Not having luck with VMR. 2nd Set.

BOSSBMW · 03-23-2012, 01:44 PM

After much reluctance, in January i decided to replace my 19" VB3's with yet another set due to hitting a pothole and subsequently bending both front and rear rims on my passenger side.

low and behold, I have yet ANOTHER bent rim. Please notice-- I acknowledged above that I hit a pothole and accepted responsibility for the first mishap. I understand 'you gotta pay to play', but ....

After forking over cash for yet another set, I've been driving like a grandma. There is absolutely no excuse for why this wheel is bent. I expect that some on here will come to the defense of VMR, but seriously, and honestly, I did not hit ANYTHING remotely hard. Granted the roads here are not PERFECT, but they are certainly not anything like NYC's.

Just coming along to express my disappointment in the quality of this product. In hindsight, I wish I would have spent a little more for a solid wheel, but hindsight is always 20/20.

VMR, I am disappointed in you. As such a highly revered vendor on this site, I never hesitated to ordering replacement wheels from you, I chalked it up to driver mishap. I was reassured that your test car had over 100k miles on it with the same rims, and not one bent wheel. Now, after having gone through 2 sets, on a car with less than 50k, I do not believe that the materials used in your molds should have failed so soon.

I spoke to Kevin at VMR (actually a very nice, and helpful rep), first offering me a replacement wheel at $225, a $20 discount on a replacement, which was actually offensive. They are only willing to come down to $200 on a replacement. (Not Kevin's call, but the sales manager's).

These wheels have a manufacturer's warranty, which understandably does not provide 'road hazard' coverage, but I believe this to be a manufacturer's defect, or a flawed design. Pics to follow of incident #1 and #2.

I hope the big wigs at VMR come across this, and make this situation a little less painful for me.

vasillalov · 03-23-2012, 02:19 PM

Umm, VMR wheels are cheap heavy low quality wheels. Did you expect anything else?

BOSSBMW · 03-23-2012, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vasillalov

Umm, VMR wheels are cheap heavy low quality wheels. Did you expect anything else?

This is news to me, they came as highly recommended. Good to know, though.

vasillalov · 03-23-2012, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beneliezer

This is news to me, they came as highly recommended. Good to know, though.

I like VMRs for the way they look. Their appearance is very good indeed and perhaps this is why they came highly recommended. When it comes to actual quality, those wheels are gravity cast (weak and brittle) and therefore heavy wheels, made in China.

Pcemkr · 03-23-2012, 03:05 PM

They're cheap, look "cool", and readily available; of course they're popular.

Babydragon · 03-23-2012, 03:09 PM

I just bent an avant garde. Hit a pipe on the expressway. I guess any rim would have bent going through that. Low profile tires don't offer much protection.

Just be glad you didn't pay a $1000 per wheel and bent that.

Pcemkr · 03-23-2012, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hajduk

I just bent an avant garde. Hit a pipe on the expressway. I guess any rim would have bent going through that. Low profile tires don't offer much protection.

Just be glad you didn't pay a $1000 per wheel and bent that.

Expensive, modular wheels offer replacement components at a lower cost. A replacement for a bent lip on one of my $720(each) CCW only costs $175.

BOSSBMW · 03-23-2012, 03:20 PM

well, by sound of it, i had better roll that $200 into another vendor all together. That's a damn shame, really liked those wheels too, really set off the car.

edirtaynine · 03-23-2012, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pcemkr

They're cheap, look "cool", and readily available; of course they're popular.

this.

Babydragon · 03-23-2012, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pcemkr

Quote:

Originally Posted by hajduk

I just bent an avant garde. Hit a pipe on the expressway. I guess any rim would have bent going through that. Low profile tires don't offer much protection.

Just be glad you didn't pay a $1000 per wheel and bent that.

Expensive, modular wheels offer replacement components at a lower cost. A replacement for a bent lip on one of my $720(each) CCW only costs $175.

Ah, 5 out of the 30 wheels they make are modular, and 3 out of the 5 are ugly as hell. Point is most people have single piece wheels and the expensive ones are forged single piece.

Longboarder · 03-23-2012, 04:51 PM

The ones you see in my sig were bent as well and only cost $100 to bend then back into shape

tscdennab · 03-23-2012, 05:29 PM

I have to say that I had a set of VMR VB3 (in staggered 18") and they were of very good quality: looks, strength and finish. And I did go over potholes with them. One of them quite big, but luckily at low speed (10-15mph). There was nothing wrong with them when I sold them. BUT they are too damn heavy and they do affect performance.

