Can you straighten my bent hubcap, or is it cheaper to replace it?

It’s one thing to bend the entire structure of a wheel, but what about if you simply bend the hubcap or wheel cover that covers it? Is it possible to repair it, or should you just get an entirely new replacement hubcap?

While the term ‘rim’ is often used when referring to the part of your vehicle on which its tires are mounted, technically a rim is just one part of the wheel assembly. The rim is simply the area the tire touches or directly attaches to, the metal part that surrounds the decorative area of the wheel’s hub and spokes. Whether you call them wheels or rims, Salt City Wheels gets you - we know what you’re talking about and we will easily be able to see what needs to be done and where.

The wheel’s center cap and hubcap are a different kettle of fish: the center cap usually has the wheel’s manufacturer name or logo on it, and is secured onto the hub (the most middlest middle part of the whole wheel) by clips or screws, whereas a hub cap is normally clipped or hammered on and covers the lug nuts; read: it covers a larger area of the wheel.

A wheel cover is usually similarly secured, but it covers the whole diameter of the wheel. These often include plastic imitation spokes that give the appearance of actual wheels. Wheel covers generally come as standard on entry-level compact and subcompact vehicles, or on base models. By the sheer nature of how they’re fixed, it’s not uncommon to see cracked or broken wheel covers on the side of the road after they’ve come flying off a vehicle. Cracking of the plastic clips that secure the wheel cover from becoming loose over time is also very common.

If you damage a hubcap or wheel cover, although these often come as standard on base model vehicles and therefore tend to be mass-produced, finding a replacement can often be surprisingly difficult and expensive, especially if you’re looking for one from the original manufacturer. For ease of repair (now and later), it’s often worth considering simply opting for replacement aftermarket wheels altogether. These will usually increase the resale value of your vehicle - bonus! And if you ding, scratch, or dent a wheel or rim, you will have several repair options to choose from.

The wheel repair experts at Salt City Wheels in Utah will more than likely be able to repair the damage to either a hubcap or wheel cover (as long as they are made from metal) and greater damage to the wheel itself, depending on the location and severity of the damage. Painted wheels often can simply be color-matched by our wheel artists and resprayed, giving you as good-as-new wheel.

Although it’s often more cost-effective to simply replace a hubcap, if you have custom metal hubcaps or wheel covers that you’d ideally like repaired, give the mobile wheel repair experts at Salt City Wheels a call today at 801 425 3044. We’ll be able to tell you on-sight whether we can repair your hubcaps, wheel covers or wheels, or whether a replacement is in order.