Rims from China

[AlexDD]

While looking for wheels for myself, I got on Alibaba.com, which has a bit of OEM replica wheels for a very affordable price. Anyone ever tried those? Or did anyone every bought anything on Alibaba.com?
here one of the items I am talking about: http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/559438369/ALLOY_WHEELS_FITS_AUDI_RIMS_5x112.html

[iconoclast]

the wheels arent worth the tires you would put on them... poorly made garbage that will crack if you drive over a twig let alone through a pot hole. if you want a 'replica' wheel go with a TUV approved wheel (generally made in italy or germany). hartmann is a good source and (IMO) make a better wheel than oem considering the oem wheel paint chips and dimples almost instantly, in addition to a conservative offset compared to a hartmann wheel which generally has a better offset that fills out the fender... in the end your car, your choice but i would rather sit on oem wheels than put that china bs on any car.

[A4 Quattro]

A cheap price tag on something typically more expensive = cheap quality product. Cheap reps are okay to a certain extent, if you don't drive much, but I wouldn't go anywhere near these. You'd have bends and cracks galore in the first afternoon.

[a5sport]

the wheels arent worth the tires you would put on them... poorly made garbage that will crack if you drive over a twig let alone through a pot hole. if you want a 'replica' wheel go with a TUV approved wheel (generally made in italy or germany). hartmann is a good source and (IMO) make a better wheel than oem considering the oem wheel paint chips and dimples almost instantly, in addition to a conservative offset compared to a hartmann wheel which generally has a better offset that fills out the fender... in the end your car, your choice but i would rather sit on oem wheels than put that china bs on any car.

+1

[Dr JAR]

the wheels arent worth the tires you would put on them... poorly made garbage that will crack if you drive over a twig let alone through a pot hole. if you want a 'replica' wheel go with a TUV approved wheel (generally made in italy or germany). hartmann is a good source and (IMO) make a better wheel than oem considering the oem wheel paint chips and dimples almost instantly, in addition to a conservative offset compared to a hartmann wheel which generally has a better offset that fills out the fender... in the end your car, your choice but i would rather sit on oem wheels than put that china bs on any car.

[up]

I understand the interest but wheels may be one mod worth putting up the extra cash for a quality product.

[iconoclast]

i would not go cheap on any modification... if you cant afford the right stuff stick with the oem bits that came with the car, especially when replacing a part that has plenty of life left in it for an inferior poorly manufactured part.

[hender]

'replica' wheel go with a TUV approved wheel (generally made in italy or germany).

replicas aren't going to be made in germany.
hell, i wouldn't be surprised if most OEM wheels were made in china.

[Booya]

You guys not really answering what the OP asked, I for one have buy many stuffs from Alibaba and china made rim for my 02 Supra a couple of years ago. I must say the rim are pretty good and never had any problem with it. All rims will crack or bent if it get hit the just right spot. And yes I even try the China made Primewell tires and surprisingly had a smoother ride than most of the brand name tires here . I agree a lot of stuff from china is crap, but lets not for get where a lot of name brand are made or assemble.
As hender say, don't be surprise if many of the rims are made there and just slap there logo on it. Almost every product now a day either made, manufactured, or parts from China. Apple product for instance may be design in CA but assemble in China.
Higher price is not always better. Lets not forget the different in currency value. It may be cheap to us here but consider expensive over there and many other in Asia. Hell I was in SE Asia a couple of years ago and $10 USD pay for my breakfast, lunch and dinner for the whole week.

As for the wheel the OP ask about, it is TUV certified. OP the only way to really know if you try it yourself. If you do got thru with buying it, make sure you contact the seller and ask them to declare the value to under $275 USD to avoid the import custom fee. And use the escrow service to be safe with the payment and product delivery.

Thats my 2 cents.

[auditd0rk]

the wheels arent worth the tires you would put on them... poorly made garbage that will crack if you drive over a twig let alone through a pot hole. if you want a 'replica' wheel go with a TUV approved wheel (generally made in italy or germany). hartmann is a good source and (IMO) make a better wheel than oem considering the oem wheel paint chips and dimples almost instantly, in addition to a conservative offset compared to a hartmann wheel which generally has a better offset that fills out the fender... in the end your car, your choice but i would rather sit on oem wheels than put that china bs on any car.

Pretty much this.

I'm a strong believer in "you get what you pay for". I went with a set of Hartmann RS4 reps and couldn't be happier with how well they've held up on Colorado roads.

[OmaHahn]

If you want to go the more affordable route for wheels, then seriously look into OEMwheelsPlus! I bought my S5 wheels from them and haven't had a single issue!

[bigdadi]

Keep away from the Alibaba ...

Made in China and offer from local China company is different with Made in China, designed by Apple and quality control and backed by Apple.

After they sell the products for a little while, they will start selling same stuffs with a new company name, and another new company name. Want a refund? Forget it, phone will be disconnected, email will not be replied. . . DEAD END.

[AlexDD]

Pretty much this.

I'm a strong believer in "you get what you pay for". I went with a set of Hartmann RS4 reps and couldn't be happier with how well they've held up on Colorado roads.


If you want to go the more affordable route for wheels, then seriously look into OEMwheelsPlus! I bought my S5 wheels from them and haven't had a single issue!

Thanks for advice... but the question was not "would you go with this" or "which wheel to get", the question is "if anyone had any experience with Alibaba and how was it"

[Calbee]

it 40$ per piece, i would be pretty worried. i am all for cheap replica wheels but not when they are THAT cheap. putting a 45k+ car on a $160 set of wheels just scares me

[Mod.Kill.Yut.]

If you want to go the more affordable route for wheels, then seriously look into OEMwheelsPlus! I bought my S5 wheels from them and haven't had a single issue!

Thinking about going with them as well for some matte black S5 wheels. How was the quality of your product and the customer service during your transaction?

[OmaHahn]

Thinking about going with them as well for some matte black S5 wheels. How was the quality of your product and the customer service during your transaction?

There's a guy named Ryan that I worked with and he was one of the best at customer service I had ever worked with! He answered all my emails and he even called me directly to answer my emails! Of course these wheels are not going to be as nice as the VMR, Hartmann's, etc. I had an issue with one wheel that I sent back and they replaced immediately. The issue was just cosmetic with a scratch on a spoke and the paint had a blemish next to the chip. Other than that they're absolutley great.

[wwhan]

The only problem with dealing with Alibaba.com is that in a way it like dealing with ebay.com There is very little information on what you can trust. One may find products with good quality or poor quality on these sites. The benefit of going to a stateside company is the assumption, that the guarantee will be valid, they will stand behind the product and have some reasonable quality standards in place. Built in China does not mean much anymore, since so much is outsourced there. Go to Tirerack & see a lot of wheels are from China or Malaysia. The real issue is to be able to tell when one is buying a quality product or not. The country of origin may not tell one much about the quality - with so much global manufacturing. At one time, "Made in Japan" meant, the quality was poor, China is also going through this transition.