replacement factory wheels/rims / or aftermarket?

I purchaced a 2001 530i sport/premiem package bimmer and my factory wheels
are not mangled, however they have some dings and are well....as well as
some marks.
The car is absolutely flawless besides my wheel sitation, which is why I
think a new set are surely in order.

I was firstly wondering if I could get some links to who sells factory BMW
wheels at a good discount.

As far as aftermarket goes, if I were to go this route I'd like to keep the
syle to that similar honeycombs.

The 2001 changed their wheels from those they had used on the 2000 and
earlir.
I looked at the BBS and they have some great looking wheels, however at a
700 $ tag though.
Would like to keep it at 500 or less a wheel.
I had seen my replacements online for like $390 each, which is I'm sure a
hell of a lot less than from the dealer.

Any suggestions?
Oh, and how about the wheels by " The wheel exchange "
They are inexpensive, and are lookalikes of my factory wheels, but I'm not
exactly looking to downgrade if you know what I mean.
Anyone familiar with their wheelsand the quality of them?

Thanks,
Bill

What about those companies that advertise in the back of Car & Driver, Motor
Trend etc that repair alloy wheels, might be worth a look and save some
money. hth

--
Ed Smith
"BillDubs" > wrote in message
news:1111538601.2e8e25fee6bb2dea0a8c151099811741@t eranews...
>I purchaced a 2001 530i sport/premiem package bimmer and my factory wheels
>are not mangled, however they have some dings and are well....as well as
>some marks.
> The car is absolutely flawless besides my wheel sitation, which is why I
> think a new set are surely in order.
>
> I was firstly wondering if I could get some links to who sells factory BMW
> wheels at a good discount.
>
> As far as aftermarket goes, if I were to go this route I'd like to keep
> the syle to that similar honeycombs.
>
> The 2001 changed their wheels from those they had used on the 2000 and
> earlir.
> I looked at the BBS and they have some great looking wheels, however at a
> 700 $ tag though.
> Would like to keep it at 500 or less a wheel.
> I had seen my replacements online for like $390 each, which is I'm sure a
> hell of a lot less than from the dealer.
>
> Any suggestions?
> Oh, and how about the wheels by " The wheel exchange "
> They are inexpensive, and are lookalikes of my factory wheels, but I'm not
> exactly looking to downgrade if you know what I mean.
> Anyone familiar with their wheelsand the quality of them?
>
> Thanks,
> Bill
>

I found some very nice BMW factory original wheels on eBay. Here is a link
to the various styles ...

http://www.kalach.easynet.be/bmw_wheels.htm


On eBay, search for BMW OEM E36(*) WHEELS. Replace E36 with your model, and
plug in the rim size if you want to ignore the other sizes. Remove OEM and
you will get to see the aftermarket offerings.





"BillDubs" > wrote in message
news:1111538601.2e8e25fee6bb2dea0a8c151099811741@t eranews...
> I purchaced a 2001 530i sport/premiem package bimmer and my factory wheels
> are not mangled, however they have some dings and are well....as well as
> some marks.
> The car is absolutely flawless besides my wheel sitation, which is why I
> think a new set are surely in order.
>
> I was firstly wondering if I could get some links to who sells factory BMW
> wheels at a good discount.
>
> As far as aftermarket goes, if I were to go this route I'd like to keep
the
> syle to that similar honeycombs.
>
> The 2001 changed their wheels from those they had used on the 2000 and
> earlir.
> I looked at the BBS and they have some great looking wheels, however at a
> 700 $ tag though.
> Would like to keep it at 500 or less a wheel.
> I had seen my replacements online for like $390 each, which is I'm sure a
> hell of a lot less than from the dealer.
>
> Any suggestions?
> Oh, and how about the wheels by " The wheel exchange "
> They are inexpensive, and are lookalikes of my factory wheels, but I'm not
> exactly looking to downgrade if you know what I mean.
> Anyone familiar with their wheelsand the quality of them?
>
> Thanks,
> Bill
>
>

Probably the best price on OEM wheels will be through Pacific BMW. They
have a web site. My choice for a 530 would be the Style 42 in 18x8.