I think you should have attempted to repair the rims. And if impossible, to replace only the damaged rims, and not buy a whole new set. This way you would still have paid one third to one half of what you would have paid for a high quality set, which by the way, wouldn't be bend-proof either.

VMRWheels · 03-23-2012, 08:42 PM

Tal, it is unfortunate that you’ve experienced this with our wheels, however it is impossible to determine exactly what bent the wheel. As I’m sure you are aware, all of our wheels meet and exceed JWL/VIA international safety standards, which makes them perfectly suitable for American roads. Any wheel could bend, whether it is forged or cast, when driving. With that being said though, if you believe it to be a manufacturing defect, please send me high quality photos of the bend via email (Kevin.a@velocitymotoring.com) so I can review it with our warranty department.

Again I do apologize for the inconvenience and I will do what I can for you. I am not frequenting these forums any longer since we have another sales rep on here but since I spoke with you before I felt it would be best for me to be in contact with you directly.

- Kevin@VMR Wheels

spanner1751 · 03-23-2012, 11:50 PM

I was going to get after market wheels for my car, but due to the backordered status of many wheels last year, I cancelled my order and found a set of OEM 193M takeoff wheels/RFT. I hit a nice pothole on the freeway last week, with no damage to my wheels or tires.

Donny Rino · 03-24-2012, 04:40 AM

It's funny... I took notice of hoe many people were selling "vmr wheels and the thread always starts of with " one wheel is bent" or " two small cracks were fixed" ... Would never buy a set for this reason alone. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you don't keep a close eye on tire pressure you stand a better chance of wheel damage with a tire that is under inflated

mlifxs · 03-24-2012, 07:24 AM

sorry to hear about your experience, but makes me think about just refinishing my 17" oems and putting my mod money elsewhere.

Pcemkr · 03-24-2012, 08:45 AM

My friend has cracked his VMR CSL reps twice. They're cheap and you can't justify that.

BOSSBMW · 03-24-2012, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VMRWheels

Tal, it is unfortunate that you’ve experienced this with our wheels, however it is impossible to determine exactly what bent the wheel.

- Kevin@VMR Wheels

Kevin, I'll snap some photos and e-mail them to you.

bmw325i · 03-24-2012, 11:26 AM

If you do get new wheels at a minimum get low pressure cast wheels. I've hit a few potholes since I've got my avant gardes and they've held up fine.

RevC · 03-24-2012, 10:18 PM

That's interesting, but have you read up what jwl expectations are? wheel companies have to meet these, doesn't mean the are making impact resistance bulletproof titanium wheels, they are meeting set guidelines. it can't get much more subjective than that. its tough to hear but Thats what happens when you buy wheels for less than 1k, right?, i've been throusgh lots of sets before i gave up on them. i remember i had a similiar situation and the company (not vmr) did not do shit to help me and essentially blamed me for the damage i know i did not do, claiming that the cant know if i hit a pothole or not. it is blasphemous but we have to know thats just the way it is man. neither side can prove themselves and the company ALWAYS will protect their interests. it's kind of interesting when wheel companies tell you that their wheels are perfectly acceptable for American roads, what does that mean exactly? there are perfect roads and there are shitty roads in this country just like any other. i understand the notion of "any wheel could bend, forged or cast" but why havent i had any problems with Advans or Volks? its just a tradeoff most of the time-performance vs cost vs aesthetics. lower cost and brand manufacturing processes and overall build quality is never up to par with higher end manufucters, i learned the hard way that we get what we pay for, but do you research next time as it doesnt matter if a rim is forged, some are stronger than others. this is my two cents so don't flame me, but i think Replica wheels are best suited for perfect roads, where there are literally perfect roads. Low pres vs. gravity? def low pres.

ALSO REMEMBER-TIRE PRESSURE IS A BIG PART OF THE EQUATION. check it every couple of days or on severe weather changes.

BOSSBMW · 03-24-2012, 11:14 PM

Hi Revc, I'm just shocked. I've had previous success with different aftermarket wheel manufacturers as well. That's why I'm so shocked that all it took was normal driving conditions to bend these wheels. It's completely unacceptable and unfair the the consumers who end up putting these wheels on their car, thinking they're placing parts on their cars which offer some sort of longevity. I don't know, I just feel like its money wasted. All I can say is, if VMR isn't willing to work with me on a replacement I'm going to sell this set and spend my money elsewhere.

