It looked like I would need a new wheel so I called Kia to see what the damage would be. The answer was above what I could have imagined.... $775! I politely cursed a few times and told them I would get back to them. I started scouring used car part sites but as I suspected there was not an 18" rim to fit a 2011 Kia Optima EX Luxury to be found anywhere.
My next call was to car repair shops to see if the rim could be fixed. I Googled fixing aluminium rims and it seemed like professional welders could get the job done if the crack wasn't too extreme. After calling around I got put on to a place called Custom Wheels. They said they could fix it but the cost would be at least $140, they would have to see the rim. So off I went to Wal-Mart to get the tire taken off the rim and my dummy installed. They charged me a whopping $5 and the counter guy did all the work himself.
Next stop was custom wheels (which was VERY difficult to find) where they took a look at the rim and said they could fix it for $180 + tax but it would take two weeks. TWO WEEKS..... but I didn't really have a choice since it was saving me about $600.
So here I am one week into wheel repair, driving my better half's car and using the Optima only when totally necessary. I will do a follow up post in a week when my rim is back hopefully as good as new.
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