Rim And Wheel Works: Your Rim Straightening, Repair, Refinishing and Sales Experts

Services
Our services include straightening, refinishing, and welding wheels, as well as our diagnostic expertise.

Online Store
Check out our brand-new online store, featuring the best of our used and reconditioned inventory, as well as aftermarket and replica wheels!

Straightening
Get an in-depth view and explanation of our wheel straightening process.

Motorcycle Wheels
We now straighten motorcycle wheels! Click here for more information.

Cosmetics
Find out what we can do to make your wheels look like new again.

Directions
Have an appointment with our ride technicians? Dropping off a rim for repair? Here's how to get here.

Shipping
Not in the Boston area? Here's how to ship your rim to us for repair.

Testimonials
People say nice things about us. We like that.

About Us
How we got to where we are.

Quality
What is quality rim straightening?

Newsletter Archives
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March/April 2007
May/June 2007
August/September 2007

Services - What Can We Do For You Lately?

Straightening
Welding
Refinishing
Corrosion Removal

We are wheel and tire specialists, but first and foremost we are Ride Technicians. We are experts at finding that elusive, annoying vibration and making it go away, experts at making those old, curb-scraped rims look like new again, experts at finding replacement rims for those that are beyond repair, and experts at putting the right tires on your car, not just what's in stock that week.

We are also safety experts. Rims and tires are among the most critical components of any vehicle, and we take that fact very seriously at Rim & Wheel Works. We refuse to do any work or sell any product that we believe to be unsafe, in fact our invariant rule for over 18 years of operation has been that we will allow no work to go out the door unless we ourselves would be willing to ride in the car!

We offer a number of services relating to our specialty, including:

Wheel Straightening

Alloy wheels can become bent due to potholes or other types of impacts. Bent wheels can cause air leakage, and can set up a vibration in the car, which will cause suspension damage and irregular tire wear over time. New alloy wheels tend to average $400-$500 per wheel.

Rim & Wheel Works has specialized in straightening aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy and steel wheels for eighteen years, using proprietary technology to return bent wheels to factory specifications, for only $100-$200 per wheel, depending on size. As one of our satisfied customers once said, "Just do the math!"

We are fully equipped to bring your car into our garage (by appointment) and perform a complete wheel and tire diagnostic. Our Ride Technicians will then show you your rims and tires, explain their diagnosis and your repair options and let you decide how to proceed. Most straightening appointments take about one hour. We also accept rims dropped off for repair, and we have received rims shipped to us for repair from all 50 states plus Canada. Rims shipped to us or dropped off are generally completed within 24-48 hours.

Welding

Alloy wheels in general tend to a wide variety of alloy compositions ranging from very soft and malleable to very hard and brittle. Brittle wheels will tend to crack rather than bend from an impact, although any wheel will crack if it is hit hard enough. In addition, wheels that have been weakened by impact or "hammered out' by well-meaning but inexpert mechanics will sometimes crack while being straightened. Rim & Wheel Works uses an off site certified welder to expertly TIG weld aluminum alloy wheels. Like us, our welder will do no work that he considers unsafe, which includes any cracks along spokes or on the front face of the wheel, as this area is important to the structural strength of the wheel. Welding costs $60 for one or two cracks, and generally takes 1-2 business days.

Wheel Refinishing

We perform all types of refinishing, from simple painting to polishing. Wheel finishes and refinishing prices vary widely, please see our Cosmetics page for details.

Refinishing generally requires at least 7-10 business days, and so cannot be performed by appointment, however we are happy to remove rims from the car for refinishing, and we can often provide our customers with loaner rims so their car is not immobilized during this time. Please contact us for details.

Corrosion Removal

Many rims, especially chromeplated rims are affected by corrosion, usually caused by road salt and slush. Salt water can work its way in between the rim and tire, forming salt crystals that eat away at the surface of the rim and cause leakage. To stop this leakage and keep it from happening again, the tires must be removed and the corrosion cleaned off with an abrasive tool. We then seal the tires with bead seal, (a kind of "tire glue") to ensure that the wheels will not leak and to keep salt corrosion from reoccurring. A "clean and bead seal" costs $35 per wheel plus mounting and balancing and can be done by appointment in about an hour.