[katkins]

I'm aware that Steve Gendron, owner of Collingwood Fine Cars, the shop that is responsible for the condition of the rims has read this thread.

In an email, he doubled down that this is normal corrosion caused by brine. Just wondering if that is the case, isn't it strange that the rims were stored without damage in the season prior and those same rims were on the car and garaged in the winter the season before and were undamaged. Further, isn't it strange that when driving around Collingwood on the weekend and studying every vehicle we passed, we didn't see a single rim that resembled these despite this being very common. All very strange.

I was going to update this post that Steve replaced our rims and that we are happy with our rims but when we dropped it off, he a) refused to show us the rims he purchased and b) took multiple photos of our car, sending a petty email itemizing damage that I myself had made them aware of prior to the original drop off thus inferring we were attempting to scam them for existing damage.

Finally, Steve had some very petty words for the dealers that were kind enough to offer an opinion. He wrote they had "no education or experience" and that they "spread misinformation" simply by telling me that is what not normal and that they had not seen that level of corrosion on rims. Frankly, that says more than enough about the author.

[celsdogg]

they def corrode, but that seems super excessive and I am sorry to hear how you are being treated.

I am no professional mechanic but my experience covers over 10+ years of swapping between summer and winter wheels in winters from mild to heavy. I have 2 sets of steels and 3 sets of BMW alloys (Style 68, 45, and 281) as winter wheels and they are stored in my non-climate controlled garage. I almost never clean them so during the heavier winters, the salt never comes off. The style 68 and 45's are the oldest (e46 generation) and just have a touch of corrosion on some edges.

IMHO, something out of the ordinary happened to yours. Good luck.

[katkins]

Originally Posted by celsdogg

they def corrode, but that seems super excessive and I am sorry to hear how you are being treated.

I am no professional mechanic but my experience covers over 10+ years of swapping between summer and winter wheels in winters from mild to heavy. I have 2 sets of steels and 3 sets of BMW alloys (Style 68, 45, and 281) as winter wheels and they are stored in my non-climate controlled garage. I almost never clean them so during the heavier winters, the salt never comes off. The style 68 and 45's are the oldest (e46 generation) and just have a touch of corrosion on some edges.

IMHO, something out of the ordinary happened to yours. Good luck.

Thank you. I agree! He argues that this is brine related and not salt related. We stored the wheels with him in 2021/2022 and they emerged undamaged somehow.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

It's tough to really say what happened. I'm also not a professional mechanic, on one hand I admit it seems like some extreme corrosion but on the other, if you said the moisture was pretty bad this year... . And in a container, I don't think anything may have leaked onto them right?

But one thing is for sure, the fact Collingwood Fine Cars don't even take the time to do a basic clean before storing them like... wtf? If he knew this would happen, why do they not clean the wheels of the customers? Like you said, dealers do this. That's a pretty stupid and poor service that they offer. Like, not everyone is going to know this, especially for someone who doesn't want to DIY things and let someone take care of it. Steve I hope you read this comment and realise the stupidity here come on... take some responsibility and do the right thing.

[evomike]

Originally Posted by katkins

Added photo of before they were removed in the spring. I think it's clear enough to see they were undamaged. I agree about sandblasting. I am considering buying used from Marketplace.

they were undamaged in that pic for sure but the car is also covered in road salt, you need to scrub the heck out of your winter wheels prior to storing them.

[katkins]

Originally Posted by evomike

they were undamaged in that pic for sure but the car is also covered in road salt, you need to scrub the heck out of your winter wheels prior to storing them.

The wheels were swapped earlier than usual, at the end of March. I specifically asked Steve - so should we have run it through the car wash prior to bringing it in and he said no since most salt is in the back. So what do I do? Hang out in your shop and borrow your hose? If you're going to offer storage, you need to wash the wheels and store them in a proper facility and charge enough for all of that. The storage price on the invoice says $150 and $50 for people who get their vehicles serviced there. Charge more and do it right.

