About 3-4 months ago, my driver’s side front hubcap fell off of my 2007 Nissan Versa. I have it, but it’s broke and won’t stay on. Nissan wants $53 to replace it. So I just drove around with one less. Then, a little over a month ago the driver’s side rear hubcap fell off when I got my tires replaced. At this point, it was either fork out $106 for 2 new ones, drive around with only 2 hubcaps, or just take the other 2 off. I opted for going naked all around.
Since then however, I’ve had no less than 20 people comment on the Versa’s appearance stating that it was “hoosier” to drive around like that. I guess that makes me “hoosier” because I thought it looked kind of sporty having all black wheels.
Leave me your comments please. I need a mass opinion of whether or not this is acceptable. If it’s not, then I’ll gladly concede and go buy hubcaps.
#1 by Sonya Thompson on July 15, 2009 - 8:45 am
You don’t need no stinking hubcaps, you need some real wheels. Manly wheels. Brushed aluminum is my favorite. If you want, I can help you pick them out – I love to shop!
#2 by Christian Alexander on July 15, 2009 - 8:58 am
Honeslty…!?!? Save your money or give what you would have spent to a mission. The car will drive no different with or without hubcaps!!
#3 by Dawn Heinle on July 15, 2009 - 9:06 am
I think it makes the car look like once-upon-a-time you had expensive hub caps on it and they were stolen. Ghetto?! Maybe… but you can just say that you’re an undercover cop in an unmarked sedan.
I say, leave it the way it is. Paying good money for looks is over-rated. It’s not going to change the way it drives.
Have you checked into whether it’s a recall or a retrofit thing?! Call the manufacturer and see if they’ve heard this complaint before… there might be something in it for you as a customer-loyalty thing. Especially in these tough times for car manufacturers.
D
#4 by Elise on July 15, 2009 - 9:07 am
If you go with hubcaps Wally World has full sets for $50 bucks, last time we were there we got spinner caps! Now thats sporty!
#5 by Ed Schulze on July 15, 2009 - 9:28 am
I’d put the two hub caps on the same side of the car. You only see one side at a time. People don’t usually pick up on it.
#6 by creativereason on July 16, 2009 - 3:12 pm
It’s probably a little hoosier or ghetto, but I wouldn’t really care.
I wouldn’t give a hard time to any of my friends missing theirs, nor would I spend the money on new ones. I say rock the Versa sans hub cabs.
#7 by Scott on August 4, 2009 - 2:09 pm
Seriously… $15.95 for a set of 4 at Walmart or Kmart.
#8 by Carol on September 29, 2009 - 7:30 pm
I also say leave it off. I have had 3 of mine broke off, first two the dealer took care of, but now say he wants 60.00 for the third, I say forget it
#9 by Kurt Wetzel on October 23, 2009 - 2:47 pm
It does not bother me any to see a car without wheel covers on. Think about it this way, why should you spend money on molded together plastic (50 bucks plus is outrageous for one). The one’s they sell in 4 packs at Wal-Mart, Kmart, or Autozone are really cheap and you will probably loose them as well. If you want some, a good place to look is craigslist.org. I recommend just driving without any. Good Luck
#10 by Kurt Wetzel on October 31, 2009 - 8:33 am
I forgot to mention that I opted for the no hubcap look on my 2004 Impala, but my Father kept bugging me so much that I ended up buying a four pack at Auto-zone. Anyways who cares what people think about the look just as long as they are not bugging you about it too much. If your friends and family care so much, I think they should buy you a set of four as a gift. I recommend either driving the car without any or if you care that much, buy a set of rims for the car (rims will probably cost you around 500 dollars, and you are worry/hastle free).
#11 by nabby on May 4, 2010 - 10:00 am
keep em off u have less weight on ur wheels giving u a better feel of whp hubcaps r only to make the car look nice
#12 by Mark on January 13, 2011 - 11:53 pm
Future advice for all of you Versa owners like me losing hubcaps: I lost 1, researched the problem, took off the other three and sold them on ebay to suckers like you… just kidding. Seriously, though I sold them separately for $25 each. I actually get as many compliments as I do disapproving stares.
#13 by DR on April 6, 2011 - 12:36 pm
I hit a pothole the size of Colorado while driving up to ski a few weeks ago and it shattered my right front hubcap. Cost to replace with the original VW cap: $49.95. So, I drove around for a week with just 3 caps and then decided to just remove them all and throw them in the trunk. No one cared or noticed. Then one of my friends – after about 4 beers – admitted to me that my car looked like it had spent an unfortunate night parked on the wrong side of town. His solution: paint them. I laughed. Said what the hell. Cleaned them up and spray painted them a nice low-gloss black. Two days later, I was running around town and came out of a store to see three guys hanging around my car. I walked up and one of them asked me, “Dude, where did you get your wheels?” I quickly considered the possibility that they were messing with me, but after a few minutes it became clear that they honestly wanted to know where I got them. Three days ago, I had an almost identical conversation with another guy. He had lost two of his hubcaps, saw my car, and wanted to know what I did to “achieve that look.”
So, it seems I learned a couple things:
1. A good beer buzz enhances more than just your skills at billiards. It can potentially access the part of your brain that comes up with half-crazy do-it-yourself car modifications.
2. Women tend to talk about love when they get a little buzzed. Men talk about hubcaps.
I also am leaving open the possibility that for every one person that thinks my wheels are cool, there are 100 more that think I’m an idiot. In either case, I’m leaving them as is. New hubcap: $49.95. Can of spray paint: $5. Done.
#14 by Kym on April 15, 2011 - 4:02 pm
I woke up to find that I had all four of mines stolen off my brand new 2011 Nissan Versa. Not to mention stolen hubcaps, but the loser that stole them broke the valve stem off my rear driver’s side wheel causing a flat tire. Long story short, I didn’t get to work until three hours late, and I was riding around on a spare for a week.