All the reports of stolen wheels have started me worrying...

I want an extra wheel/tire to have around so when I go on a long trip I can bring a real spare with me, as I've done with previous cars. But the 16" alloy rims are very expensive at the dealer and the local junkyards never seem to have any.

Craigslist has occasional ads for them, at reasonable prices. But they really, really seem to be stolen. Such as- I call, they say they're selling the wheels 'for a friend who doesn't have a computer' or I ask what color or year Fit they came from and they hesitate (seriously, how hard is it to answer that question quickly when it's from your own car?)...

I don't want to buy stolen rims. I also don't want my rims to be stolen.

I figure the least I can do is find some way to mark my rims so that if they do get stolen and sold on CL I'd know they're mine. Any suggestions? I thought of dabbing a bit of red paint around the well where the lug nuts go but maybe somebody else has a better idea? Because a thief could also scrape that paint off.

 

Take a dremmel to the inside of the wheel and inscribe your name and VIN#. Won't be ruining the wheel and at least there will be some sort of identification on them.

 

Thought of that (the local PD might even engrave things, I'll have to ask). I also want to be able to recognize them on somebody's silly Civic without crawling under their car.

 

i think the dremmel on the inside of the wheel would be your best bet.

 

Dude if I were selling some wheels and you asked me what color the car was I'd be caught off guard too. That's just a strange question.

If you REALLY don't want to buy stolen wheels then just come out and tell the seller your concern, and if they don't actually own a Fit (will decrease the chance they're stolen, but not eliminate it) simply pass on the wheels. A fellow Fit owner would probably appreciate your concern and be happy to show you "proof of ownership" of sorts if need be.

I just cannot understand why people want to steal some narrow ass'd, stupid-tucked 16'' wheels anyways.

 

you can etch your name in the wheel i guess if you want.

 

I bought a 14" steelie with a tire for about $100 at my local discount tire. Now i have a full size spare.

 

No, I don't think so- answering a simple question like that you do without thinking about it.

When I ask where the rims came from I get a convoluted explanation. I'm not an expert on catching people in lies but sometimes they make it really easy.

 

that's why you're the brain champagne.

 

We'll agree to disagree I suppose. I don't doubt you ran into some shady thieves selling stolen wheels, but basing it on "what color was the car they came from?" is still an off the wall question IMO.

The color of the car has literally nothing to do with the color of the wheels. If the wheels were from an Integra Type R then asking what color the car was makes more sense logically, because if the car was Championship White then the wheels should be too, and if the car was Yellow or Black the wheels would be gunmetal grey, etc. etc.

Like I said earlier there's more effective ways of asking if the wheels are stolen than asking an off the wall question.

 

"What color's your car?" easy question. Believe me, when you ask a simple question and they can't answer it, or you ask where they got the wheels and they give you a long story... something's fishy.

If you asked me what color shirt I wore yesterday I'd probably say "Don't remember for sure but it was probably a white t-shirt" I wouldn't give a long story about how I took it out of the drawer, unfolded it...

 

well, if the person i sold my wheels to asked me the color of my fit, i wouldn't tell him/her. but i'd probably just reply, "why does it matter?"

it's impertinent info i wouldn't feel obligated to disclose. sometimes they ask where i live, what i do for a living, how old i am, all kinds of personal questions - color of my car is not as personal, but would go into the same category haha.

 

AGREED^^^^ if you dont want to deal with maybe buying stolen parts then get new ones or save up more money for legit wheels thats imo besides you can never really tell if they are stolen or they bought the wheels them selfs everyone sales and trades wheels like underwear down here in fl so you never really know

 

Check it out. We got linked on a Jalopnik article. lol No One Is Safe From Wheel Thieves

 

After several dozen wheels were stolen from a local Honda dealership, this past week the police saw two guys stealing more wheels from the same dealership. Gave chase. Perps crashed their getaway car, one dead, other in the hospital (and he's being charged with homicide because his co-conspirator died during the commission of a felony).

 

That, and a nice pic of a Fit sans wheels was headlines at NYTIMES a couple days ago.

Pretty cool.

Did you ever decide what to do? Seems like parking it inside is the best option.