[X3rd Time Is a Charm]

Don’t even look like the same wheels ! Maybe a mix up ?? Someone else’s wheels ? The paint just doesn’t look the same .

[katkins]

Originally Posted by X3rd Time Is a Charm

Don’t even look like the same wheels ! Maybe a mix up ?? Someone else’s wheels ? The paint just doesn’t look the same .

I did ask after more than a few people said the same thing. I was told it’s impossible but given the fact that my tires were ok then following storage were no longer ok, one definitely wonders.

[tracer bullet]

Originally Posted by katkins

then following storage were no longer ok, one definitely wonders.

In what way? In the pictures, other than the odd markings on them, they look great. Tons of tread, at least.

[katkins]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

In what way? In the pictures, other than the odd markings on them, they look great. Tons of tread, at least.

Those are the new tires. When the tires were removed the shop advised the tread was good for one more season. Here is where it gets fishy for me: Text to book tires on Nov 1 at 1:12pm - scheduling appointment for the 21st of November. Reply text at 2:16pm on November 1st - "I just went and took a look at the snow tires and they are not really good for this season. I will send you an estimate for new ones." So hmm. Why if the appointment wasn't until 20 days later did you rush out to check the condition? FISHY. So here we are over $900 later on new tires when we may not have this car next winter.

[GOLFFRR]

wow thats insane..

[katkins]

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

wow thats insane..

I agree!

[katkins]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

It's tough to really say what happened. I'm also not a professional mechanic, on one hand I admit it seems like some extreme corrosion but on the other, if you said the moisture was pretty bad this year... . And in a container, I don't think anything may have leaked onto them right?

But one thing is for sure, the fact Collingwood Fine Cars don't even take the time to do a basic clean before storing them like... wtf? If he knew this would happen, why do they not clean the wheels of the customers? Like you said, dealers do this. That's a pretty stupid and poor service that they offer. Like, not everyone is going to know this, especially for someone who doesn't want to DIY things and let someone take care of it. Steve I hope you read this comment and realise the stupidity here come on... take some responsibility and do the right thing.

Update: I wish I had something better to write. The business owner has resorted to retaliation against me for this post against a business that I am not related to. When he made the threat, I responded that if he communicated with me in a respectful manner, I would consider removing this thread. He would not and carried out his threat against a good, local business. It's disappointing to say the least.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by katkins

Update: I wish I had something better to write. The business owner has resorted to retaliation against me for this post against a business that I am not related to. When he made the threat, I responded that if he communicated with me in a respectful manner, I would consider removing this thread. He would not and carried out his threat against a good, local business. It's disappointing to say the least.

Please elaborate further, what exactly did they do against this local business?

[katkins]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

Please elaborate further, what exactly did they do against this local business?

I don't wish to elaborate further as it's not my business. I don't believe any acts of retaliation whatsoever are appropriate when a business is fairly called out in this (or any) forum whatsoever.

[whyzee125]

It’s just corrosion from salt and moisture. The damage to the alloy is likely not too severe, it’s just lifting the paint/finish off.

For a like new result, I’d dismount the tires and have them bead blasted/powder coated or repaint them yourself.

For a “good enough” result just take some aircraft remover to them, hit them with an orbital sander and repaint. They’ll look a solid 8/10ths for very little money/effort.

[DrFerry]

Originally Posted by katkins

Just got our winter tires switched over and immediately noticed all four rims are peeling and the emblem is popping out. The rims are 7 years old and were by all means not pristine but did not in any way look like this. I luckily had a photo of the car in the garage last winter and the rims were fine. Mechanic stores in a shipping container onsite. He maintains this is normal corrosion from the salt/brine used in this area. He then stated it was our fault for not cleaning the wheels prior to storage. Basically gave us a million excuses as to why this normally occurs over the course of 6 months of storage. Interestingly, they also told us the winters had one more season then took them out and told us they were done. I should have gone to look at them. Combined with the condition of the rims, I am now wondering what happened to the tires. Has anyone seen damage like this or have any thoughts if this was caused by heat and/or moisture in the container? It rained excessively this summer and we did have some hot days. Lastly, appreciate any thoughts on refurbing these or replacing them.
Thank you.

