I can't f@*kin believe it! After all the BS I have had lately getting my new rims fitted (4 sheared wheel studs plus chips & scratches to brand new rims by the idiots who fitted them, then having to get them re-finished when really they should have been replaced!!! etc etc!)........I finally got them on the car last Saturday! Now only 4 days later!!!......... I've just clipped a pothole on the outside (footpath side) of a bend in Carlton!.........just after the roundabout near the cemetery & Melbourne Uni heading West!....... I was keeping an eye on the car next to me in the inside lane as we went around the bend side by side so I didn't stand a chance!.........never even saw it coming! There was an entrance to a building site or something & all the road surface has been chewed up quite a long way out into the road! The car behind me had to swerve severely to miss it after they saw this poor sucker take the full brunt of the impact!! As soon as I hit I knew! Result = nice big dent in the edge of my new rear rim! So my question is this: Has anyone ever had a similar experience & successfully won compensation for the repair costs to their damaged wheel because of something like this?? If so how did you go about it??.......& who did you ask for compensation from??.......the local council for the unsafe state of the road??.......or would the construction company be at fault for the damage to the road surface?? I know it's a long shot but it's worth asking to see if anyone has been successful?? The damage to the road was bad enough that there should have been some kind of warning for drivers!.....lights, barriers, signs, something!!!!......but no! Sorry for the rant but I'm really pissed off about it! ps - anyone know roughly how much it costs to get a ding taken out of a rim??
Please dont say they're 20" lol How big? I think it would be pretty hard to get any kind of money back, you could try though. Wheel repairs can start from $50 and up depending on the damage. Pics?
First thing to do if you're considering taking legal action against the council is to check that your 19' rims are actually legal. (i run 17' so can't help you here). Why I mention this is because, if I was a legal advisor for the council, i'd first look at the legality of your car. If your car = not legal, then it shouldn't be on the road in the first place, thus the council owe you nothing for your bent rim. (i'm not in law, but this, in my eyes, is just a logical defense they would take). -Kirill
Thats the price you pay for having 19"s with next to no air cushion to stop the blow. Didn't anybody tell you ? What pressure did you use ?
Fair point! I think deep down I know I don't stand a chance!.......especially as it's not worth all the hassle of any legal action over a few hundred bucks that it might cost to repair!.......it's just the last straw for me in a very very frustrating few weeks with these new rims! plus I forgot to say that all this has happened after ROH took over 18months to finally produce my order! ........so I've kind of run out of patience with these rims! I swear they are cursed or something!!!!
Of course I know........ it is a risk you take with 19's!!!! All I'm saying is that I never had a chance to avoid it cause I didn't see it coming! Some kind of warning would have been appreciated!.... the road should not just be left in that condition! The tyres are at 38psi
.... just as an protection, given that you may well make a claim, might be worthwhile getting a letter to the council first thing .... ?????
Dam! What a shame! I havent even had a chance to see these rims and this has all happened! I'd suggest going back to the location to take photos of how it is, that way you have proof that the road is unsafe and unmarked! Not sure how much luck you will have, but as for the legality of the 19's, the vic laws say that you cannot go ABOVE 2" more than what came out for that car in the factory...the loophole is the 25th anniversary model had 17" wheels....so yeah, with a tyre placard that shows it, they are legal. But 20's are not...
actually Andrew thats not right, the vic roads regulations state: 'The overall diametre of any replacement rim & tyre must not be more than 15mm greater than the largest diametre tyre specified by the vehicle manufacturer for that model or vehicle series.' Vic Roads info It all goes on the overall rolling diametre of the tyre used, the old 2" greater rule is a myth I'm afraid. When I was getting my wheels & tyres I worked out that my 265/35/18's were just under the legal limit so I'm not liking your chances running legal 19's. cheers, Tim p.s. bad news ZeDHeD!
Yeah, that has to be taken into consideration too, but I was told that by a guy a VicRoads over the phone...as for 19's not having much chance of being legal...well it was hard, but I managed to find a set that were....but that set retailed at $2400!!!! rubber only....good thing for me was I had rik (roi) come to the rescue...my fronts are 3mm within and my rears are dead on 15mm larger....I had to get my whole speedo recalibrated so it would show the correct speed for me...
Re-calibrated?? Where did you get this done Andrew?? & how much?? Once I get this damaged rim issue sorted out!......... re-calibrating the speedo is the next headache I need to take care of!
call vic roads. They should cover it. Ive heard heaps of pothole stories. If they tell you no, ask them to send you out a NOTICE OF INCIDENT report. takes 15mins to fill out and a cop or someone to sign a stat dec. They will tell you no on the phone obvisouly cause they are paid to tell people to GGF, hence the written letter stated above. GL!
Worth a try! Thanks for the advice! I'll get some pics of the road where it happened first & then give them a call??
yeah get photos of the pot hole before they fix it. if possible get the photos with a date stamp on them.. and photos of your car, with the bent rim.. try and ring but it's better if you go in because they cant tell you to ggf to your face.. this happened in townsville to a mate of mine, and he got a new rim from it.. you just need to be persistent with the council.. but i'd be getting that photo before they fix it! or you'll get nothing..
If it were me I would have gone straight into the contractors site and speak to the safety officer on site or their community relations officer. Your best chance of getting it fixed is with them. Don't bother with the council. I work for a contractor and we have to pay people who vehicles are damaged as a result of our works. Don't leave it too long either. For anyone else in this situation act immediatley.
Yeah, no worries, it was a place in ringwood (fairly close to Eastland Shopping Centre) I think their name was Ringwood Speedo's or something like that. I'll have to look through my receipts...I was put through to them from Adamzx Basically need to be able to remove your cluster so they can attatch some wires, and yeah, not too hard! All done in 4 hours, ie went shopping at Eastland Ended up spending too much there though lol
