Somebody is going to pay for this and it sure as $hit aint gonna be me

[mholme]

It's hard to tell in the pictures, but the crater in the road is pretty significant. Luckily, I was only a block from home when I hit it and the oil level light came on as I turned onto my street. Most of my oil was left on the neighboring street.

[Turbwhistle]

Why is someone else going to pay? Did i miss something?

[bigern45]

^lemme know how that goes. good thing you were close to home..

[Kruat]

wow, thats shitty. I know your upset, as I would be to, but good luck getting it paid for. At least you most likely didn't seize the engine.

[Anthony]

Oh my!

At first I thought it was burnt rubber...until the last few pics.

Does the first pic show the part of road that caused the damage? Hard to tell.

[Gujuhammer]

Quick get some O neg. STAT!..She's bleeding out.

[mholme]

Yes it's a bad picture of the dip in the road. I'll get some better pictures in the daylight. MD has policies in place for reimbursement for vehicle damage for poorly kept roads, I've used it before without issue, it's just that there is new home construction that they dug up the road for and is sunken badly now. So it's more of a question of who's responsible, the builders or the county. I have pictures of the construction that I didn't post, that I will submit in the claim as well.

[Turbwhistle]

I always wondered what to do if you hit something in the road that causes car problems, i should look that shit up. I hope you get everything fixed asap.

[VT-TT]

Isn't there some type of clause that would put the fault on you for having a lowered car? I hope it works out in your favor, but I remember somebody who did something similar and he lost the case because his car was lowered aftermarket.

[Elliott]

QUICK! Put on your stock springs and delete this thread!

[jriddle11]

That sucks! I hate to say this but you are going to have difficult time getting the city to pay for the damage.

Keep us dated on how it goes, good luck!

[8520]

I hate to be the guy that says it, but do you not know how to drive a lowered car?

[bigern45]

well. if thats the case, im going to have the city replace all of my control arms and ball joints, and 3 bent wheels...


just saying.. : / ... had a buddy try to get reinbursed for a bent rim. 6 months of fighting and no cigar..

[dumpedb5]

I have a buddy that got a grand for cracking his oil pan.

[jasonsowers]

I have cracked 4 oil pans of 3 of my 4 b5's no one is to blame. You should have slowed down.

You can buy a used pan for about 30.00.

[CC Lemon]

Isn't there some type of clause that would put the fault on you for having a lowered car? I hope it works out in your favor, but I remember somebody who did something similar and he lost the case because his car was lowered aftermarket.

I would assume that it would come down to whether or not he meets inspection requirements. I'm guessing there are some cars that are at a similar ride height in stock form, so I'm sure he could easily make a case.

well. if thats the case, im going to have the city replace all of my control arms and ball joints, and 3 bent wheels...


just saying.. : / ... had a buddy try to get reinbursed for a bent rim. 6 months of fighting and no cigar..

I was actually going to bring up reimbursement for bent rims... I've heard of quite a few cases of people being compensated for rim damage that was the result of poorly kept roads. Since the responsibility for road maintenance in any area is different than the next area, the results of reimbursement requests can vary just as much. Depending on the area and the amount of evidence you can provide, it's not unreasonable to expect some compensation.

Based on the pictures here, it seems pretty reasonable for him to see some reimbursement. I'd probably try to get a ground level shot to show how big the difference is between the 2 levels and maybe even attempt to measure the difference.

[Turbo Nerd]

Ouch, this reminded me when my rod decided to fly out of the block.... left the same battle scars on the road lol.

[mholme]

Alright guys, comments welcomed and everyone is going to have their opinions, so I'm fine with that. Like I said, I've had experience with this kind of issue and not had a problem, nor have people I've told about it for their own claims. We'll just have to wait and see. I'm not looking for some big pay day or anything, just would like the road and my car fixed, which typically you pay for and they reimburse you.

I just got back from taking more pictures and there was a guy in a completely stock Chevy Malibu, out of his car after going down into the same section of road, inspecting his car for damage, so this isn't an issue of "driver error" on my part. Not every state or county is going to have the same laws, so I can see why some are sceptical. Again, we'll see what happens.

[bOOOOstedAudi]

has deff happened to me before.

