Brand New M-Parallels Have Finish Issues

[mxchris727]

Hi All,

I ordered brand new style 37's for my 5er because the originals had embedded brake dust that was driving me nuts. I placed the order in September 2018, they became back-ordered, and then I had just received them this morning. While one wheel looks almost perfect, they both have some bad finishing issues. Wheel 1 has finish issues on the spokes; it looks like there are deep sanding marks under the clear coat and the finish is uneven. Wheel 2’s spokes are fine (example attached), but the lip’s finish is uneven throughout the wheel. Given that 2 out of the 2 wheels have issues, has anyone seen this with these? I would like to just exchange them, but am concerned that the replacements may also have issues (if it was from a bad production batch).


Thanks!!


Wheel 1_1.jpgWheel 1_2.jpgWheel 2_2.jpgIMG_4374.jpgIMG_4375.jpg

[CPHES]

Where has the quality gone.... I do see some odd marks in the finish. See if you can get 2 more, without giving up yours - you can't mount them.... and take the best ones.

[JimLev]

With what they cost I'd be pissed too. I'd do as CPHES suggested.
Which dealer did you get them from?

[CPHES]

you waited 18 + Months?

[mxchris727]

Yes, I had actually waited 18 months. I completely forgot about the order until I receive a shipment notice last week. They were ordered through ECS Tuning - I have an inquiry out to them now. I still have to order the two rear wheels; will likely go through my local dealer.

[StephenVA]

At $500 each for the fronts, I would expect perfection in machining, prep, paint and boxed correctly in your hands. Send them back as poor examples. Make them open the box and confirm quality control before shipment. That is what the dealer locally does for my orders...

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Jesus, almost just like the wheels that usually come back from Keystone! Although, I did get a 9" style 66 from Rockauto last year, which they source from Keystone that is just perfect, even the paint, perfect match to the factory silver. Last time I checked, Rockauto stopped selling the Keystone refurbs. Those brand new from the factory style 37's coming from BMW, those are a joke, I'd be pissed.

[taz.]

What a bummer... send them back and ask for compensation. 18 months and 500$ and they send some crap refurbed by a one handed, no fingers, blind retard with a p/n sticker on. Damn...

Around 30$ in cans for all 420190826_203513.jpg20190826_203409.jpg20190830_205647.jpg

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[ross1]

That is very disappointing. Have you compared the casting marks with your originals?
I'm thinking they either weren't done by the original vendor (you don't think BMW really cares much about replacement parts for 20 year old cars do you?) or are indeed refinished wheels.
Perhaps they were this way when new and we never noticed. I have a few virgin spare wheels(not that style) around I'm gonna have a close look at.
What sucks more is the moment you get the perfect set one will get curbed or find the biggest pot hole in your county. I've learned to lower my standards for cosmetics.

[mxchris727]

Thank you all, I just received this as a response:

Screen Shot 2020-03-26 at 10.39.39 AM.png


I already stated to them that the imperfections are under the clearcoat. No way would I want to polish brand new wheels that I'd rather exchange. I'll pay to ship them back at this point, but really do not want to receive another imperfect set. Worse comes to worse, I will have American Express place a charge-back on the order i guess.

[JimLev]

$50 a wheel refund. LOL, no way.

[DennisCooper]

Hi,

MXchris - Did ECS Tuning sell you these wheels as 'Genuine BMW Style 37 wheels' ? I'll assume so as I can see these wheels listed under OEM alloys on their website. Are the actual BMW part numbers stamped into the back of of the spokes, along with the BMW lettering? . An aspect you and Ross1 should know is that the OEM M Parallel wheels are made using the Forged manufacturing process, they're not 'cast' manufactured wheels.

The imperfections are with the paint/clear coat layer if they are genuine, maybe when painted, perhaps there was an issue with the sprayer/spray machine which had a lesser amount of paint land on the spoke.

Ask for a refund which they should do given the length of time to complete the order. I'd also say that leaving it to the point you forgot you ordered them may mean the vendor may not issue a full refund, but that's something you may want to take up with them at a supervisor/manager/owner level.

Assuming they are genuine, there's nothing that will be wrong with their strength as wheels, it's a cosmetic issue and I'd also suggest that a used set of genuine wheels that are refinished well by a reputable and experienced specialist would give you excellent results, for alot less outlay overall compared to you buying OEM brand new wheels at dealer (discounted I hope!) prices. If you were to fit/install these on the car, you'd not even really notice the cosmetic issue, it'd perhaps just 'bug' you. As mentioned above, over some time, stone chips, potential light kerbing etc will detract from the finish regardless.

If this wheels turns out to be actually an aftermarket replica, it'll be a cast made wheel and yes, I'd return it and request a full refund as it would be an issue with the 'casting'.

Cheers, Dennis!

