Lease end, do I need to replace this wheel?

[e-FTW]

Hey folks!

My lease on the S ends in 10 days. My lease is with Tesla Financing LLC which allows me to avoid the whole Autovin contractor inspection. Sweet. I get to self report straight to Tesla's end-of lease team.

Time for the shame: I curbed two wheels. The first two I have ever curbed in 20+ years of car ownership. Sad face.
Lack of large tire bead, larger car than I usually drive and my maniacal parking habits way over next to the curb at the edge of parking lots contributed to this. And being a tool. That, mostly.

Anyway, what do you guys think: can I get this repaired, or will I need to buy a new wheel? I doubt Tesla will let this one slide:

I'll get a better shot of these gouges on the spokes, but I figured it gives a rough idea of the size of the damage. Ugh.

In the good news department, looks like I'll be able to drop the S off in Fremont while picking up my Model 3 Performance+! Yay!

 

[Obsoletion]

there are mobile repair people out there that will come to you and fix while you wait for around $100 per wheel or less. I used them on my wifes car before a lease turn in and it saved me 1000 on a couple of wheels. Check craigslist/offer up or wherever you look for automotive type services

 

[e-FTW]

there are mobile repair people out there that will come to you and fix while you wait for around $100 per wheel or less. I used them on my wifes car before a lease turn in and it saved me 1000 on a couple of wheels. Check craigslist/offer up or wherever you look for automotive type services

Thanks, definitely will look into that.

I guess my question is more about the type of damage here: the spokes are affected, not just the edge of the wheel. Is that something folks have experienced, and what was that like?

 

[P85_DA]

Thanks, definitely will look into that.

I guess my question is more about the type of damage here: the spokes are affected, not just the edge of the wheel. Is that something folks have experienced, and what was that like?

I had similar damage did mobile wheel repair had no issues on turn in

 

[verdee]

I had similar issues on two wheels, a tear on the setback, and a scratch. Total cost on lease return ~$200, this was with USBank though. But doubt you will have to replace the wheel

 

[e-FTW]

Detail of those two gouges:

 

[Doanster1]

Detail of those two gouges:

View attachment 336188 View attachment 336187

Easily refinished by a mobile expert. Like others have stated, prob a $150 job while you’re at work.

 

[e-FTW]

Detail of those two gouges:

View attachment 336188 View attachment 336187

Tesla's re-marketing team looked at the pics, and they say the wheel needs replacing. Dang. Pointers to a solution in the Bay Area? I am returning the car on Friday.
I will also have to pay (Tesla said $1000) for a cracked lens on the right rear tail light, the part on the trunk lid. IIRC, that one is hard to take out and replace:

 

[P85_DA]

Tesla's re-marketing team looked at the pics, and they say the wheel needs replacing. Dang. Pointers to a solution in the Bay Area? I am returning the car on Friday.
I will also have to pay (Tesla said $1000) for a cracked lens on the right rear tail light, the part on the trunk lid. IIRC, that one is hard to take out and replace:
View attachment 337770

Wow that’s disappointing I returned mine with little tire tread ... scraped rim and wasn’t charged anything

 

[e-FTW]

Wow that’s disappointing I returned mine with little tire tread ... scraped rim and wasn’t charged anything

Yeah, I may have provided too much information. Will look into mobile wheel repair. Might have to look at a plan B and find a wheel.
That tail light lens really annoys me though, $1000... And it was my fault.

 

[demundus]

Yeah, I may have provided too much information. Will look into mobile wheel repair. Might have to look at a plan B and find a wheel.
That tail light lens really annoys me though, $1000... And it was my fault.

buy a tail lens from ebay and replace it yourself, WAY less than 1k. refinish the wheels via a professional (they'll bondo the gouge, sand it, and "paint it")

 

[e-FTW]

buy a tail lens from ebay and replace it yourself, WAY less than 1k. refinish the wheels via a professional (they'll bondo the gouge, sand it, and "paint it")

Yeah, am working on the wheel repair part.