Mavus · 03-25-2012, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beneliezer

Hi Revc, I'm just shocked. I've had previous success with different aftermarket wheel manufacturers as well. That's why I'm so shocked that all it took was normal driving conditions to bend these wheels. It's completely unacceptable and unfair the the consumers who end up putting these wheels on their car, thinking they're placing parts on their cars which offer some sort of longevity. I don't know, I just feel like its money wasted. All I can say is, if VMR isn't willing to work with me on a replacement I'm going to sell this set and spend my money elsewhere.

This is one of the reasons why I still have 162's on my car. These small companies that make cheep wheels don't have funds to invest in sophisticated math models to perform fatigue analysis and other analyses, if you know what that is. For example, 162's were designed by BBS! You can pick them up for $400-600 used and will last much longer than any VMR or other junk wheel. I just don't get folks on this forum that are replacing some good OEM wheels w/junk ones just for looks.

When you buy Hugo Boss suit are you going to then go to buy shoes @ Payless?

Your car does not deserve junk wheels in my opinion.

03-23-2012, 01:44 PM	#1
BOSSBMW Captain 81 Rep 741 Posts Drives: 2013 X3 35i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Upstate NY iTrader: (0)	Not having luck with VMR. 2nd Set. After much reluctance, in January i decided to replace my 19" VB3's with yet another set due to hitting a pothole and subsequently bending both front and rear rims on my passenger side. low and behold, I have yet ANOTHER bent rim. Please notice-- I acknowledged above that I hit a pothole and accepted responsibility for the first mishap. I understand 'you gotta pay to play', but .... After forking over cash for yet another set, I've been driving like a grandma. There is absolutely no excuse for why this wheel is bent. I expect that some on here will come to the defense of VMR, but seriously, and honestly, I did not hit ANYTHING remotely hard. Granted the roads here are not PERFECT, but they are certainly not anything like NYC's. Just coming along to express my disappointment in the quality of this product. In hindsight, I wish I would have spent a little more for a solid wheel, but hindsight is always 20/20. VMR, I am disappointed in you. As such a highly revered vendor on this site, I never hesitated to ordering replacement wheels from you, I chalked it up to driver mishap. I was reassured that your test car had over 100k miles on it with the same rims, and not one bent wheel. Now, after having gone through 2 sets, on a car with less than 50k, I do not believe that the materials used in your molds should have failed so soon. I spoke to Kevin at VMR (actually a very nice, and helpful rep), first offering me a replacement wheel at $225, a $20 discount on a replacement, which was actually offensive. They are only willing to come down to $200 on a replacement. (Not Kevin's call, but the sales manager's). These wheels have a manufacturer's warranty, which understandably does not provide 'road hazard' coverage, but I believe this to be a manufacturer's defect, or a flawed design. Pics to follow of incident #1 and #2. I hope the big wigs at VMR come across this, and make this situation a little less painful for me. __________________ ['13 X3 SGM] [20" XXR550's in Black Chrome] [Lamin-X Tails/Fogs] [M-Sport Rear] [FOX Exhaust][H&R Sport Springs][RaceChip Ultimate][BMS N55 Intake] SOLD-['06 325i TiAg] [19" VMR VB3 HYPERBLACK] [Blacklines] [OEM Xenon Conversion] [35% Tint] [M-Tech Rear] [M-Tech Front] [Black Vinyl Roof] [Slotted/Drilled Rotors, Cool Carbon Pads] [PBX]
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03-23-2012, 02:19 PM	#2
vasillalov Mad Linux Guru On The Loose 1121 Rep 5,396 Posts Drives: 2008 335i Sedan, 2023 M3 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chicago, IL iTrader: (5) Garage List 2023 BMW M3 [0.00] 2008 335i E90 [8.00]	Umm, VMR wheels are cheap heavy low quality wheels. Did you expect anything else? __________________ 6MT \| COBB \| AR \| AE \| Forge DV \| HPF \| P3 Gauge \| Hybrid Intake \| O.S.Giken TCD \| All M3 bits \| TCKLine \| StopTech \| UUC \| ER \| SPEC
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03-23-2012, 03:05 PM	#5
Pcemkr Pro Hater 49 Rep 1,717 Posts Drives: Low and slow Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: DC iTrader: (1)	They're cheap, look "cool", and readily available; of course they're popular. __________________ Username is now PSUSMU
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03-23-2012, 03:09 PM	#6
