So this happened to me this past weekend, I had the absolute worst road trip of my life in my B8 S4.

Miles driven: 720 From RVA to NYC and back

Occupants : Me and my two daughters (12 & 10)

Issues: Well, I was driving to Queens NY for a friends baby christening (I am the Godfather) and once I got off the Verrazano Bridge I hit a pothole which was deep and when I got to the hotel I saw that I had a split, right on the seem on the sidewall . Well I just bought the tires on Jan 18th 2019 and they had maybe 400 miles on them prior to the trip so they were pretty New (Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+). Well I made it to costo the next morning and they were going to replace it but they could not get the tire the same day. So they put the Spare on and I had to wait. Fast Forward to the Christening. I needed to drive the car, not a fan of driving on a spare for long, but had no choice. I went to the church and party afterwards where I left about 9pm to head back to the hotel which was about 9 miles from the church. Well as I drove onto the Nassau Expressway I blew out the drivers side tire, I still do not know what I caught to completely deflate the tire but it happened. So I am on the side of the road and I put the other damaged tire back on so I could get back tot he hotel and still make it to costco (Still under 50 total miles to all locations) Well this is where is gets interesting, It is dark and rainy and I start to pull off to as I take a side road to continue my journey I caught yet another pothole. This one really shook me as all I saw on the road was what I thought was just standing water not a cave. This hit actually separated the spare tire from the rim and bent the rim pretty substantial. Now at this point it is about 1am and I am on the side of the road with multiple flat tires. On a side road where I do not have a true clue where I am. Now with my girls in the car they are now getting more annoying and scared at the same time. And I called my friend and he came out as I called my insurance company to get situated with a tow. Well While on the phone my insurance co, I had my friend drive the girls to the hotel so they could stay warm and be in a safe location and he would stay with them until I got close with the car. Well the ins co says it should be about 25-35 minutes for a tow to show up. Well at 45 minutes they are telling me that they are having a hard time finding an available company. After 70 minutes ( I was counting) they called and said it will be approx 90 minutes before they get the tow there. Well to my surprise it was only 20 minutes (looked like a win) and the guy asks me about the accord...I am dumbfounded I said no it is an Audi not an accord and he tells me that he wouldnt be able to help me since it was not the car that he was told to pick up. I was floored so I called my insurance comp and asked them to fix the paperwork and after 23 minutes they tell me that my car does not have towing available. I said why not? When I bought this car I just added it to the policy and the only change I made was the ded down to $250 from $500. Well the tow guy said he could tow me but it would be cash. I asked how much and he gave me $225 which I said heck no since ins would pay 75 and I would have to pay $52 on top of that. We agreed to that price and he started to load my car... Now if you are still reading I am gonna guess that you know something else may come of this.... well as he loaded me down and strapped the rear down he went to tighten the slack on the front hooks where I hear the sound of a sheering bolt....I am like WTF he stops and releases the tension and off pops the end of a bolt with nut attached. He tries to give me the ohh that muct be from another car and I am like are you effing crazy we both heard that sound you had the bed at a angle which anything on it would slide down and the fact that my damn Leveling sensor is now hanging under where it is supposed to be connected...I was heated, One damn job load my car in one piece not brake it cause you dont give 2 sh!!!!ts. He is not sincere in his apology tries to play it off like ohh I can take you to a shop and they can weld it for you...I was like MFer was that shit welded to begin with? do you see any weld there, NO you dont. I was heated but it is now well after 2am and I have not slept but 3 hours over the past 2 days. I get into the cab and he hands me a card to his boss and says give him a call they will fix it and it just may take a few days to get it in. ( I was leaving Monday morning, this was Sunday/Monday already) I was like fine I call him and have him pay me for the part and install. Well I get to costco and drop off the car and he takes a picture of the damage and apologizes in the most insincere way possible. I am annoyed but trying to keep my composure, I wanted to knock his ass out right where he stood.

Well I get back to the hotel and I am so stressed that I could not sleep and I needed to call costco at opening to make sure they could order the 2nd tire. I wake up each hour on the hour and finally just stay up from 7am and call them. They put the order in and now I need to worry about the timing to get the tire as my girls have school and I have work today and my son is home alone as my wife had to go to DC for work monday morning. Now my other worry is not just getting home (rental, airfare, train or bus) if my car could not be fixed. Well I spent the entire day stressed until Costco let me know at 445 that my car was ready and my rims where not bent (finally a win) I walk over to the costco and grab the car and go back to the hotel who was gracious enough to let me check out at 2 instead of 11 due to the situation and they held onto my luggage so I could walk over to grab my car ( by the way I have a broken foot so walking has been labored)

During my wait I call the tow company and get with the manager and of course they want to take no responsibility since they could not be sure they did it. Now the driver took a picture of the damage yet I screwed up by not making him text it to me to show a time stamp and such. They are like we like to see the car before but they would not be available after 430 witch I said I could not guarantee getting my car from costco. He says you should have brought it to our shop first and we could have fixed the tires too. I said I have roadside with the tires so no cost so would you have matched that? He laughed and said no i am here to make money... I just ended the call with I will be sending you the bill for the part and he said yeah sure. I know this will not go anywhere but I plan on reaching out to my insurance company as well to let them know this happened and see what they can do. They do have a record for the event...

Well I got home at all most 1am and I passed out as soon as I saw my bed and of course I overslept as my girls did, My son being the 16yr old I once was never thought to see if anyone was awake. So I was late to work and my girls late to school which my wife gets the text this afternoon that we were late and is annoyed with me but after I tell her the whole story (she only knew about the first tire and not the other 2) She was more annoyed that I didnt tell her but I did not want her to stress and take that to work and her conference as well as she couldnt do anything to help all it would be is more questions that I would need to answer...

So my story is over for now. Just ordered the part and will plan on getting it installed asap, for now the car sits.

Moral of the story
1. Dont drive on the Belt Parkway or in Brooklyn/Queens in the winter.
2. Make sure you have towing on your insurance also I ordered AAA with the 200 mile tow package just in case.
3. If you have to get towed and they eff up your car have them document and send you pics and such to establish the timeline and such
4. No more 3 day road trips with over 6 hours drive time


I do need to say the the Tire guys at the Westbury Costco are by far my unsung heroes as they were able to order and get the tire in and as soon as it did they worked on my car. I still owe them some of that $10 pizza or $1.50 hotdogs for lunch since they dont take tips.

Now I am going to sleep but hell if you have a similar situation or one better let me know I would be interested.