your car. See how it plays out if you have an accident.
Or just pay the insurance premium. Whats the problem, my aftermarket non OEM wheels added £20 to my policy.

don’t understand big issue
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr Pig

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
Buying OEM alloys 2nd hand is also a risk, why are they for sale? Most on ebay etc are from salvage yards so that to me means the cars more than likely been a write off and those wheels have been in some sort of prang, maybe been an upside down job.
It can be a risk, but then the same could be said when buying many used items. With used OEM wheels, there are good ones out there, although you need to be careful where you buy them from as I dare say there will be some dodgy ones on certain on line auction sites. Probably one of the best places to buy used OEM alloys is a forum like this one; the chances are the seller will be a car enthusiast, they‘ll have a genuine reason for selling them, and the wheels will have been well cared for.

The only reason I sold my OEM aftermarket wheels off my last car rather than fit them on my new one was the new car is heavier than the old car, and the axle weight exceeded the max load limit for the wheels. I certainly didn’t sell them because of any cosmetic or structural issues with the wheels. However, even though they would’ve physically fitted my new car, putting them on the new car would’ve been potentially unsafe and also invalidated my insurance because of the inadequate load limit. There was absolutely nothing wrong with them though when I sold them - never kerbed, cracked or buckled, never repaired or cosmetically refurbished and IMO they were in virtually as new condition. They had premium brand tyres on too (Continentals) - I’d never buy Chinese ditchfinder tyres.

Call your insurance and tell them you've changed the wheels on your car. First question they ask you is are they OEM wheels that were an option on that car?
When I informed my insurer I would be changing my wheels on my last car (I informed them before doing it in case the wouldn’t cover me with the new wheels), they never asked if they were OEM or not. All they wanted to know was the value of the wheels and confirmation I had locking wheel bolts fitted.

I’ll be buying some non OEM alloys soon for my new car. The wheels I’m getting have been TUV certified specifically for my VW, have a five year warranty against manufacturing defects, are exactly the same size and offset as the factory fitted wheels, and use the original VW wheel bolts. So IMO they’re as good - if not better - than the OEM alloys (VW will only warrant the original wheels against defects for the duration of the three year new car warranty).

You might ask why I’m changing them if they’re the same size and spec as the factory wheels. The factory wheels are diamond cut and I dislike diamond cut alloys with a passion. The replacements are definitely not diamond cut.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Mr Pig

Mr Pig

Active Member
Jun 17, 2015
2,614
906
Or just pay the insurance premium. Whats the problem, my aftermarket non OEM wheels added £20 to my policy.

Fair enough. If you tell them and are happy with whatever wheels you buy then cool. Personally, I wouldn't want to spend the money top quality wheels cost and I wouldn't run cheap Chinese wheels either so I stick to OEM.
 

BigJase88

Jase
Apr 20, 2008
3,767
1,069
Fair enough. If you tell them and are happy with whatever wheels you buy then cool. Personally, I wouldn't want to spend the money top quality wheels cost and I wouldn't run cheap Chinese wheels either so I stick to OEM.
You can get a set of 18” BBS SX for circa £800 new so not so bad. Those were the ones i was looking at. Most things are actually made in China anyways :ROFLMAO:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr Pig

davidvilao

Active Member
May 28, 2018
43
9
@davidvilao; I’d always go for gunmetal / anthracite grey coloured wheels as my first choice - that’s what I had on my last two cars so I may be a little biased. My current (new) car is white and I’ll be getting a set of grey painted alloys to replace the original diamond cut wheels in the next couple of months - these ones;
View attachment 18688 IMO gunmetal / anthracite coloured wheels go well with most car paint colours, although as you have a grey car, you might prefer to have some contrast between car colour and wheel colour.

Worth doing a few google searches; ‘mk3 Moonstone Grey Seat Leon with gunmetal alloys‘ and although you may not find a car with gunmetal Pretoria replica alloys, you may find pictures of grey Leons with gunmetal coloured alloys in a similar style that’ll give you a good idea of what the colour combination will look like.


What wheels are these??
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
What wheels are these??
They’re RC Design RC32’s and they are available for the mk3 Leon. One of the size options is 7.5J x18” ET51 with a 57.1 centre bore (no need for spigot rings), which i think is the same size / offset as the Leon’s 18” FR Performance alloys. Other sizes and offsets are available. They’re available in either matt grey, matt black or grey with diamond cut face. My preference is the matt grey version which is what I’ll be getting for my VW.

Link; https://www.brock.de/en/felgen/rc-design-rc32-en/ . There’s a configurator on their website so you can see what they’d look like on a mk3 Leon (you can select the car colour within the configurator too).

They‘re available at Tyre Leader. They’re definitely compatible with the mk3 Leon FR 1.8 (179 bhp). If yours isn’t a 1.8 FR, you can edit the vehicle details to change them to be the same as your specific car. However, if they’re compatible with the 1.8 FR, then they should be OK for other mk3 Leon models

I’m pretty certain that Tyre Leader are based in Germany, so delivery may take a little longer than from a UK based supplier (website says delivery from 72 hrs).

Edit; if you periodically check price of wheels on the Tyre Leader website, you’ll see the price fluctuates by a small amount pretty much on a daily basis. I’ve put this down to Euro/Pound exchange rate movements if Tyre Leader are based in Germany.
 
Last edited:

davidvilao

Active Member
May 28, 2018
43
9
Hey guys,

So I've decided to go with the Pretorias in Gunmetal Grey 18".

Let's hope they look good :D
 
Aug 13, 2020
35
1
The factory wheels are diamond cut and I dislike diamond cut alloys with a passion.
Few people saying avoid diamond cut alloys in here. Thanks for the heads up - I had no idea it had serious implication for durability and made preservation difficult. I'm going to switch out my Leon's wheels soon so probably will take note of the advice and avoid diamond. The wheels you get with titanium pack are diamond, right?
 
SEATCUPRA.NET Forum merchandise