Does this happen with a lot of wheels?

It happens a lot when people get too close to a curb. Hence the term curbed or curbing the wheel.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Easy to do - one of mine has a small scrape. Only one person drives mine - so must have been me (I recall the event actually).

But that looks like the paint is coming off - maybe something corrosive - salt water? I'd be checking the rest of the car for salt corrosion.

 

How old is that car - and how many kilometres?

 

Ahh - that sort-of explains it - well used.

 

Yes, I notice it on size 17" wheels and up. Nothing changed on the driver as far as I know. Wheels got bigger. There is now less tire to hit the curb so the rim does instead. The 16" rims on my older car looks fine but the 18" on my newer vehicle do not.

 

Pull the hubcaps off and look at all the wheels underneath to see their condition.

 

well, if you hit curbs, yes, this happens to all wheels.

the good news is you can rip off the plastic hubcap things and the wheels will be lighter, and look better.

a quick shot of appliance black spray paint will make the wheels look new.

hubcaps belong in dumpsters. or fires

 

It is commonly referred to as "curb rash." Happens it all of us who drive.

 

yes, I'd rather see the wheel than the plastic pieces.

it's not a modification, to me. its just removing unneeded stuff that has already failed.

I don't understand why you listed the price if brand new Orem wheels.

are you planning to replace everything on the car that has scratches ?

I wouldn't. as mentioned earlier, appliance black spray paint will cover up the barely noticable curb rash. assuming it's only curb rash and not corrosion from salt water.

had you said it was a flood car in the beginning I would have immediately agreed to pass on it. flood cars are definitely not worth the annoyance it expense of repairs.

 

Geez last time I checked they were $24 USD apiece. What's that, $120 per rim, to replace, someone's got balls... And without the plastic pieces (if I'm not mistaken you need the wheel off the car to remove the plastic pieces), that rim looks pretty horrendous, my opinion.

Regarding the pic in your first post: that looks more like failing paint?

 

The aesthetics of wheels on a car is the least of my concern. As long as it is not functionally defective, I would not worry about them on a used car. Certainly, I would never pay MSRP for OEM wheels to replace purely cosmetic blemishes. This is not just for the Prius but for any car. I bought a set of used OEM 18" alloy wheels from a junkyard for our SUV winter tires for less than what would cost to buy new aftermarket steel wheels. And the wheels came with free OEM TPMS sensors still in good condition. Unfortunately, for my Prius Prime, I could not find reasonably priced used OEM wheels for winter tires. I ended up buying a set of new aftermarket alloy wheels package deal with winter tires. The final cost came to be less than $50/wheel, again cheaper than the least expensive steelies.