I got a bent rim on my Mazda Protégé 03. Mazda service people tell me the price for a new steel rim is around $190 + $15 for labor, meanwhile another garage agrees to do the same job at around $72 by using regular steel rim. I don’t mind paying a little more for a rim from Mazda, but the price difference is just too big. Can using a regular rim affect the drivability (I guess the weight of the regular rim is probably different from that of the original one)?

 

just go with the cheaper one....just make sure your tires all match.

 

Are you talking about a black steel rim? When I bought mine last winter from TireRack for my winter tires, they were $38 each.

 

Wow! $190 a piece?? I don't even pay that much for brand new aftermarket rims!! That would be a RIP for a steelie in a big way.

 

Time to upgrade.

I used to have a set of these and they made my P5 look pretty nice.
http://www.craigslist.org/sfc/pts/133742597.html

 

Thank you guys for your replies.
Yes, the price is $190 for a steel rim. And the guy from Mazda service didn't seem at all surprised when I told him others can do the job less than half of his price.
Probably I will go for the cheaper one. To be safe, I guess I need to change rims on both sides even though only one is bent, as I am not sure what problem may be caused by the unbalanced rims if I don't do so.

 

Oh go get new aftermarket rims, will ya' ?

For a few $$ more - ride in style. Mount the tires to the new ones (i assume the tires are still good).

 

The original one is black steel c/w wheel cover, so regardless where I get the rim the appearance will be the same.

 

I bet for a couple (2-3?) hundred bucks you could find someone selling some stock 16" Protege rims that would fit your car. Heck for that price they might even have partially used tires on them.

 

I'll bet he could find them for less than that...

Jackz, I've got an extra set of stock 16s. PM me with your location if you're interested.

 

Thanks,
I am in Ottawa, Ontario ... maybe it is too far away from you.

 

I was afraid you were gonna say Canada...
Not too far, but that customs thing. I'll get back to you.