BrianC

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/8534/wheelscratch2.jpg"></center><p>I can't believe I did this:
Normally I wash my car by hand, but the other day I was at the gas station, my car was dirty, and it was dark and cold, so I decided to take a run through the drive-thru wash. I have used this thing, (Laserwash 2000 I thinks it's called), on other cars before, but this was the first time on the 02. It is "touchless" - just uses jets of water and no brushes, so I figured it would be at least safe for the car. Of course I opted to skip the spray-on wax, etc.

Ater noticing a previous related post on the subject, I decided to go check out the wheels, afraid I may have some damage. Sure enough, both front and rear wheels have deep gouges near the rim area where the wheels apparently came in contact with the tire-guide mechanism. These are the 17" Sport package wheels.

If you have the sport package, be very careful with the wheels coming in contact with anything. I am not too happy about this - I saw the tire-guide and thought about the wheels as I was pulling in the wash, but I figured they had I coated with rubber or something to avoid this problem. Should I try raising an issue with the owner of the gas station/carwash?


Has anybody tried these steps in the Audiworld Tech Section?:

"Repairing Scratched Wheels Bob Petruska 1998

"Sand the damaged lip with 80 or 100 grit sand paper (don't touch, even lightly, the undamaged areas or you will scratch them). Sand until you achieve the rounded contour. Continue the sanding pocess with 220 or 320 grit and finally with 500 grit. The wheels sand very easily.

"Go to your automotive center that sells Plasti-Kote touch-up paint and get a bottle of Toyota 3230 silver. It matches the 5 spoke wheel color perfectly. You can apply clear over this but it is not necessary."

I wonder if the silver wheel color is still the same...

BrianC

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/8534/amulet1.jpg"></center><p>

BrianC

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/8534/amulet2.jpg"></center><p>Amulet Red is a great color. It is a nice, deep red and looks great in sunlight or at night. These pictures are from a bad camera at dusk on a very overcast day, so it appears darker than it really is.

motorwaffen

I've ordered an A4 w/sport and will keep it far from the machine washers, where I've noticed body trim, lettering and other small parts littering the ground.

audichrisl

We have one in our town that is family owned and they do have rubber guards on the tire rails, not all car washes do. I have taken my car through a couple of times and my wheels are fine, also 17" sport.You need to actually get out of the car and look at the rails its pretty obvious if they have covers on them.
Chris

Bimmer Love

the FAQ was written for the old 5 spokes from the 2.8 -- get a bodyshop to color match some touch up

Audi Junkie

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/27563/lessblua4.jpg"></center><p>

MichaelB_2

There are a bunch of companies that refinish wheels. I messed up an Azev wheel on a curb during the winter. I deal with a local tire shop here in MA called Direct Tire. They sent my wheel, which was all scratched up and hacked, out to a company that refinishes wheels. The wheel came back PERFECT. Once I put the wheel on, there was absolutely no way you'd know, even through close inspection, which wheel got damaged. Unfortunately, I don't know which service they sent it to.

Carfanatic(Darren)

Hey,

I am going through the exact same thing as you, i didn't have time to hand wash so i went to a drive thru, except, my damage was worse, on each one of my 5 spokes (sport package wheels) there is a 2 inch long, 1 inch wide gash in the spoke, the car wash company refuses to take care of it, we are in the process of taking them to court and having them shut down...

so your case isn't too bad

let me know how yours goes

TheDeuce

I would take it up with the owner ASAP. I recently had a flat tire plugged and they scratched my wheel. I've been battling with the company for the past 2 weeks trying to get a replacement. In my opinion, the car was only 2 weeks old, with &lt;1000miles and the wheel was perfect when I brought it in there.

BTW-The 2002 Spt Pckge wheels are $529 from the dealer.