Hit a pothole

yowen · March 31, 2014, 09:54:43 AM

I was in traffic and there was a big car next to me so I couldn't swerve far enough to avoid it. Bent my passenger side front wheel, instantly blew out all the air. Put on the spare, was at a friends house watching a basketball game and when I went home the rear also went flat, must have been a slow leak. So my car now sits at Fox Ford, to where I had it flat-bedded yesterday.

Called the insurance company, they tell me it's considered an at-fault accident, so I'd get hit with a 25% rate increase in 2015, so that doesn't really seem worth it...

Then I just read this article: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/01/1_in_7_pothole_claims_paid_by.html

So my odds of getting this paid out are roughly 14%, haha.

What do you guys think? I imagine my wheel is a goner since it has a dent? Should I be looking for a wheel(s) to buy rather than having the dealer put on new ones?

TSS · March 31, 2014, 10:18:34 AM

I would personally call one of those alloy wheel repair specialists first - just to see what they say. I have seen some incredible fixes that have lasted.

mval · March 31, 2014, 10:21:06 AM

yowen:
tss option is a good one. i think it really comes down to $$. with having to replace 2 tires & 1 wheel i'm sure getting a wheel from somewhere & tires local would be cheaper than a new set of wheels. i just did that but needed new tires & wanted to upgrade from 19" to 20" wheels. if you go new wheels approach had great luck with performanceplustires. website is best around, pricing was there, got them in 4-5 days perfect condition. machine balanced w/nitrogen unless you want tsw's, then i think you can get whole setup from autotire. would have done that if had gone w/tsw. love their wheels just love the vertini a little better on a white car.
the minus is the $$, the plus & you can ask dave as well, when you change the look of your car almost get that new car feeling again.
mikev

Joleat · March 31, 2014, 10:30:46 AM

I've never seen the roads in worse shape than they are this year. My entire commute is a swerving mess.

On a somewhat related note, several years ago, I pulled off the side of the road to turn my vehicle around. The area where I pulled off is state owned property, but was previously privately owned property and the owner had a service station there many moons ago. About 3/4 through my turnaround procedure, my front driver side wheel abruptly "fell through" the ground. I heard an immediate hiss. I put the vehicle in reverse and backed out of the hole. Sure enough, the tire was shredded. Thankfully, the wheel was fine. I installed my spare and went on my way. The next day, I contacted the appropriate department to inform them of the massive hole in the ground and they told me that one of the old in-ground fuel tanks had probably caved in. You think? Anyway, to make a long story short, I would have had to take off work and go to court in order to be reimbursed. The silver lining is that I had been planning to buy aftermarket wheels and larger tires anyway, so I used the incident as an excuse to buy that stuff!

I'm still ticked that they didn't offer some form of assistance. A simple $50 would have made me at least feel a little better. It wasn't enough to cover the cost of a tire, but seriously, you left an old, in-ground, fuel tank unfilled? What?!

yowen · March 31, 2014, 10:48:40 AM

well... Ebay has remanufactured wheel on there for $150, shipped to me by Friday, wheel repair company in town says they'll charge $100 to repair, or free if they can't, but can't do that till Friday either.

As for the tires still waiting to hear what the situation is with those (I have the RSA2's).

So if the tires are replaced and I get the wheel fixed one way or another on Friday, would 10 to 20 miles on the donut hurt the car? I know I can borrow my uncle's car till wednesday, as he is out of town. But I'd possible need the car on Thursday/Friday to get to work.

MDesign Performance · March 31, 2014, 10:58:02 AM

The car will turn off AWD due to the spare and you should be fine. Keep scouring eBay, I got a 20" OEM wheel with TPMS for $150 shipped off eBay. Id rather have a new/never damaged wheel than a repair if the difference is only $50 as the wheel is a key component of how the car drives/handles.

Might also want to check car-part.com for local junkyards.

yowen · March 31, 2014, 11:06:20 AM

THe one I found for $150 on ebay was remanufactured. No telling what its history is...

I'll check car-part, thank you.

BiGMaC · March 31, 2014, 11:52:49 AM

Quote from: Spartn27 on March 31, 2014, 10:58:02 AM
The car will turn off AWD due to the spare and you should be fine. Keep scouring eBay, I got a 20" OEM wheel with TPMS for $150 shipped off eBay. Id rather have a new/never damaged wheel than a repair if the difference is only $50 as the wheel is a key component of how the car drives/handles.

