Why do people buy shiny metal wheels with a nice design instead of cheap plain steel wheels?

[froggyboy604]

I think vehicle owners mainly choose shiny metal wheels with a nicer star design for cars, motorcycles, bikes, and offroad vehicles because they want their vehicle to look more expensive, trendy, and sporty. They may think that owning a car with nicer wheels can make them more popular and look richer and trendy by owning a vehicle with nice wheels rather than a car with plain steel wheels which have a plain flat design, and a many circle air ventilation holes for cooling the vehicle's brakes.

Most people can't afford luxury cars like a Ferrari, or Lamborghini, and installing many expensive car parts like a more powerful engine, wings/spoilers, custom bumpers, and car body kit. But, spending a few hundred dollars on nicer wheels is a more affordable way to drive a nicer looking car and change the look of a car compared to buying an expensive car, and fully customizing their existing car which can cost many thousands of dollars to fully customize with many custom car parts.

Shiny metal wheels become popular because of popular movies like the Fast and the Furious, Mission Impossible, James Bond, Anime/Cartoons like Initial D, Speed Racer, Batman/Batmobile, video games like Gran Tourismo and Need for Speed Underground, and pop music videos which have the singer and actors driving an expensive car with nicer shiny metal wheels.

Car racing sports like Nascar, Formula 1, drag racing, Drifting, etc can make motorsports fans more likely to install shiny metal wheels on their cars.

Many more expensive cars like a BMW, Mercedes, Lamborghini, etc usually don't install cheap steel wheels onto any of their cars, and their cars may not be compatible with steel wheels, so users are stuck using more expensive alloy wheels which fit their car.

Plain looking Steel wheels, and plastic hubcaps/wheel covers have a popular reputation of being mostly bought by people who are poor, cheap, and stingy because Steel wheels can be bought for $40, and have a plain flat wheel design.

Steel wheels are also are commonly used on work vehicles because they are cheap to buy and repair. Steel wheels are used on work vehicles like tractors, buses, semi-trucks, fire trucks, and mail delivery trucks, etc. I think many people don't want to reminded of work when they look at their car or bike wheels, so they rather install nicer looking wheels which are more fancy and sporty.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

It's all about looking better than the others. In short, its called having bling.

 

[froggyboy604]

It's all about looking better than the others. In short, its called having bling.

Looking better than others can also attract robbers who end up stealing the victim's car, and breaking into their car to steal stuff in their car. There maybe a greater chance that they are followed home if you install shiny gold wheels on your car or bike.

I feel people who choose $50 plain steel wheels maybe better with saving money and looking better when they have more money in their wallet for more important purchases like a textbook for school, food, and gas.

Some nicer looking wheels are not durable if it hits a large pot hole and the sidewalk's curb. Aluminum is a less flexible metal which can crack in half, and can't be repaired where it is safe to drive the car on the road. A steel wheel may also be heavily damage by a pothole or hitting something, but it is $50 to replace and cheaper to repair with a hammer compared to an alloy wheel which may cost hundreds of dollars or more to replace and more than $50 to repair.

Example of a cracked wheel which can't be fixed.

 

[Grungie]

Wish I could sit down and worry about what wheels people have

 

[Demon_Skeith]

Looking better than others can also attract robbers who end up stealing the victim's car

and this is why I do not bling me or my items out.

 

[froggyboy604]

and this is why I do not bling me or my items out.

That is a good idea not to bling out yourself and your items to make it less likely your stuff from getting stolen and hurt by a robber's weapon like a gun.

There is always a chance of a robber stealing the victim's bling, and using a weapon like a gun or knife to hurt or kill the victim if the robber plan to kill the victim, so they can't report the crime to the police or if there was a intense struggle for the bling where the robbers life was in danger because the victim decided to defend his bling from getting stolen, so the robber took out a gun to defend himself from getting hurt by his victim.

 

[MeowsePad]

Many people see their cars as status symbols rather than reliable transportation. I think that's why expensive cars and accessories are so prevalent.

 

[froggyboy604]

Many people see their cars as status symbols rather than reliable transportation. I think that's why expensive cars and accessories are so prevalent.

This is true that people see Luxury cars and expensive car accessories like aluminum wheels and hood ornaments as status symbols.

People who view their luxury cars and expensive car accessories like shiny wheels as status symbols may care more about looking cool to other people by driving a cool expensive car, but they may not value saving money on transportation by buying an affordable reliable car with reliable car parts like steel wheels where steel wheels can provide many years of reliable usage, and are more affordable to repair and replace if it can't be reliably repaired or the cost of the wheel repair cost over $50 where buying a new steel wheel is more worth it.

Spending a lot of money on things like expensive cars, and car accessories can also be a status symbol to some people.

 

[Grungie]

Some people bling out their cars because that’s their hobby.

 

[froggyboy604]

This is true that some people bling out their car as a hobby.

There are also some people who may plan on blinging out their work vehicle like tow truck or delivery van to advertise their businesses like car wash, auto mechanic shop, car body repair, and custom wheel and tire shop.

For some car YouTube and other video streaming websites like Dailymotion, they can earn a lot of money from ads, selling products like custom T-shirts and keychains and wheel company sponsors by reviewing car wheels. There are also online video creators which make money by driving a nicer car in a homemade movie, and recording the video and uploading it to YouTube.

I think some car shows may pay owners of nicer looking cars money to display their car at a classic car show, or custom car show.

 

[NameGervin]

They like to stand out from the crowd and want other people think that they are rich. But actually most rich people prefer plain steel wheels but expensive as hell.

 

[froggyboy604]

They like to stand out from the crowd and want other people think that they are rich. But actually most rich people prefer plain steel wheels but expensive as hell.

I think some rich people pick plain steel wheels because they need a reliable wheel which won't as easily bend and crack like some softer metals like aluminum wheels. Some Rich people may rather buy affordable steel wheels, and spend their money on their business, paying their workers, or just saving their money instead of buying expensive shiny wheels.

Plain steel wheels have a good reputation of being very reliable. Steel wheels can work well without breaking for the entire life of the car. They work well in most road conditions like bumpy roads and snow covered roads where the front of the steel wheel cover the brakes compared to most custom alloy wheels with large triangular shaped wheel holes. Installing solid circular hubcaps/wheelcovers on a steel wheel can also protect a wheel and brakes from dust, rocks, road salt rust, and dirt which splashes on the wheel.

 

[Jerrar]

I like having nicer looking wheels because it makes me feel good about my car. I use an economical car with a decent design but no where close to a sports/luxury car, which is the dream. So I got good looking (not flashy) alloy wheels for the car to make it look more attractive.