2001 SE Wheels

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

Peter
"Geary Morton" > wrote in message
...
> 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

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

In article >,
"Peter A Kaufman" > wrote:

> Geary
> They are polished not plated, you can polish out small imperfections
>
> Peter
> "Geary Morton" > wrote in message
> ...
> > 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 Morton wrote:
> 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

"Geary Morton" > wrote in message
...
> 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
>
> In article >,
> "Peter A Kaufman" > wrote:
>
>> Geary
>> They are polished not plated, you can polish out small imperfections
>>
>> Peter
>> "Geary Morton" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > 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

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:

> If you would be willing to ship them, what would you want for them, I might
> be interested
> Thanks
> Peter
>
> "Geary Morton" > wrote in message
> ...
> > 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
> >
> > In article >,
> > "Peter A Kaufman" > wrote:
> >
> >> Geary
> >> They are polished not plated, you can polish out small imperfections
> >>
> >> Peter
> >> "Geary Morton" > wrote in message
> >> ...
> >> > 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