>From the digest you said:

>From: Scott <scott_at_rareusa.com>
>Date: Tue, 08 Apr 1997 01:40:21 -0400
>Subject: flat tire on E36 M3
>
>OK, so I already got my first flat tire on my '97 M3. Well, a trip to
>three local tire shops to see who can remove the tire without destroying
>the rim, turned up nothing. Believe it or not, three major tire chains all
>flat out refused to take a crack at removing the tire. After making
>several phone calls, I was only able to find a couple of places that felt
>confident enough to handle the job.
>
>Well with all of this lack of confidence running around, I decided to just
>pay the dealer their inflated price to fix the flat. What do you think
>happened next??? Yep, thirty minutes into my stay in the dealers waiting
>room (ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ) the service writer advised that the mechanic damaged
>my rim trying to remove the tire. Now I'm mad!!!
>
>Well they've sent the rim out to be repaired. I'm sort of wondering what
>repaired rim will look like! Of course, they assure me it will as ood as
>new. I smell some bull_at_#$% coming! Well thank the lord that my BMW dealer
>doesn't have an in house body shop. They send everything out to a well
>respected BMW, Benz, Porsche only shop.
>
>A little research into this situation is showing that there are only a few
>tire removal machines (like Hunters latest) capable of removing a low
>profile tire from a rim with no lip without leaving a mark or scrape.
>
>Has anyone else had such an ordeal in getting a flat fixed or having their
>tires replaced? What can I do? Can this refinished rim ever be like new?
>
>Scott
>
>email scott_at_rareusa.com
>'97 Estoril Blue 2 dr.

REB Said:

The only tire changers I know that can do low profile wheels and tires ( look out for those 20" rims) with no chance of damage, are the Hunter TC350 and a Hoffmann machine (forgot the model number). As for repairing a damaged rim, it all depends on how much damage there is. I have seen rims that were slightly damaged and when they were returned you could not tell the difference. If it is just a scratch on the lip of the rim, I think you would have to look damn hard to see it, but then again it also depends on the company doing it.

regards,

{{{{{REB}}}}}