Find Used Auto Parts

Q.I went out for a drive today and managed to hit a mega pothole. I'm usually careful about avoiding them but I didn't see this one until it had engulfed my car. Yikes! When I got out of it, I knew there was something wrong. I pulled over and found my tire flat and my wheel dented. I called AAA and had the emergency spare put on. Thankfully, when looking at the wheel and tire off the car, the damage doesn't look that extreme. The tire looks OK although I guess I'll find out when it's replaced. The wheel is dented but the towing guy suggested that it could probably just be pounded out. Nothing is open today so the car is sitting in my driveway with the spare on it. I asked about this one time and I got the suggestion to buy a used wheel from a junk yard. I looked in the yellow pages under "junk yards" and didn't find anything but did find some listings under "auto wrecking" that look like the right thing. Unfortunately, they're all quite a distance from me, so I'm not sure I can easily "shop around". What do I need to look for in buying a used wheel? Do I need to worry about it being damaged in some way that isn't obvious to the untrained eye? I've never bought used auto parts before and I really don't know anything about it. But one site had a web page and the price of a used wheel for my Corolla was $40, which seems like a good price compared to the cost of a new one. And does anyone know where I could go to see if the wheel can be repaired? I was going to take it to a tire store but someone told me that they don't do that kind of thing - I will have to call them and ask on Monday but I really have no idea where to go. I don't really have a local garage, I've been trying to find one but with no luck, I've gotten very poor service everywhere I've been.

A.No cracks anywhere on the wheel or dents in the rim -- the tire pushes up against the rim and seals in the air, but if there are any defects in the metal your tire will just go flat. Things were sometimes easier in the days of inner tubes. A tire store should be able to tell you whether the wheel you have is usable or not. They may be able to refer you to a place that will repair it or sell you a used one. Also try frame shops or body shops, those are the people who generally deal with collision damage. Sometimes such places have arrangements with wrecking yards to deliver parts on approval, which is certainly convenient, but probably not profitable for them in your case. Local junk/wrecking yards always give warranties of some sort, and I've never worried about buying wrecked parts from any of them -- and we have a LOT within 20 miles. If they give you a bad one, return it and they'll give you a good one or your money back. The problem, of course, is that sometimes you have to install something to find out that it's no good. It ought to be easy for a pro to determine wheel goodness, though. We have a LOT to choose from and still get lousy service, even from dealerships if "lousy" also means "overcharges you for stuff you don't need."

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