Should I Replace One OEM Wheel Or Buy A Set Of Aftermarket Wheels?
Do you have one damaged wheel on your Volkswagen? You may be trying to decide between two options:
- Replace only the bad wheel with an OEM wheel
- Buy a whole new set of aftermarket wheels
If you ask us, the first option (OEM wheel) is the far better option. Here's why:
1. OEM Wheels Have The Most Resale Value
Are you leasing your car? Or are you planning to sell it at some point in the future? If your answer to either question is yes, then get an OEM wheel. If you're leasing your car, you're likely not allowed to put aftermarket wheels on your car. Most leasing companies require their cars to have all OEM parts.
If you're selling your car, OEM wheels will keep your car's resale value up. Even high quality aftermarket parts (like wheels or shocks) don't help your car's resale value, and may bring down the value of your car.
2. OEM Wheels Are Higher Quality Than Aftermarket Wheels
OEM Volkswagen wheels are high quality. They're also lightweight, which helps with ride, handling and fuel economy. When you buy a genuine OEM Volkswagen wheel, you're getting a robust and lightweight wheel that will last a long time. It's a solid investment, if you ask us. You can't say the same about some aftermarket wheels.
Aftermarket wheels are usually heavier and lower quality. It's a big reason why aftermarket wheels are cheaper than OEM wheels. Aftermarket wheels are almost always cast and almost never forged. Sometimes aftermarket manufacturers use a gravity casting instead of vacuum casting. Gravity cast is inferior. Gravity cast wheels are cheap, but they're heavy and easy to break. OEM's buy wheels at such high volumes that they can get a very high quality, lightweight wheel at a reasonable price. No aftermarket firm buys wheels at anywhere near OEM volumes.
3. A Replacement OEM Wheel Will Match The Other Wheels On Your VW
Why waste three perfectly good OEM wheels by replacing them with a set of aftermarket wheels? If you replace your bad wheel with an OEM wheel, it's going to match all the other wheels on your car. Clean your other wheels, and they'll look brand new like your replacement OEM wheel.
4. One OEM Wheel Is Cheaper Than A Set Of Aftermarket Wheels
Often times, one OEM wheel is a lot cheaper than a set of aftermarket wheels. Even a set of cheap aftermarket wheels most likely costs more than twice as much as an OEM wheel. They are most likely pretty heavy, which hurts your gas mileage and makes the car ride worse. And, as a set is still fairly expensive, you'll most likely feel stuck with them until you sell the car.
Another great thing about OEM wheels is the fact that they're warrantied. If you buy an OEM replacement wheel from us (or another authorized VW parts dealer), it'll come with a manufacturer's warranty. It's rare for an OEM VW part to fail. Yet, when it does within 1 year or 12,000 miles, Volkswagen will repair or replace it for free. You'll have a hard time finding an aftermarket manufacturer that warranties its wheels.
These 4 reasons show that OEM wheels are a much better investment than aftermarket wheels. We have an extensive inventory of genuine OEM wheels for many different VW models at wholesale pricing. Get your replacement wheel(s) today!