Chrome Wheels

[Ron Pratt]

Can anyone tell me what the dealer invoice is for chrome 7 spoke wheel and the 10 spoke chrome wheel for the ES350? Most dealers just exchange the new painted wheel for the chrome.

[lowrideraz]

It's my belief that Lexus does not offer Chrome wheels. AFAIK, each dealer sends stock OEM wheels to local chrome plating shops for Chrome Plating. If you look at any Lexus catalog, you will not find any mention of a factory chrome wheel option.

Lou

[1990LS400]

It's my belief that Lexus does not offer Chrome wheels. AFAIK, each dealer sends stock OEM wheels to local chrome plating shops for Chrome Plating. If you look at any Lexus catalog, you will not find any mention of a factory chrome wheel option.

Lou

If you check the specification history on the Lexus website you'll find that chrome wheels were offered as official options on some Lexus models at least as far back as 1995 ... for example: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/1995/1995LSspecs.pdf

Lexus dealers also commonly sent out non-chrome wheels to be chromed -- from what I have seen and read, the official Lexus chrome wheels have a clear coat on top of the chrome. Some people prefer the unofficial chrome wheel option due to their greater brilliance.

Although chrome wheels were available as on option on the 2000 LS400, mine is a Platinum Series and the Platinum Series wheels were not available in chrome -- they were a $1700 (retail) option which was the same price as the official Lexus chrome wheel option.

[lowrideraz]

^^^^This is the ES Forum in 2008/2009. What does your response have to with the present day or the ES350?

Lou

[1990LS400]

^^^^This is the ES Forum in 2008/2009. What does your response have to with the present day or the ES350?

Lou

Lou, excuse me if you found my comment offensive. I thought you were making a blanket statement about all Lexus cars.

I wonder if Ron Pratt is really asking about the "17-in 10-spoke aluminum alloy with Graphite finish" wheels that are optional on the 09 ES350. Many people, or at least people on Lexus forums -- mistake the new lighter graphite finish wheels for chrome wheels. Maybe Ron Pratt also thinks they are chrome.

There is more than one graphite wheel finish being offered. The graphite finish on the optional wheels for some models is darker than the graphite finish on the optional wheels for others.

[lowrideraz]

No, I didn't find your comments offensive at all. I just didn't see the relevance. Most, if not all Lexus dealers chrome the wheels of a lot of their stock. Probably more of a Western US thing than Eastern. I had chrome wheels on my SC300 back in '93. I had to replace the wheels after 4 years with aftermarket alloys because 3 of the 4 wheels were leaking air around the bead when they started to peal from the inside. Nothing I did got rid of the problem. I've since grown to dislike the look and the weight they add. A big thumps down from me on chrome wheels.

Lou

[saabkyle04]

I'm not really sure about the prices at the dealer but I know on ebay the chrome 7 spoke rims are going for around $1,300 here's a link of one auction I found for them:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FACTORY-17-...sQ5fAccessories

I also saw that the 10 spoke chrome wheels are going for around $1,600 on ebay, here's a listing:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FACTORY-17-...sQ5fAccessories

I know these might not be exact with the dealership figures but I figured it would be a good starting place for you to check into! hope this helps, I think they look pretty good with some color combinations, but hey, all that matters is what you like! That's all that matters! ;)

Good luck!

Kyle

[OH_Guy]

No, I didn't find your comments offensive at all. I just didn't see the relevance. Most, if not all Lexus dealers chrome the wheels of a lot of their stock. Probably more of a Western US thing than Eastern. I had chrome wheels on my SC300 back in '93. I had to replace the wheels after 4 years with aftermarket alloys because 3 of the 4 wheels were leaking air around the bead when they started to peal from the inside. Nothing I did got rid of the problem. I've since grown to dislike the look and the weight they add. A big thumps down from me on chrome wheels.

Lou

A co-worker had the same problem with the chromed wheels on her GX470. One wheel always leaked air and the service manager swore it wasn't due to the wheel being chromed. Finally she just bought a full set of regular wheels and the air leak stopped. The continual air leak was a real nuisance for her to deal with.

[Rickt350]

GO to oewheelsllc.com they have chrome factory wheels for pretty decent prices.