Car rims are common, and many people put on custom rims. But how much do rims cost, and does the price change depending on the type of car?
Costs range from $80 to $700 per wheel, and customizations can add to that. Most people think of rims as custom and high-end items, so auto body shops can charge more for rim services. Instead of the type of car, the size of the tyre determines how much rims cost.
Now that you know a little bit about how much rims cost and why they are so expensive, you may be wondering what other factors affect the price of rims and how much rims cost for different types of cars.
Average Cost of Car Rims
From what I’ve learned, the prices of car rims vary a lot. Even though there are many things that affect price, let’s look at the average cost of rims for different types of vehicles.
Again, this is a pretty big price range!
Let’s look at the other things that affect the price of car rims to get a better idea of why the prices vary.
What Factors Impact the Cost of Car Rims?
There are many things that affect how much car rims cost, such as the size of the tyre, the material the rims are made of, their status as a luxury item, and how much the auto body shop charges for labour.
#1 Material of the Rims
The materials used to make the rims have a lot to do with how much they cost. Steel, aluminium, and chrome are the most common metals used to make rims.
Each type of metal has different benefits, but they also cost very different amounts because of how easy or hard it is to get the metal and work with it.
The wheels on your car can affect the way it stops, how much gas it uses, and how fast it goes. If your car’s wheels are made of heavy metal, your car will have to work harder to go faster, and it will use more gas as a result.
#2 Size of the Tire
The size of the tyre that will be put on the rim has a big effect on how much it costs. If your car has very big tyres, the rims for those tyres will cost a lot more than the rims for a car like a sedan, which has smaller tyres.
If your car has big tyres, especially if it’s a truck, installing the rims will cost a lot of money.
#3 Considered to be a Luxury Item
Rims are considered a custom item because if they are put on a car that has already left the lot, they are usually custom-made or added as a feature to make the car look cooler.
This means that auto body shops will be able to charge more for making and designing rims.
They know that most people who come to them for custom rims have a lot of money and are ready to spend a lot of it.
#4 Auto Body Shop Rates
Each auto body shop charges different prices for its different services, and making rims is no different. The price of the wheels you choose for your car will depend on how much the auto body shop you go to charges.
Most people will meet with a rim designer or engineer and tell them what they want their rims to look like. The engineer or designer will need to be paid for their work, which will raise the price of the rims.
The price of the rims will also depend on how experienced the person who designed or made them is. The more experienced the rim designer or technician, the higher their rates will be and the more your rims will cost.
#5 Shape
Car rims have to be perfectly round because tyres have to be perfectly round and have to fit snugly into the rims.
This means that the rims have to be exactly the right size, and technology is needed to make sure that they are round and the right size. Because technology costs money, auto body shops charge more than you might think for rims.
The last thing you want on your car is rims that are a little bit out of shape, because that will make your ride very bumpy.
#6 Customizations
Car wheels can be changed in a lot of ways, so people can add whatever they want to them. But it costs money to make these changes, so they cost the customer more. People with custom rims often paint or coat them in bright colours, but many people also add a black coating to the rims of their cars.
Many people put holographic film on their rims because they like the way it looks. But these rim films cost money, and only very experienced auto body technicians know how to put them on right so that the rims look smooth and perfect when you look at them up close.
For these films to look good after they are put up, they have to be cut very precisely, which takes time to learn. Since the auto body technician has done this job a lot, their rates are likely to be high and add to the cost of installing the wheels.
#7 Time
The price of the rims you have designed or chosen will depend on how long it takes to get them just right.
If you took a long time to agree on the designs of the rims, they will cost a little more than you might expect.
The final price of the rims you choose will be higher the longer it takes to add the customizations.
Now that you know how much rims cost on average and what factors affect the price, it’s up to you to decide if you want to put them on your car or not.
If you do decide to put rims on your car, you can choose what kind of metal they are made of and how they look.
