'98-'02 WS6 wheels/front bumper *availability* ?

[speedyWS6]

Hi Guys...,

The unthinkable happened this morning and i spun out on a damp bit of road and whacked the rear passenger side wheel pretty good into the kerb, but hopefully not bad enought to affect any alignment although i will pursue this aspect.

Now... as i am in the UK the problem is just compounded as it will be even harder to find here... but are the 17x9 polish/clearcoat rims available brand new or is it down to finding a good secondhand rim?! (2000 car and not speedline)

I will be putting in a claim on my insurance as when i spun out i did the wheel and then mounted the grass verge and hit a light pole and badly cracked/ scraped the front bumper on the driver side and so i will need both items!! Happily the front fender is untouched paint wise and the only paint needed will be on the replacement bumper, plus a few alignment issues with fender/hood/headlight.

Bottom line...... are either the wheels or bumpers available brand new OEM or will it be down to finding good used? At this stage i don't know if it is just the bumper cover trashed or whether any thing further is out of whack...hope not but how sturdy are these bumpers under the skin??

Lastly ( for now!!) are there any pertinent questions i should be putting to any workshop that gets the job as i imagine that they will possibly have never worked on a Trans Am with plastic fenders and hood and all of that!? I dare say i am worrying too much but as you can imagine i am so pissed about what has happened it is untrue!!

Thanks in advance for any and all input!!

Trev... )

[Cutlass]

I'm sure new GM bumper covers are available. Rims might discontinued. But either way you should have no problem finding replacement new or used parts...except for the fact that you are in the UK. But in the USA, those parts are no problem to get.

[RyanJM]

There is a place called wheels America that sells refinished factory wheels that look like new and they will usually ship them to you but not sure what it will cost. Just Google them and you can see the wheels and email them for a price. Good luck with getting it fixed up.

[INMY01TA]

Lakeshore wheel and tire has the wheels. google and find their site.

[speedyWS6]

Thanks Guys, for all of the replies!!

I have been doing a lot of googling and the guy at the PA branch of Wheels America was the most unhelpful bloke i have come across in an age!!!

Needless to say i rang off and after this moron told me that NONE of their branches ship overseas i phoned the san Francisco branch and it was like night and day!! A very helpful guy called ( funnily enough) Francisco..told me "no problem" and is currently finding a shipping cost for a rim ) Soo... a feeler out there.

As far as the bumper skin is concerned.... i have found a firm here which would buy and ship to their Midlands shop for £900 !!!! ($1400)!!!!!!! Crazy i know...but it is genuine GM and i guess pretty much sure to fit, eh??! I am going thru my insurance and so it will not be that mad Financially for me Phew...

I don't suppose anybody on here has a good condition WS6 rim for sale

Again, thanks for the input and keep it coming, by all means!

Trev... )

[RyanJM]

Unfortunetly Wheels America is like most chains here, all depends what one you call and who you talk to. I had on National Tire & Battery balance and align my tires and forgot to tighten the lug nuts. A month later was the 1st time I drove it and sheared 4 of the 5 lugs off and the lost my special lugs so I needed different lock keys and they only left one in the car. I called and they said over 30 days go f+++ myself pretty much. Talked to the manager at there other store 5 miles away and they replaced every lug and bought me a new box of lugs and key. Bill was like $350 in labor and parts, none of which i paid they billed their other store. Kinda like that with Wheels America the local one here was good last time I used them but who knows about there other stores. Good luck with getting your car back in shape.

[INMY01TA]

I dunno man 1st thing I do whenever a tire shop removes my wheels for whatever reason is go home and retorque the lugnuts my self.

[speedyWS6]

Mmmmmmm....

INMYO1 ^^^^^ Very sensible advice and i do this too!

Thanks for the advice so far guys and Ryan.... thanks for the encouragement!

I am calling an American car specialist this lunchtime )

[RyanJM]

I dunno man 1st thing I do whenever a tire shop removes my wheels for whatever reason is go home and retorque the lugnuts my self.

Normally I do it after 100 miles.


You should be able to find someone to ship you a bumper cover for alot less tham $1400 bit if the insurance is paying get what you can.

[speedyWS6]

Ryan....,

I have actually decided to avoid the insurance route and just suck it in and pay myself as it was only myself to blame and i do, after further poking and prodding, feel the bumper cover can be used and made good again!

I am paying myself as just doing this one claim would have had an impact on my insurance quotes for the next three years and i only pretty much discovered this when i was trying to insure a little winter beater to protect the TA. Shocked to find it was adding a good third again to the premium and this on the little car....TA would be a worse deal again! So.... looking at the broad picture it will be most cost effective to not do insurance on this scrape.
Just out of curiosity...how do you guys get impacted when doing insurance after a claim, price wise??

Going back to the bumper....i am assuming the material is ABS and as such can be welded ( please chime in here with good info on this) as i have a 4" split in one area right underneath where it cannot be seen at all, so a weld and smooth out will be cheaper than $1400!!!! I have had it explained to me by a couple of suppliers that it is not the weight of the item as such, but the weight AND size of the wooden structure to ship it this far on top of the purchase price! (

I am still on the hunt for a WS6 pre speedline rim or two and a couple have popped up so i feel it will be fairly straightforward to find one...but once again the spectre of the shipping will rear its ugly head!

Oh man.......

Trev... )