As for the tail light, thank you for the suggestion. But it seems like a PITA to remove, as you need to remove all of the hatch/trunk interior panel and trim, then cut the adhesive behind the chrome trim piece that sits on top of the light.
See:

 

[ba2002]

I don't know about the taillight but there is no way I would replace that rim.

As others have said, get a mobile guy to refurbish it. Will probably end up looking better than your other ones.

Side note - on lease turn-in - do we get copies of any paperwork? Seems like we should get a receipt for "oh by the way I turned that $100k car over to some guy."

 

[demundus]

Yeah, am working on the wheel repair part.

As for the tail light, thank you for the suggestion. But it seems like a PITA to remove, as you need to remove all of the hatch/trunk interior panel and trim, then cut the adhesive behind the chrome trim piece that sits on top of the light.
See:

Seems about normal. Infact the SVC replaces these all the time due to water intrusion and defect in design (as part of goodwill). As with most things on this car, it LOOKS scary, but in reality is not. This car is much simpler, especially in terms of body work, than Tesla would like you to think. I bet you could do it, bigger question is, if your time is worth 700-800 bucks for a few hours of heartache and knuckles

 

[e-FTW]

Seems about normal. Infact the SVC replaces these all the time due to water intrusion and defect in design (as part of goodwill). As with most things on this car, it LOOKS scary, but in reality is not. This car is much simpler, especially in terms of body work, than Tesla would like you to think. I bet you could do it, bigger question is, if your time is worth 700-800 bucks for a few hours of heartache and knuckles

My time is at a premium between now and Friday, so I am likely eating this cost.
Thanks!

But I do have a mobile wheel repair person meeting me at work tomorrow.

 

[PaulStreetBoy]

I have the same exact issue regarding the rims. My wife drives the S and she scratched 3 out of the 4 rims. They are deeps scratches and in one of the rims, it is on the spokes as well as on the edge of the rim.

I return the car next Saturday. The last possible day. The AutoVin people are going to come on Tuesday for an inspection. I got quotes for $200/rim - $225/rim to repair and it takes 3 days at brick and mortar places. The mobile people do it on the spot for $150 from what I hear but they don't do as good a job if the scratches are deeper.

The dilemma I have is as follows:

1) How much would the AutoVin folks ding me for the deeply scratched wheels?

2) Do I repair the wheels? If I do, when should I repair them?

3) Per the previous post, if repairing them after the AutoVin inspection will not make a difference why should I even consider repairing them? I don't want to do the repairs and then deal with Tesla and US Bank reps trying to have them acknowledge it.

_____> Have you turned in your leased Tesla after the lease end date (in my case next Saturday)? The Tesla rep said they require that the car's registration be current. My car's registration runs out on Saturday, the day of my appointment.

 

[e-FTW]

I have the same exact issue regarding the rims. My wife drives the S and she scratched 3 out of the 4 rims. They are deeps scratches and in one of the rims, it is on the spokes as well as on the edge of the rim.

I return the car next Saturday. The last possible day. The AutoVin people are going to come on Tuesday for an inspection. I got quotes for $200/rim - $225/rim to repair and it takes 3 days at brick and mortar places. The mobile people do it on the spot for $150 from what I hear but they don't do as good a job if the scratches are deeper.

The dilemma I have is as follows:

1) How much would the AutoVin folks ding me for the deeply scratched wheels?

2) Do I repair the wheels? If I do, when should I repair them?

3) Per the previous post, if repairing them after the AutoVin inspection will not make a difference why should I even consider repairing them? I don't want to do the repairs and then deal with Tesla and US Bank reps trying to have them acknowledge it.

_____> Have you turned in your leased Tesla after the lease end date (in my case next Saturday)? The Tesla rep said they require that the car's registration be current. My car's registration runs out on Saturday, the day of my appointment.

You have a 10 day buffer after your due date. But if the registration expires, get on them to get to you faster.

I had a great experience with a mobile repair guy here in the Bay Area. NO complaints, wheels looked fantastic.

 

[PaulStreetBoy]

You have a 10 day buffer after your due date. But if the registration expires, get on them to get to you faster.

I had a great experience with a mobile repair guy here in the Bay Area. NO complaints, wheels looked fantastic.

thank you