[Frankie]

Contrary to opinions offered here, I'd keep them and consider myself lucky for being able to afford them.

These wheels are probably refinished by BMW, since they are probably no longer in production. As such, they are new "old" stock. Considering their age and the presence of aftermarket copies, we're fortunate BMW bothers to make these wheels available at all.

Furthermore, no one will notice the imperfections other than you.

When I ordered a "new" set of throwing star wheels for my E31, they arrived in similar condition -- nice but not perfect. I was fortunate.

If you simply can't live with them, send them back for a refund and get your originals professionally refinished for a fraction of the price.

[DennisCooper]

Hi Frankie,

BMW wouldn't refinish brand new made 'old' stock sitting in their parts warehouses - that'd cost way too much and for no reason. They'd reduce the retail price level for them and shift them along to customers who decide they want brand new oem wheels. Bigger independent buyers/retailers like ECS Tuning may well have purchased said stocks to list on their site or may be acting as a 'drop shipper' type arrangement.

Once MXChris confirms they're genuine etc and the various advisory feedback here as to what he'll do, it'll be up to him which way he decides to go !

Cheers, Dennis!

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

What do the stampings on the rear of the spokes look like? On the oem wheels, since they are forged, they should be stamped, cast wheels would have the letters sticking out. If this is the case for these wheels, ECS has some explaining to do on a forum that they support.....

[CPHES]

Cast can be either stamped - recessed, or raised. Forged - and these better be, are engraved - like Lucy did to Charlie Brown's bat..... but neater. send a pic from the backside. I'd take the $50.

[BMW540san]

Well, my post vanished. let's try again:

I think I can give some insight:

About year ago I decided to get new M Pars for my E39 as I had a feeling they were about to be NLA. I found a rear set from one dealer and purchased it but at the time the front set was backordered from manufacturer. I contacted them to verify they were making another batch and they said they did. Our M Pars are actualy made by Fuchs (same Porsche forged wheels manufacturer).
https://www.fuchsfelge.com/en/wheel-...wheel-316.html
It also looks they might not be making E39 M Pars anymore as last time I checked they had it in catalog, now it only shows E38.
Meantime while waiting I discovered that another dealer had old stock of 2 front wheels and I purcased them. All 4 wheels were perfect and I got a good deal at $1663 for the whole set.
The reason I mention this is that I suspect that "new batch" is obviously lacking quality control and yes they should be forged. The easy way to tell is engraved part# in the back, not raised.
This is the best picture of wheels that I could find, I'll look for more:



And on a car:

[mxchris727]

Hi All,

Thank you for your input. I doubt they are aftermarket/refinished; they are genuine BMW in the original box from Germany. I've attached some pictures of the rear. The numbering is engraved and you can easily see the lines from the lathing process just as on my originals, so I'm certain they are forged. They are also ridiculously light.
ECS Has come back saying that they will arrange Fedex to pick the wheels up for me; I'm happy with their service as of now. I guess the best thing is just to receive another pair and see if it's any better? I doubt that all wheels in the production batch are bad.

IMG_4409.jpgIMG_4408.jpg


Thanks!

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Chris, what was wrong with your originals? I may have missed it in your first post, but most likely just forgot.

[mxchris727]

I just noticed the Formel D logo on the wheels. They are a supply chain conglomerate; do you think they had anything to do in outsourced production of these? BMW540san, I see your point with Fuchs. What point of contact did you you to confirm? I'll try giving them a call on Monday to see if they did the latest batch (seems to be September 2019 per the BMW sticker)

Capture.PNG

I'm replacing the originals due to some road rash and embedded brake dust on all four. I don't trust a re-finishing shop to match the originals exactly. I like to keep everything absolutely original on my cars.

[BMW540san]

Here is my email corespoendence with them from last year:

Hello Mr. Skrgic,

Thank you for your email.

We can confirm that we are producing for the wheel OF 34745 a new lot .The lot will be ready for shipment to BMW in Germany during March 2019 from the current point of view.

Should you have any further questions please feel free to contact us again.

Best regards

OTTO FUCHS KG
Fuchsfelgen-Team

Dagmar Pfeifer
Technical Sales
and Marketing

Hotline +49 2354 73-317
fuchsfelge@ottofuchs.com
www.fuchsfelge.com

[mxchris727]

Thank you! I assume they are still the sole manufacturer then.

ECS is having FedEx pick up the wheels tomorrow, and the new ones will ship out mid-April when they are back in stock. While the wait time is unfortunate, I am overall happy with their service. I'll wait for those to come in before ordering the rears through my dealer to ensure there are no further issues.


Thanks again all for the insight!

[mxchris727]

Just wanted to provide some closure: the new wheels are absolutely flawless! I'm estatic to be having them installed in the near future. ECS did take care of everything, and am happy with the outcome.

IMG_4528.jpg

[StephenVA]

Congrats on the positive outcome...