Babydragon Captain 34 Rep 781 Posts Drives: 2007 328xi Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Chic/ago iTrader: (0)	I just bent an avant garde. Hit a pipe on the expressway. I guess any rim would have bent going through that. Low profile tires don't offer much protection. Just be glad you didn't pay a $1000 per wheel and bent that.
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03-23-2012, 03:20 PM	#8
BOSSBMW Captain 81 Rep 741 Posts Drives: 2013 X3 35i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Upstate NY iTrader: (0)	well, by sound of it, i had better roll that $200 into another vendor all together. That's a damn shame, really liked those wheels too, really set off the car. __________________ ['13 X3 SGM] [20" XXR550's in Black Chrome] [Lamin-X Tails/Fogs] [M-Sport Rear] [FOX Exhaust][H&R Sport Springs][RaceChip Ultimate][BMS N55 Intake] SOLD-['06 325i TiAg] [19" VMR VB3 HYPERBLACK] [Blacklines] [OEM Xenon Conversion] [35% Tint] [M-Tech Rear] [M-Tech Front] [Black Vinyl Roof] [Slotted/Drilled Rotors, Cool Carbon Pads] [PBX]
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03-23-2012, 04:51 PM	#11
Longboarder Major General 3431 Rep 6,771 Posts Drives: 2016 BMW i8 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Monarch Beach iTrader: (1) Garage List 2012 BMW e92 M3 [0.00] 2021 BMW X5M [10.00] 2015 Porsche 991 Tu ... [10.00] 2015 Porsche 991 GT3 [10.00]	The ones you see in my sig were bent as well and only cost $100 to bend then back into shape __________________ Current BMWs: 2022 X5 40i, 2016 X5 50i 2015 Porsche 991 Turbo S 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo (930) a couple others IG: longboarder949; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT1...eoFBszPIK0gf9w
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03-23-2012, 05:29 PM	#12
tscdennab Banned 151 Rep 1,809 Posts Drives: BMW 335i Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Europe iTrader: (0) Garage List 2008 BMW [6.24]	I have to say that I had a set of VMR VB3 (in staggered 18") and they were of very good quality: looks, strength and finish. And I did go over potholes with them. One of them quite big, but luckily at low speed (10-15mph). There was nothing wrong with them when I sold them. BUT they are too damn heavy and they do affect performance. I think you should have attempted to repair the rims. And if impossible, to replace only the damaged rims, and not buy a whole new set. This way you would still have paid one third to one half of what you would have paid for a high quality set, which by the way, wouldn't be bend-proof either.
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03-23-2012, 08:42 PM	#13
VMRWheels BimmerPost Supporting Vendor 2042 Rep 25,989 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Anaheim, CA iTrader: (4) Garage List 2013 BMW M3 [10.00] 2015 BMW M4 [0.00] 2013 BMW F30 [0.00] 2014 BMW F22 [0.00] 2013 BMW F06 [0.00]	Tal, it is unfortunate that you’ve experienced this with our wheels, however it is impossible to determine exactly what bent the wheel. As I’m sure you are aware, all of our wheels meet and exceed JWL/VIA international safety standards, which makes them perfectly suitable for American roads. Any wheel could bend, whether it is forged or cast, when driving. With that being said though, if you believe it to be a manufacturing defect, please send me high quality photos of the bend via email (Kevin.a@velocitymotoring.com) so I can review it with our warranty department. Again I do apologize for the inconvenience and I will do what I can for you. I am not frequenting these forums any longer since we have another sales rep on here but since I spoke with you before I felt it would be best for me to be in contact with you directly. - Kevin@VMR Wheels __________________ VMR\|Wheels \| 714.442.7916 \| sales@velocitymotoring.com \| www.velocitymotoring.com \| facebook \| flickr \| Instagram
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03-23-2012, 11:50 PM	#14
spanner1751 Lieutenant 67 Rep 479 Posts Drives: 2011 328i M sport sedan Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: PNW iTrader: (0)	I was going to get after market wheels for my car, but due to the backordered status of many wheels last year, I cancelled my order and found a set of OEM 193M takeoff wheels/RFT. I hit a nice pothole on the freeway last week, with no damage to my wheels or tires. __________________
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03-24-2012, 04:40 AM	#15
