So, a few months ago I ran into a pothole and got a bubble on my tyre. It was almost time to switch to winter tyres so I kept driving for a few more weeks with no issues, put winters on and that was that. Today I went to get the summers installed and replace the one with the bubble and the mechanic pointed out that I also bent the rim on that pothole. I hadn’t noticed the damage, nor any vibrations and it’s still holding air perfectly. It’s now mounted in the rear, where it will hopefully be under less stress (I drive a Yaris). I can get a new wheel, but not for the next few weeks and I do need to drive in the meantime, so my question is, should I bother getting this wheel repaired? The damage doesn’t seem big and from what I’ve heard straightening aluminium wheels sometimes leads to cracks, which will just make the situation worse than it already is. I’d rather have a wheel that’s probably usable than one that definitely isn’t.
Edit: I should point out, the winter tyres are on a different set of rims. I’ve only driven on this wheel for about 2 weeks, from when I hit the pothole until I had the winter tyres installed. Today I had it put back on the car and the mechanic pointed out the damage to me.
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From personal experience, you can’t straighten alloy wheels without at least some minor cracking that will compromise the integrity of the wheel. Since the bead is holding securely, you should be fine on that.
Find your wheel part number and keep your eyes out for a lightly used or refurbished replacement. When you want to replace it, you can have it put on when you replace your tires at no additional cost.
I say if it’s not leaking or not possible to balance then it looks cosmetic. The bead is probably bent over a little too but it shouldn’t cause any issues with sealing or keeping the bead in place. I say run it as is.