Classic salt corrosion lifting the paint. Your mechanic probably thought your wheels had already been cleaned and were ready for storage. The condition of the tires should not have changed if the tires were properly stored away from ozone sources and ultra violet light. Did the mechanic's opinion about the tires condition change because the tires had been used or worn by someone else during the six month 'storage' period?

[Dan B]

Galvanic corrosion is when dissimilar metals are in contact with each other. This is not galvanic corrosion.

We had shops in Florida and Wisconsin and stored hundreds of rims as well as many shops tool that didn't make the seasonal travelling with the team, and I have never see corrosion like this after 1 season let alone several seasons.

This looks to be corrosion cause by exposure to something caustic. Ask to look at the inside of the shipping container and see if it shows signs of corrosion. Make sure to look at the floor of the container.

It it does I suspect they stored something like chlorine in the container, it froze (no, not pure chlorine but something like pool shock) and leaked. Then with warming and cooling cycles the humidity in the container rose and it caused the corrosion.

[gridworks]

Originally Posted by Dan B

Galvanic corrosion is when dissimilar metals are in contact with each other. This is not galvanic corrosion.

We had shops in Florida and Wisconsin and stored hundreds of rims as well as many shops tool that didn't make the seasonal travelling with the team, and I have never see corrosion like this after 1 season let alone several seasons.

This looks to be corrosion cause by exposure to something caustic. Ask to look at the inside of the shipping container and see if it shows signs of corrosion. Make sure to look at the floor of the container.

It it does I suspect they stored something like chlorine in the container, it froze (no, not pure chlorine but something like pool shock) and leaked. Then with warming and cooling cycles the humidity in the container rose and it caused the corrosion.

If this was the case, the tires would have been exposed to the same conditions. I wonder if some damage had been done to the tires, hence why they had suggested the tires be replaced despite OP remembering they were still ok.

[DrFerry]

Originally Posted by Dan B

Galvanic corrosion is when dissimilar metals are in contact with each other. This is not galvanic corrosion. We had shops in Florida and Wisconsin and stored hundreds of rims as well as many shops tool that didn't make the seasonal traveling with the team, and I have never see corrosion like this after 1 season let alone several seasons. This looks to be corrosion cause by exposure to something caustic. Ask to look at the inside of the shipping container and see if it shows signs of corrosion. Make sure to look at the floor of the container. It it does I suspect they stored something like chlorine in the container, it froze (no, not pure chlorine but something like pool shock) and leaked. Then with warming and cooling cycles the humidity in the container rose and it caused the corrosion.

Interesting theory. You might very well be right. Especially given your experience and expertise in the wheel storage business.
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katkins Here's some photo examples below of alloy wheel salt corrosion and the source links. The damage to your wheels looks a little more 'wet', bubbly or 'pliable' than it is dry and flaky (as seen in the example photos below). This perhaps supporting Dan B 's theory of caustic corrosion by gas or fluid.
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https://curateview.com/remove-corros...uminum-wheels/
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https://www.wheelworlddigest.com/decoding-rim-damage
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https://www.wheelrepairsyorkshire.co.uk/#contact-us
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Please report back and let us know how all of this works out. I'm sorry this has happened to you (and your winter wheels and tires).
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[murderspice]

He is betting you dont take him to small claims court.

[Dan B]

Originally Posted by gridworks

If this was the case, the tires would have been exposed to the same conditions. I wonder if some damage had been done to the tires, hence why they had suggested the tires be replaced despite OP remembering they were still ok.

That is an excellent question.

Obviously the rims will react differently than rubber, and the rubber may not react at all. But the steel belts inside the tire could have a reaction and it would be hidden. Good reason to recommend replacing the tires.