On Friday evening, I made the amateur and painful mistake of curbing the passenger side rear wheel of my BMW. It's literally one of the worst sounds any driver can ever have to suffer through...
My first reaction was, if the damage was bad, I'd be stuck having to dish out the money for a brand new OEM wheel, pay to dismount and remount the tire, transfer the TPMS, rebalance, etc. Second reaction was to have to deal with the embarrassment of driving around with fresh curb rash and being "that guy"... The moment I got home, I began shopping around for replacements, but then figured I'd give a repair service a shot.
I asked the members of my local BMW Car Club of America Chapter and while Alloy Wheel Repair out further West was recommended, two fellow members vouched for LNT. Surely enough, I shot a text over on Friday evening and received a response almost immediately, followed by a scheduled appointment on Monday morning. This alone was a major relief since I dreaded having to potentially wait on a wheel to be shipped and delivered, make a drive out towards Gap or Allentown, etc., and an onsite repair while I could conveniently go about my day and attend my scheduled doctor's appointments was absolutely what I needed.
John arrived early and went over what the plan was. Rather than repair the wheel I had just curbed alongside with correct a nice piece bitten off on the opposite rear wheel from the previous owners misdoing, I opted in for a full respray to a satin black finish of the OEM wheels.
Within moments, the car was jacked up, the wheels were off, and John began pluggin' away while I headed out. What I returned to was nothing short of perfect and exceeded my expectations. The curb rash was mended, the exact finish of what my other BMW has on the lightweight APEX wheels was absolutely precise, and the embarrassment of driving around like an idiot was eliminated. Not only that, but John took the time and effort to remove pre-existing brake dust in the barrel and rid them of leftover 3M adhesive still hanging on from mechanics during previous wheel balances.
I can not begin to thank John and the Team at LNT for their quick responses, prompt appointment, expert repair, and most notably John's extra efforts to clean up the barrels and remove the stubborn weight adhesive remnants. They truly do qualify as the go-to resource for a club such as the BMW CCA and all of the other various high-end cars they regularly work with.
I would also like to note that unlike the major chains, most notably Alloy Wheel Repair, LNT is a small & local business. Their personable interactions, focus on customer satisfaction, and extra steps to go beyond just the repair and task at hand truly should be the main driving factor to support them over the competition. read more