Donny Rino Private First Class 3 Rep 132 Posts Drives: 2006 330i Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: westchester ny iTrader: (0)	It's funny... I took notice of hoe many people were selling "vmr wheels and the thread always starts of with " one wheel is bent" or " two small cracks were fixed" ... Would never buy a set for this reason alone. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you don't keep a close eye on tire pressure you stand a better chance of wheel damage with a tire that is under inflated
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03-24-2012, 07:24 AM	#16
mlifxs Diamond Geezer 212 Rep 2,385 Posts Drives: Jet Black 2007 328i Saloon Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida iTrader: (6) Garage List 2016 VW Golf Sportw ... [10.00]	sorry to hear about your experience, but makes me think about just refinishing my 17" oems and putting my mod money elsewhere.
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03-24-2012, 08:45 AM	#17
Pcemkr Pro Hater 49 Rep 1,717 Posts Drives: Low and slow Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: DC iTrader: (1)	My friend has cracked his VMR CSL reps twice. They're cheap and you can't justify that. __________________ Username is now PSUSMU
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03-24-2012, 11:26 AM	#19
bmw325i Major General 223 Rep 5,120 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: United States iTrader: (8)	If you do get new wheels at a minimum get low pressure cast wheels. I've hit a few potholes since I've got my avant gardes and they've held up fine.
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03-24-2012, 10:18 PM	#20
RevC Lieutenant General 178 Rep 11,768 Posts Drives: a couple fast toys Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Voorhees+cherry hill,NJ iTrader: (26)	That's interesting, but have you read up what jwl expectations are? wheel companies have to meet these, doesn't mean the are making impact resistance bulletproof titanium wheels, they are meeting set guidelines. it can't get much more subjective than that. its tough to hear but Thats what happens when you buy wheels for less than 1k, right?, i've been throusgh lots of sets before i gave up on them. i remember i had a similiar situation and the company (not vmr) did not do shit to help me and essentially blamed me for the damage i know i did not do, claiming that the cant know if i hit a pothole or not. it is blasphemous but we have to know thats just the way it is man. neither side can prove themselves and the company ALWAYS will protect their interests. it's kind of interesting when wheel companies tell you that their wheels are perfectly acceptable for American roads, what does that mean exactly? there are perfect roads and there are shitty roads in this country just like any other. i understand the notion of "any wheel could bend, forged or cast" but why havent i had any problems with Advans or Volks? its just a tradeoff most of the time-performance vs cost vs aesthetics. lower cost and brand manufacturing processes and overall build quality is never up to par with higher end manufucters, i learned the hard way that we get what we pay for, but do you research next time as it doesnt matter if a rim is forged, some are stronger than others. this is my two cents so don't flame me, but i think Replica wheels are best suited for perfect roads, where there are literally perfect roads. Low pres vs. gravity? def low pres. ALSO REMEMBER-TIRE PRESSURE IS A BIG PART OF THE EQUATION. check it every couple of days or on severe weather changes. __________________ -Rev SGM e92 335xi\|Helix\|AFE\|AWE\|PROCEDE\|SYNAPSE\|ER\|OSS\|BMW PERFORMANCE\|P3\|always growing.. Last edited by RevC; 03-24-2012 at 10:27 PM..
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03-24-2012, 11:14 PM	#21
BOSSBMW Captain 81 Rep 741 Posts Drives: 2013 X3 35i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Upstate NY iTrader: (0)	Hi Revc, I'm just shocked. I've had previous success with different aftermarket wheel manufacturers as well. That's why I'm so shocked that all it took was normal driving conditions to bend these wheels. It's completely unacceptable and unfair the the consumers who end up putting these wheels on their car, thinking they're placing parts on their cars which offer some sort of longevity. I don't know, I just feel like its money wasted. All I can say is, if VMR isn't willing to work with me on a replacement I'm going to sell this set and spend my money elsewhere. __________________ ['13 X3 SGM] [20" XXR550's in Black Chrome] [Lamin-X Tails/Fogs] [M-Sport Rear] [FOX Exhaust][H&R Sport Springs][RaceChip Ultimate][BMS N55 Intake] SOLD-['06 325i TiAg] [19" VMR VB3 HYPERBLACK] [Blacklines] [OEM Xenon Conversion] [35% Tint] [M-Tech Rear] [M-Tech Front] [Black Vinyl Roof] [Slotted/Drilled Rotors, Cool Carbon Pads] [PBX]
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