Hi. I recently purchased a 2002 SL1, 4 door, manual transmission, sedan. I love it.

However, I lost a wheel cover a few months ago, and I have been having a devil of a time finding a replacement that fits.

I purchased two OEM wheel covers on eBay from reputable sellers. Both were listed as fitting the 2002 SL1, and both look absolutely identical to the wheel covers I have. They are the same size, same pattern; everything, to appearances, is exactly the same. The only difference I can note is the four cap nuts that fit over the wheel bolts, and which secure the covers, are a dark grey, whereas the ones on my current wheel covers are a lighter grey.

When I attempt to attach the replacement wheel covers, both lineup perfectly, but the cap nuts don't quite reach the bolt threads on the wheels. If I push really hard on the wheel covers, I can make them barely reach the threads, but that's not right. They're clearly not fitting for some reason.

I even had my mechanic look at it and he was baffled.

Has anyone had any experience with this, or any advice?

Roy