There are at least four levels of quality for aftermarket wheels. Top of
the line are usually forged, often 2 or 3 piece, and offer the cachet of a
name brand. A good place to check is in Bimmer magazine or Roundel. Check
out HRE, Fiske, AC Schnitzer, Hamann, and others. A notch below these in
price (and perhaps quality) are OEM's and other big name brand wheels: BBS,
SSR, etc (Tire Rack is a good source). Then there are the value priced
wheels, almost too many to name, carried by Tire Rack etc and generally
cheaper than OEM, but still good quality. There are also some very nice OEM
replica's at competitive prices. The bottom of the food chain are bargain
wheels. More suited to a budget rice rocket than the best touring sedan on
the planet.

OTOH, there's always the Spinners option ...

R / John

"BillDubs" > wrote in message
news:1111538601.2e8e25fee6bb2dea0a8c151099811741@t eranews...
>I purchaced a 2001 530i sport/premiem package bimmer and my factory wheels
>are not mangled, however they have some dings and are well....as well as
>some marks.
> The car is absolutely flawless besides my wheel sitation, which is why I
> think a new set are surely in order.
>
> I was firstly wondering if I could get some links to who sells factory BMW
> wheels at a good discount.
>
> As far as aftermarket goes, if I were to go this route I'd like to keep
> the syle to that similar honeycombs.
>
> The 2001 changed their wheels from those they had used on the 2000 and
> earlir.
> I looked at the BBS and they have some great looking wheels, however at a
> 700 $ tag though.
> Would like to keep it at 500 or less a wheel.
> I had seen my replacements online for like $390 each, which is I'm sure a
> hell of a lot less than from the dealer.
>
> Any suggestions?
> Oh, and how about the wheels by " The wheel exchange "
> They are inexpensive, and are lookalikes of my factory wheels, but I'm not
> exactly looking to downgrade if you know what I mean.
> Anyone familiar with their wheelsand the quality of them?
>
> Thanks,
> Bill
>

I just recieved and installed a set of tires and wheels from Lakeshore
Wheel and Tire (formerly AAA Rims). They're BMW replicas for my E36 mounted
with Continental CH95s. Total price delivered was about $1000. They came
within a week and seem to have been balanced perfectly. Here's the link:
http://www.lakeshorewheelandtire.com/.
They have special pages for BMW specials. I'm sure you can find some
viable options for your 5er here.
I've also used The Tire Rack, but for winter tires on steel rims. Again,
great service, delivery, and prices. I didn't use them for the purchase
above because I wanted to be sure the wheels fit without the use of spacers,
centering rings and the like. I felt that replicas would avoid all that,
which these do.
Happy hunting and enjoy your new car!

"BillDubs" > wrote in message
news:1111538601.2e8e25fee6bb2dea0a8c151099811741@t eranews...
> I purchaced a 2001 530i sport/premiem package bimmer and my factory wheels
> are not mangled, however they have some dings and are well....as well as
> some marks.
> The car is absolutely flawless besides my wheel sitation, which is why I
> think a new set are surely in order.
>
> I was firstly wondering if I could get some links to who sells factory BMW
> wheels at a good discount.
>
> As far as aftermarket goes, if I were to go this route I'd like to keep
the
> syle to that similar honeycombs.
>
> The 2001 changed their wheels from those they had used on the 2000 and
> earlir.
> I looked at the BBS and they have some great looking wheels, however at a
> 700 $ tag though.
> Would like to keep it at 500 or less a wheel.
> I had seen my replacements online for like $390 each, which is I'm sure a
> hell of a lot less than from the dealer.
>
> Any suggestions?
> Oh, and how about the wheels by " The wheel exchange "
> They are inexpensive, and are lookalikes of my factory wheels, but I'm not
> exactly looking to downgrade if you know what I mean.
> Anyone familiar with their wheelsand the quality of them?
>
> Thanks,
> Bill
>
>