Might also want to check car-part.com for local junkyards.

Good advice!
The SHO wheel is a one piece wheel... If it's dented fixing it may also weaken it. Like any metal, bend it back and forth and eventually it breaks... Grinding can change the wheel's weight reference point where balance may be difficult or impossible as all tires and all wheels already have a "heavy side".... Even with new factory we had this issue on my wife's truck and they had to dismount the tire twice, rebalanced in a different mounting rotation each time to get it right (earlier attempts just moved the speed at which the shaking occurred)... it is also of note that this referencing must be requested in most shops as it is not a part of a routine spin balance.

SHOdded · March 31, 2014, 12:01:33 PM

More ... sidewall ... needed

Lots o' potholes around here as well, had to complain 10 times to get one LARGE one fixed. They are prompt at patching, which caves & caves, they re-patch, ... Finally fixed it right. Couldn't even see this one coming off a circle. Had a choice of getting 1 wheel stuck or 2 depending on position in lane!

Hope you can get the county/state to pay up, yowen!

yowen · March 31, 2014, 12:16:28 PM

Quote from: SHOdded on March 31, 2014, 12:01:33 PM
More ... sidewall ... needed Lots o' potholes around here as well, had to complain 10 times to get one LARGE one fixed. They are prompt at patching, which caves & caves, they re-patch, ... Finally fixed it right. Couldn't even see this one coming off a circle. Had a choice of getting 1 wheel stuck or 2 depending on position in lane!

Hope you can get the county/state to pay up, yowen!

Thanks! I hope so too. I plan on getting lots of pictures to them, haha. It'll be the city that'll have to pay... If they do. My best chance is if it's a pothole they've already been notified of by someone else.

yowen · March 31, 2014, 12:19:20 PM

Quote from: BiGMaC on March 31, 2014, 11:52:49 AM
Quote from: Spartn27 on March 31, 2014, 10:58:02 AM
The car will turn off AWD due to the spare and you should be fine. Keep scouring eBay, I got a 20" OEM wheel with TPMS for $150 shipped off eBay. Id rather have a new/never damaged wheel than a repair if the difference is only $50 as the wheel is a key component of how the car drives/handles.

Might also want to check car-part.com for local junkyards.

Good advice!
The SHO wheel is a one piece wheel... If it's dented fixing it may also weaken it. Like any metal, bend it back and forth and eventually it breaks... Grinding can change the wheel's weight reference point where balance may be difficult or impossible as all tires and all wheels already have a "heavy side".... Even with new factory we had this issue on my wife's truck and they had to dismount the tire twice, rebalanced in a different mounting rotation each time to get it right (earlier attempts just moved the speed at which the shaking occurred)... it is also of note that this referencing must be requested in most shops as it is not a part of a routine spin balance.

Yeah, I'm going to call around to a few wheel repair places still. It could potentially be the quickest way to get me back on the road. It's that or having a wheel shipped next-day-air.

yowen · March 31, 2014, 01:49:10 PM

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20x8-Ford-Taurus-SHO-Factory-alloy-wheel-Rim-5-lug-39mm-offset-fits-2010-2011-/221192240783#shpCntId

How does this look to you guys?

In the picture the wheel looks kind of dark, do you think it's just the picture?

Perhaps this one is a better bet? (the first one looks almost too good to be true):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-11-12-FORD-TAURUS-WHEEL-20X8-ALUM-SHO-5-SPLIT-SPOKES-/170944175438

bpd1151 · March 31, 2014, 02:23:59 PM

Check the parts/sales section here on our boards.....

I think I recall a couple of ads posted in there for rims or tires, or both.

Worth a shot.

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SHOdded · March 31, 2014, 02:55:20 PM

The wheel in the first listing looks good, yowen. The shading is probably due to the bright background or non-studio setup. The feedback is also pretty awesome, only 1 negative in last 6 months.

yowen · March 31, 2014, 03:28:26 PM

I went for it the dealer found a used one for $480... It's a little better than $780, but still way more money, at that point I may as well go for TSW's

Ended up going with the first ebay link, wheel happened to be in Michigan too! So I'll have it tomorrow