Have noticed a few potholes appearing locally with recent weather. Went over one particularly hard on Sunday.
Colleague pointed out a that Off-side front was looking a bit low last night - I could hear air escaping. There was a small hole on the side wall where it had failed.
Changed to spare in the dark with the rain pouring down! To make matters worse, when inspecting this morning found a bulge on the near-side front, so two new tyres after only 4500 miles
Not very happy with the tyre quality (I have Dunlops). Thought they were designed to take a certain amount of punishment?
Did exactly the same on my last car, Clio 197. The pothole destroyed two tyres and damaged the wheels enough to warrant replacing. Got knowhere with claiming against the council.
08/11 - 12/13 2.0 TSI R DSG, Black / Black Vienna
01/09 - 08/11 2.0 TSI GT DSG, Black / Truffle Vienna
The council are responsible for the highways and I too have been on the end of their unhelpful stance when a pothole wrecked my wifes front wheel a couple of years ago. In this climate of blame culture I am surprised that someone has not taken legal action through the small claims court or whatever is the appropriate route to make these councils responsible. I think this would set a precedent and provide compensation for what must amount to thousands of damaged cars per year. I know the money has to come from somewhere but hey, what would the cost of an interlagos and tyre cost to replace from your own pocket ?
Why do the councils think they can get away with this when almost everywhere else in this miserable country you are held responsible for any misfortune that comes someones way, on your property, in your workplace etc. I bet the councils in France, Germany et al would not be allowed to get off scotch free.
Makes my blood boil sometimes......
rant over
Taken delivery : Silver, DSG, NAV, Black Leather, Park Sensors, Winter pack.
Mods: Full Milltek, KW lowering springs,Wheel Spacers, Remapped to 258BHP, 405Nm
same happened here, nice big bulge on my nearside front tyre. the ride quality of the roc is fine, but when you hit these big holes, you really feel them, more than in any car ive had. so 2 new tyres after 4500 miles. any recommendations for replacing the pirellis?
ive looked in to claiming from the council, but, especially with the recent weather, they ahve been fixing them fairly quickly, which means theres no chance in claiming. so infuriating
plus, its not just been the weather, where i live the roads are beyond terrible, and although its not a big city, its still a built up area. Why cant they be nice smooth roads like germany or france? if theyd surfaced them properly in the first place, it probably would save them money in the long run
Go to the pot hole concerned take a photo and of the damage it has caused send it to the council and say you want the damages paid for and the hole repaired if not you will be taking further action in a small claims court, they will ignore your letter then pay the fee (£30) at the small claims court the second they recieve the letter asking for them to appear in court, you'll recieve your cheque
Car is now Sold!!!!! BMW 7 Series for now as nice and big but holding out for something a little special as my toy
Get a picture of the local paper with todays date on in the hole, then send it to them. Shows that the hole is actually there when you say it is as they will get out of anything if possible.
I spotted a screw in my rear offside tyre at the weekend right on the bridge between tyre wall and surface running. I drove around about 6 tyre shops and eventually found a quick fit that had my tyre in stock. Then and only then would I allow the tyre monkey to remove the screw.
I have had this happen before and for those who have not seen it - the screw head is the only visible thing and the length of the screw could be anything from 5mm to 5 inches - 5mm means no expense anything more and the horrible sound of rushing air means a new tyre.
Tyre monkey gets down to it stating "sorry mate but his is £200" imagine my joy when he pulled out the screw and it was only the screw head plus about 2mm stuck in to the tyre!!!
Happy days
My Roc was fast - but now its FASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
got to admit roads are mega sh#te at the moment, i do my best to avoid watford, but out there last night and it looked more like mortar fire, one strech looked like carraigeway had been ripped away, down to 10mph it was that bad, having been over the cotswalds today you realise these guys have a shed load of work to do repairing these
I had a similar situation with my TT a couple of years ago. I just wrote to the council, quoting the location, date etc... along with pics of the wheels and pothole and a quote from my local Audi dealer, and 3 weeks later I got a cheque in the post! Maintenance of the roads is their (or the Highways Agency, depending on the road) responsibility, so if they fail in the duty of upkeep, then they need to bare the costs.
Bumping an old thread here... but this happended to me today, hit a pot hole with a real bang. Stopped to get out and look and found a fair sized bubble in the side wall of the tyre (two months old). Can't seen any damage to the wheel (after I'd cleaned the squashed tyre rubber mark off the rim) but just concerned about the shock absorber. Was in comfort mode at the time having just got off the motorway so hoping this has helped but has anyone suffered any damage to shocks as a result of pot holes? Don't know how resiliant these things are.
Drove back on the opposite side of the road about an hour later, looking for the offending hole to find the council had just filled it in !!
Depends how severe it was. May have knocked the tracking out, check for a broken spring particularly at the very top and the very bottom (replacement springs is a big earner this winter for garages), check the inside wheel rim (as well as the outside).
Tyre definitely should be looked at very soon with a blister present and not advisable to continue to drive with it fitted.
C.
Week 43 Build has happened on time! 22 Oct'09 Scirocco is at Check Point 5 in the factory
23 Oct'09 Now Complete on the dockside, 24 Oct'09 Sailed from Portugal, 27 Oct'09 In the UK,
29 Oct'09 at dealersDriving 4th Nov. Sorted!
Thanks for the tips, Kwik Fit put a new Pirelli on it today and checked the wheel and suspension which showed no signs of damage. Tracking seems OK too fortunately. Could have been a lot worse.....
You can certainly sue any council over damage caused by a pothole. You;ll need photographic evidence and you'll need to measure the depth of the hole.
Tell them you want whatever the damage cost you. If no response small claims court is the way to go and as previous poster said they'll pay up. You'll win every time...i think depth has to be over 3 inches though (and this is crucial)....if it is they are completely liable in any court in the land.
I hit a pothole in my Smart forFour Brabus, each alloy on that was a monster and it buckled two at 40mph, very thin treads as well. The total cost for 2 x tyres and 2 x alloys was near £1k and I tried to add on two more tyres as I didn't want to drive with news on one side and olds on the other.
Needless to say Newham said they'd only settle in Court, rather than negotiate. After their lawyers "lost" my second letter, and one memory stick with the damage photos (plus the original prints in the 1st letter) I gave up and moved out of Newham.
Expensive things, wheels. Especially Merc Brabus ones!
