Last month we discussed how Blackburn evaluates and grades our selection of used OEM wheels. Specifically, we discussed our Grade A used wheels and the grading criteria that we use to evaluate a used wheel, as well as what steps we take throughout our the procurement process to ensure we are able to provide our customers with the best condition wheels possible for the price.
Our goal is to provide as much value to our customers as possible, and our used wheels are a big part of how we accomplish that. While our “bread and butter” will always be selling new OEM wheels, we are proud to offer a number of cost saving wheel options to our customers, which in addition to our Grade A used wheels includes Grade B wheels and reconditioned wheels. Today, we will be discussing how we differentiate between Grade A and Grade B when making updates to our online OEM wheel inventory.
We can’t stress enough that no matter whether you choose a Grade A or Grade B used wheel from Blackburn, you’ll be getting a great wheel that has absolutely no imperfections that would affect its performance, reliability or safety. In fact, our grading system is designed only to make you aware of any cosmetic blemishes or aesthetic issues that may exist on the wheel. Both our Grade A and Grade B wheels are thus tremendous cost saving issues, especially when “looks” aren’t a primary concern of the purchaser. Given these facts, our Grade B used wheels are probably one of our best “bang for the buck” products.
We mentioned in our last article that a Grade A wheel is a used wheel that has been previously mounted and driven on a vehicle. The wheel is then tested and inspected for any defects that would affect the performance or safety of the wheel. If the wheel has only one or two cosmetic blemishes, we will then catalog the wheel as a Grade A wheel in our inventory before being made available for sale. Wheels that have any more than one or two blemishes would then either be classified as a Grade B wheel or, if necessary, the wheel will undergo several processes to return the wheel to a like new condition, and be sold as a “reconditioned” wheel.
As such, a used Grade B wheel from Blackburn Wheels will satisfy the following conditions:
- The wheel has been thoroughly tested and inspected to ensure it matches or exceeds the original equipment manufacturers’ specifications for the wheel.
- The wheel has been previously used, meaning is has been mounted to a vehicle and driven at least once.
- The wheel has some cosmetic blemishes. There are too many aesthetic imperfections to label it a Grade A wheel, but it is not in need of reconditioning. You can expect your Grade B Wheel will have no more than 3-5 cosmetic blemishes.
Since any used wheel we sell, whether it be Grade A, Grade B, or reconditioned (a used wheel that has been “reconditioned” to appear new) are all inspected to ensure they can perform as well as a new wheel, any of our used wheel products provide our customers with alternatives to paying the full price of an OEM wheel replacement. In other words, none of our used wheel products will have bends, warping or other structural problems. Since even our Grade B used wheels typically have no more than 5 cosmetic imperfections, our Grade B used wheels are the perfect OE Wheel product solution in circumstances that don’t require the wheel looks perfect. Our Grade B used wheels are an especially great value for owners of winter steel wheels, especially if one plans to cover the wheel with an OEM hubcap anyways.
We hope this helps you to understand how our used A and B wheel grading works. Moreover, we hope that being as transparent about our grading process as possible instills a sense of confidence that you will find your used OEM wheel products more than satisfactory. Hopefully, our used wheel grading system will help you or your business make an informed decision on your next OEM wheel order.