[kbjy11]

if you are lowered, skid plates are a MUST for this car..

Saved my ass a couple times already.

[highPSI-S4]

Ouch, hopefully you get some type of reinbursment and the road gets fixed.

[mikehawk666]

I have cracked 4 oil pans of 3 of my 4 b5's no one is to blame. You should have slowed down.

You can buy a used pan for about 30.00.

jasonsowers needs to learn how to avoid cracking oil pans or slow down on the PBRs. 3:43am what?

[Zephyr7]

Ouch, that looks horrible. Good thing you took pics.

[airjawed]

I had major damage to a 2001 Volvo S60 due to improper road repairs. The car was stock but is naturally very low. The subframe was completely bent and it broke a few motor mounts. This was in Manhattan on a narrow one way street with poor lighting. The road was being repaved and a manhole opening was sticking out a good few inches and had a dip in the road right before it... this lead to my car coming to a complete halt from 15mph instantaneously. This had been happening all evening to many cars.

I made a police accident report and made my way to the city office that handles this type of thing. The city actually was going to pay out $1000 but the car insurance company said not to take it and that they would handle it. Very long process and lots of hassle later the insurance company only gave us $500 back which left us $500 short after the deductable and repairs were done.

My point is that sometimes this can be a complete pain and you don't always get fully reimbursed. Some neighborhoods are better with this than others so good luck to you.

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

Ouch! That's a pretty serious ledge!! Was there any sign that says "dip" or "bump" ahead? Usually that's a big factor. Make sure to take pictures of whether or not any signs were posted about the changing road conditions.

Just for reference a new Genuine VW/Audi oil pan runs about 200 bucks!

Good luck! I hope they take care of you!

Jason

[S4 00 2.7]

Ouch. Hope they take swift action.

[S4PSSST]

Shit man...call your insurance company maybe they can help with the claim, if it was a businees entrance then maybe you may have a case...goodluck

[Dutchsider]

Not sure how it works in MD but I recall in '07 for H20 they had a bunch of construction going on and many drivers had damaged cars and were reimbursed for damages.

In PA there are a bunch of things that are required for the township or state to be at fault. Most of the time it is next to impossible unless it was something drastic.

[wheel366]

I bent 3 rims in NJ. All three times I tried to file with the state and all three times I failed. They said they need 30 days after reporting the pot hole for it to be fixed. There was no way to prove that these were or weren't filed previously. One of the rims was actually bent in 3 spots. All on city or interstates.

[mholme]

Small update: I contacted public works and they put me in contact with the contractor's insurance provider for work done at the site to file a claim. The crater has been filled as of tonight...

[Dutchsider]

Nice update. I really hope that you get compensated.

[Gujuhammer]

That was quick.

Can see your carnage is still in the street...Hope everything works out.

[airjawed]

I bent 3 rims in NJ. All three times I tried to file with the state and all three times I failed. They said they need 30 days after reporting the pot hole for it to be fixed. There was no way to prove that these were or weren't filed previously. One of the rims was actually bent in 3 spots. All on city or interstates.

Are you running with low tire pressure? I've been struggling with low pressure vs normal pressure... I live in NJ and I get annoyed at pot holes so I would prefer lower air pressure for the smoother ride but then I might bend a rim and of course have bad traction and poorly worn tires. Either way stinks but I keep my air pressure normal since a bent/broken rim is gonna cost a lot to fix.

[AudiHolicS4]

Yea Mholme is right about the maryland law covering the damages... there was a huge pothole in the road in my neighborhood that actually bent one of my wheels and the state reimbursed me for a refurbished one...gotta love those MD roads!

[ThirdStrike]

Yes it's a bad picture of the dip in the road. I'll get some better pictures in the daylight. MD has policies in place for reimbursement for vehicle damage for poorly kept roads, I've used it before without issue, it's just that there is new home construction that they dug up the road for and is sunken badly now. So it's more of a question of who's responsible, the builders or the county. I have pictures of the construction that I didn't post, that I will submit in the claim as well.

Good luck with that.
If your car is lowered I wish you extra luck..



They told me to kick rocks when I submitted claim for damage because of a construction pothole

[VMRWheels]

It's really hard to tell in pics, but I can see how it could have happened. Good luck.