a bit of advice (archive)

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I happened this morning to read some of the postings on this board. I understand your frustration, but I feel that your reaction is overdoing it. Remember, every story has two sides.

Personally, I feel that TireRack treated you fairly by not selling you a wheel/tire combo they weren't sure would work on your car. I would imagine that an 18" wheel/tire combo is more expensive than a 17" wheel/tire combo, yet they steered you towards the 17" because they wanted to be sure to sell something that would work on your car. I am guessing this means they made less money on the sale--if you think about it, what possible motive could they have for this than to make sure you were getting something that worked?

You have to be very careful putting large wheels/tires on a car. I've seen an instance of a Z3 having a blowout because the tires on the rear were a little too wide and rubbed against something on the inside. This went unnoticed, unheard, and unseen for several months until one day the inner sidewall just gave out. This was on one of the rear wheels, and as I understand it, the 318ti and Z3 have identical rear suspension.

Now, you found another company that tells you that the 18" rims/tires you wanted would have fit on your car. Hopefully they are right and not just eager to sell a more expensive wheel/tire combo that might marginally fit. Should tirerack have taken back your 17" set? Perhaps, and perhaps not. You were asking them to take quite a hit on that. They agreed to sell you the 17" set, and you agreed to buy it. That puts you both in it--not just them. Any time you buy something from anyone, you should do your research first.

Remember the old saying about honey attracting more flies. Whenever you are in a dispute with some company, always approach it in a very professional, mature, and friendly manner. While this won't always bring about the result you want, you will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that you conducted yourself in a manner of which you can be proud and that you gave it your best shot.

My advice to you is this--don't worry so much about the rims--go out and enjoy your car. Drive it, autocross it, take it to driving schools. With the windows down, the wind in your hair, and the sound of the engine in your ears, you'll probably get a grin so big that you'll forget any troubles.

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