Does anyone out there happen to know if the 5-spoke SE wheels that came on a 2001 are polished or plated? I have a chance to pick up a set at a good price. Haven't seen them yet, but if there are cosmetic issues, I'm wondering how restorable they are, e.g. polished can possibly be re-buffed, but more of a problem with plated.
Thanks!
--Geary Morton
Geary They are polished not plated, you can polish out small imperfections
Thanks, Peter. I have since figured that out. I bought a set of four locally (Raleigh, NC) and found that having them restored is a fairly pricey ordeal. Two of them look pretty nice, but the other two have some curb rash that would need to be resurfaced. The local 'Rim Guard' company says that in doing that you break the clear coat, and then you wind up rebuffing and re-clearcoating the entire wheel. They're talking $125/wheel to completely refinish them. My similar but painted wheels are looking better and better! I'm thinking the polished ones will be on ebay in a couple weeks.
--Geary
Regarding the selling of the OEM Miata wheels on Ebay.....
You tend to get more money selling them individually, as many a Miata driver has either one or two bent or heavily curb-rashed wheels but who does not need a full set of four.
As you have seen, it is cheaper to replace them than to repair them, especially if you are patient, put up WTB ads, and check Craigslist regularly. I bought one set of mint 15" alloys for $100.00, and one set of 14 inchers for $25.00.
I have found that it is usually worth removing the tires first too, unless they are in great shape or if you get lucky an a local buyer wins them. A bare 15 inch wheel takes a pretty small box, and the ship weight for the 2001 model wheel is about 15 pounds.
Saving weight by removing the tires can save a lot on the shipping costs, especially when I send the wheels to the East or West coast.
Good luck with the wheels! Pat
If you would be willing to ship them, what would you want for them, I might be interested Thanks Peter
I'm still somewhat on the fence as to whether I'm going to put them on my car or not. The curb rash is pretty much confined to the very edge of a couple of the rims (probably the ones that were on the right side of the donor car). The spokes and interior are still very slick & shiny. I've since been told about a couple of places around here that can grind the scratches out of the edges without disturbing the rest of the wheel for less money. Anyway, I'm away all this week and will get back on the weekend. If I decide to sell them, I'm thinking I would ask around $600 for the set. There's a set on ebay right now for $1450 by miatamiatamiata (search for miata polished). Mine aren't quite that nice, but almost. They don't have tires on them, and I have the chrome centers, too. I also want to bolt them to one of my hubs and give them a spin to be sure they're not bent. FYI - These are 16"x 6.5" wheels and I believe were only offered on the 2001 SE, making them slightly scarce to find. I'll try to post some jpegs next week.
--Geary
In article , "Peter A Kaufman" wrote:
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