How Much Do Rims Cost? (Answered)
Rims, in case you don’t know, are part of the wheel of a car. Specifically, they’re the metal part in the center of the wheel that is attached to the axel and holds the tire in place. If you’re looking for rims for your car, then naturally you’ll want to know how much they cost. The answer to that question can vary wildly depending on exactly what kind of rims you’re looking for.
You could probably get a whole set of rims for under $100 if you looked in the right places, but from there, the prices can go a very long way up. In this article, we’ll take you through some of the things that can affect the price of rims so you can make the right choice when it comes to buying some for your car.
Material
Rims can be made of several different materials. The three most common materials are steel, aluminum alloy, and carbon fiber. Each has its own pros and cons, so let’s look at those.
Steel: Steel rims are usually much cheaper than rims made of other materials. Additionally, they’re a lot more durable too. This might be very important if you’re expecting to use them in an environment where they’ll get a lot of wear and tear, like uneven dirt roads. However, this durability comes at a price – steel is a heavy material, and steel rims will be heavier than their aluminum and carbon fiber counterparts
Aluminum alloy: Aluminum rims are a lot lighter than steel, meaning better acceleration and fuel efficiency. Although this makes them less durable, they’re not exactly fragile either. They’re also notably more expensive than steel rims. It’s a bit subjective, but lots of people agree that aluminum rims look nicer than steel ones, too. They can have very different finishes depending on exactly how they’re made, from painted to polished to chrome.
Carbon fiber: By far the most expensive option, carbon fiber rims are built with performance in mind. They can often be found on high-performance cars made by the likes of Koenigsegg and Porsche, as well as professional racing cars. They’re very lightweight, which allows greater acceleration. However, they are much more vulnerable to damage than either aluminum or steel rims, and you will not enjoy looking at your bank balance if you have to replace them.
So, if we consider only cost as a factor, the obvious winner is steel. However, if you think the benefit to performance and aesthetics is worth forking out a little extra, consider aluminum and/or carbon fiber.
Style and appearance
In the section above, we mentioned that aluminum rims are widely considered to be particularly nice looking. However, there’s a lot more to consider than just the material when you’re buying rims for their appearance. When it comes to design, there’s an enormous amount of variety.
For example, you might want your rims coated in something like bronze or graphite, and this will probably set you back several hundred dollars per rim. You might also have seen spinning rims – rims that spin even when your car has stopped. They’re very eye-catching and they have a certain popularity for that reason. However, they don’t come cheap. You won’t find many full sets of spinning rims for less than $1000 at a minimum, and lots of them will run to a lot more than that – perhaps even ten times more.
New or used?
As with just about everything you might want to buy, new rims will generally be more expensive than used ones. If you don’t mind paying the extra, you will be able to have new rims custom-made for your car.
Of course, this isn’t an option if you’re looking to buy used. However, it’s sometimes possible to find some gems among used rims, particularly if you’re up for a hunt and get a bit of luck. Make sure you’re sure of the condition when you’re buying used, though. While they can sometimes be just as good as new ones, you might have to sift through some damaged specimens.
Final thoughts
To sum up, the question of how much rims cost has as many answers as there are sets of rims. While you can probably get something for around $100 if you’re really trying, your standard set of rims will probably run to at least four or five times that.
Then, as we’ve seen, the price can go more or less as high as you want it to once expensive materials like carbon fiber and aesthetic choices like spinners are factored into the equation. If you’re in the market for some rims, you’ll need to figure out how to balance all these things.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are rims on a car?
Basically, the rim is the metal part of the wheel on a car. That is, the part in the center of the wheel that holds the tire in position. They come in many different colors and sizes and can be customized to change your car’s look.
Is it worth putting rims on a car?
There are really two questions here. Technically speaking, all cars have (and need) rims. They are a necessary part of the wheel and without them, your car wouldn’t be able to leave its driveway. So if this is what you mean by rims, then the answer is “yes, of course”.
However, if you’re asking if it’s worth putting rims on a car, you probably want to know if it’s worth putting fancy, customized rims on a car. Of course, the answer to that question is ultimately up to you. However, lots of people enjoy adding rims to their cars. Some just like the extra visual interest that rims can provide.
Others really enjoy heavily modifying and customizing their cars, and the rims are just one detail of that. There are a lot of different styles of rims, from subtle to very in-your-face, so there’s almost certainly something out there that you think looks neat.
