Magician comes to Whanganui to deal with 'stuffed wheels'

Working magic: Jason and Katrina White are the Whanganui-Manawatu Wheel Magician franchise owners.

"It's amazing what we can do to what you would say is a stuffed wheel."

So says Jason White of the Whanganui-Manawatu Wheel Magician franchise. Mr White and his wife Katrina have been operating the business since mid-September, with Mr White doing the hands-on work and Mrs White looking after the administration.

Wheel Magician is a mobile service that repairs kerb-damaged alloy vehicle wheel rims as well as painting rims and removing brake dust.

"Our process is 'secret squirrel' but it's amazing what we can do," Mr White said.

"It can take between 15 and 90 minutes to fix a wheel, depending on the severity of the damage, the type of wheel and the paint colour."

Mr White, whose background is in production management and operations management, took on the franchise for a change of lifestyle.

"This is Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, so we've given ourselves a bit of life back," Mrs White said.

Customers range from individuals to corporate fleets and car dealerships.

"It's a great service - I turn up, take the wheel off, the tyre stays on the wheel, and people can be driving their car again within a couple of hours," Mr White said.

"I just need the vehicle and access to power. One of the biggest satisfactions is the end result and the customer's reaction is immensely satisfying. It's great to be hands-on again."

The Whites say the service provides a less expensive and very convenient option for customers whose wheel rims are damaged.

"Most people think they'll have to buy a new set of rims but with this they don't need to," Mrs White said.

"It's pretty inexpensive compared to getting a new set of rims. It helps with resale as well if the vehicle is nicely groomed. The other benefit is that we provide a mobile service."

Mr White said he had been overwhelmed with the response from Whanganui people and the support of local car dealers.