BernieEdge Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 (edited) I slightly bent one of my plastic chrome wheel covers on my 2011 Ford Edge SEL. My fault, I gotta pay to replace it. So I go to the dealer to see how badly this is going to hurt. I ask the parts guy, "How much to replace the chrome plastic wheel cover on my Edge?" He rolls his eyes, he has been through this before. "Um, well, you have to replace the whole wheel. I stare at him. "What?" The wheel cover is "bonded" to the wheel. You can't get it separately. $768.12, plus mounting and balancing. But they will give you back $50 for the old wheel. They will recycle it for you." How sweet and Green of Ford. I stare. They go on to explain what a great engineering design it is. "Putting chrome on the wheel this way saves weight and cost. It improves your MPG." Yeah well, I think it is a calculated money grab by Ford to make sure you spend $800 bucks, instead of $80, or $150, for something %60+ of owners are going to damage sometime in the car's life. I do not think it was an engineering design at all, but a purposeful design to extract as much money from their clients after they purchase the car. Now I know how they could avoid the bailout, by building in a crazy expensive design that screws their clients. Nice Ford! Edited May 24, 2012 by BernieEdge 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1duFos Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 I slightly bent one of my plastic chrome wheel covers on my 2011 Ford Edge SEL. My fault, I gotta pay to replace it. So I go to the dealer to see how badly this is going to hurt. I ask the parts guy, "How much to replace the chrome plastic wheel cover on my Edge?" He rolls his eyes, he has been through this before. "Um, well, you have to replace the whole wheel. I stare at him. "What?" The wheel cover is "bonded" to the wheel. You can't get it separately. $768.12, plus mounting and balancing. But they will give you back $50 for the old wheel. They will recycle it for you." How sweet and Green of Ford. I stare. They go on to explain what a great engineering design it is. "Putting chrome on the wheel this way saves weight and cost. It improves your MPG." Yeah well, I think it is a calculated money grab by Ford to make sure you spend $800 bucks, instead of $80, or $150, for something %60+ of owners are going to damage sometime in the car's life. I do not think it was an engineering design at all, but a purposeful design to extract as much money from their clients after they purchase the car. Now I know how they could avoid the bailout, by building in a crazy expensive design that screws their clients. Nice Ford! For the cost of replacing one wheel and a bit more why not go aftermarket on all 4 corners or try the recylers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernieEdge Posted May 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 For the cost of replacing one wheel and a bit more why not go aftermarket on all 4 corners or try the recylers I have thought about this, and searched Ebay and other sites, and could buy a replacement for as low as $200. Then my paranoia speaks up..... Might this void my warranty and extended service plan? There are sensors in the wheels!!!! They talk to the computer onboard, that talks to Ford whenever I go to the dealer for service. I have been going to the same Ford Deler for 12 years. I have a favorite service writer there. He has always taken good care of me and been very honest. I will call him and see what he says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlepse Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 No warranty issues at all. All you will have to do is have the sensor moved from the bad wheel to the new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ablb Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 (edited) Welcome back to the 50's. We call them hub caps. BUT don't blame Ford :stop: , I'm pretty sure Dodge started it about 10 years ago. A friend was REALLY UPSET when I told him his 3 yr old Buick had "hub caps." ab Edited May 24, 2012 by ablb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 It's not a "money grab" - they just haven't figured out how to make them replaceable yet. They do save weight and they don't pit over time like chromed steel. I'm sure the aftermarket will come up with a solution soon. Until then it does suck but it's not limited to Ford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limited59 Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Hub caps are something else, no? Like a cap for the hub. I always LOL when I read people finally notice they have chrome clad wheels. You've never noticed the telltale 'lip' they all have, or the fact they have to use stick on wheel weights because they can't use conventional ones? Lots of manufacturers are using these now. Besides, isn't a chrome wheel essentially chromed steel? I thought your choices were always chromed steel, painted aluminum, clear coated aluminum or polished aluminum. Chrome clad is a way to get the really shiny look with the benefit of an alloy wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oemwheelguy Posted August 29, 2012 Report Share Posted August 29, 2012 I was doing some market research on what kind of wheels people like and stumbled across these comments. I figured since I used to work for one of the companies that made chrome-clad wheels I’d offer some points that may be helpful. Each of you is entitled to your own opinions though, so no hurt feelings if you don’t like them. If you prefer, traditional chrome-plated wheels are available inexpensively from the aftermarket - I just don't think they come with a 3/36 warranty. I can assure you that the idea to use chrome-clad wheels was NOT made to line their pockets. Actually, they are quite a bit more expensive than traditional chrome-plated wheels when you consider the extra engineering, equipment and tooling necessary to produce them. We used to have a tough time justifying all the extra costs to the development team. The whole reason this technology was invented was because traditional chrome plated wheels were not durable and had high warranty costs. By the way, hubcaps are generally made in low cost countries from cheap plastic and can be easily removed – ever see a car running around without them after hitting a pothole? Chrome-clad wheels have an expensive engineered high-impact composite (the same as is used for impact-absorbing grilles) permanently bonded to the wheel - it is this design that allows a high quality Cu-Ni-Cr (copper nickle chrome) finish to be applied. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blankster Posted August 30, 2012 Report Share Posted August 30, 2012 (edited) I agree the wheels actually hold up well. So long as you dont scrape a curb. Edited August 30, 2012 by blankster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJG Posted August 31, 2012 Report Share Posted August 31, 2012 I don't particularly like the looks of these plastic coated wheels.....they're on our 2012 Limited......but they sure do clean up easy. You can almost just spray wheel cleaner on them and hose thm off. Wife likes them....that's what is important. I would prefer nice polished clear coated silver aluminum wheels, or just painted aluminum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2011edgese Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 You know ñ I've seen the edges on the street with these wheels. And I can tell you that I don't like them. They look like hub caps. The cheap ones from kragen or auto zone. Always disliked them. Aluminum looks better in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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