Ok I recently got my car aligned and about a couple weeks later I noticed some odd marks on my rims. They are not the normal alignment marks that you might see. I went back to the alignment shop to tell them and the manager personally showed me the alignment equipment. Just like any other equipment the marks are placed on between the rim and the tire. The marks that I have on my rim are on the inside of the lip and they left 4 pairs of indentations spaced somewhat evenly apart from each other. There is no way that the alignment equipment could have done that.

I'm just trying to think if the other shop who balanced my wheels might have caused this. You can tell it was done by some sort of equipment, but what would make these marks? I drew a rough picture of where the marks are on each rim, since I have them on all 4 rims. They are about the size of a a dull pencil tip.

Any advice would be appreciated...

 

that's from getting your wheels mounted.. They clamped the outside of the rim, when they should have clamped the inside..

 

The wheels mounted or tires mounted? I didn't have tires put on, I just had the factory wheels and tires balanced.

 

I'm trying to decide if I should complain or let it go. THere is no way I can prove they did it but those marks were not on the rims before I brought it to the shop. They didn't even rebalance them they just checked the balance on all 4 rims. Is there another tool or machine that could cause this?

 

If I remember correctly the alignment tools we had where I worked were mounted where your marks are. Also are those marks on all 4 wheels? If not it could be that they did actually balance them and those are marks from the weights, but I'd doubt it. How bad/noticeable are the marks?

 

They are on all 4 wheels. They didn't rebalance them because they had factory weights on them. The marks aren't horrible but they are completely through the paint and down to bare metal. THey are right on the inside of the lip kinda on the corner.

 

...see below...

 

Most new alignment machines use "elephant ears" which attach to the rim like whats show below. Hunter machines attach to the outside of the rim though and don't really touch the face of the wheel. I would inspect their machine or at least go back and see who manufactures it. That way you could research whether or not their machine could do it.