Flat Tire - Pot Hole

kburnell

Member
Hit a big ass pot hole tonight in Portland on Riverside Street and got a flat. Any chance I can invoice the city for the repair? Anyone have any luck with something similar?

 
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Major State road, NO. City streets, possibly. Call the town and find out, some have no problem others make a big deal out of it.

 
Check for bent rims and blown struts, too man. If you have full coverage insurance, and you've got more than just a flat, they'll cover anything above $500 (or whatever your deductible is).

When I ran over the pintle hitch with my '06, my insurance company covered almost the whole thing... even 4 new tires (I reasoned that I couldn't simply replace only the 2 busted ones... I needed all 4 so they gave me money for all 4).

 
Just checked it out...bent/scratched my wheel
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I sent an email to the city to find out how to go about getting it taken care of. If I don't here back by Tuesday I'll call them.

Does it look repairable or do I need to get it replaced? Anyone know how much a new one will cost from Subaru?

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the rim is over $350 and the tire is about $160 and hopefully it didn't kill the tpms sensor cause that is another $100 or so but you can usually the towns will pay for it so cross your fingers and give evergreen a call for a more detail price list on monday

 
the rim is over $350 and the tire is about $160 and hopefully it didn't kill the tpms sensor cause that is another $100 or so but you can usually the towns will pay for it so cross your fingers and give evergreen a call for a more detail price list on monday
Wow...hope the city picks up the tab LOL

Thanks for the info Gabe
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Do yourself a favor and go take a picture of the pothole and the location of it. Make sure to take multiple angles, showing landmarks and location. Do it before they fill it!

 
It doesn't have to be "big" actually... just the right angle, and the right edge... and you've got a bad wheel dent.

And deep, too.

 
Already took photos and video...thanks for the advice though
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Was showing the damage to my friend and noticed a big crack in the wheel as well. Guess I'll have to replace it
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Had the same thing happen to me this winter. Just bubbled a tire, but the town and state both said no friggen way to picking up the tab. Hope you have better luck. Dodge those damn things!
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why is it the city's fault you didn't see the pothole and drive around it?

OK so you hit a rock on a back dirt road and pop a tire, who you gonna sue for that? well rocks are part of life on back roads, just like potholes are in the city.

sorry you busted something on your car, so big deal, fix it and move on. the temptation to sue every time there's a problem is what is driving everybody's insurance rates thru the roof.

/personal responsibility rant
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We all pay state income, property and sales taxes to fund our government organizations who in turn plow, build and repair the roads we drive. The city of Portland is employed (yes, they are employed) by the citizens that reside there. As such, it is their responsibility to ensure a safe and reliable driving atmosphere for its citizens and visitors.

If they fail to provide the expected safety of their roads, they should be held responsible for the damages that ensue. Just like if an airline doesn't keep its aircraft maintained properly. You pay to ride the plane, and expect a certain level of safety. If that safety is not provided, and damages occur, the airline must pay for those damages (both physical and emotional loss).

/end Corporate Responsibility rant

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OK then, make sure to spread the lawsuit love because clearly there are more guilty parties than just the city roads dep't.

--sue Subaru for spec'ing super-low-profile tires on the rex that pop when driver hits stuff.

--sue Apple for making the iPhone so drivers are chatting instead of watching so that drivers hit stuff.

--sue Bridgestone for 45 series tires that pop when drivers hit stuff

--sue Enkei (or whatever OEM wheel mfr) for wheels that bend when drivers hit stuff

--sue Tokico or KYB for struts that get damaged when driver hits stuff

etc etc no doubt a lawyer could find several other culprits
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so if this same driver (purely a hypothetical example, not singling out OP or anybody else ok) overcooks a corner and slides off onto somebody's lawn, should they sue the homeowner for having the dangerous oak tree the car hit?

And Gawd help us out in the woods, there is Bad Stuff To Hit everywhere and nobody to sue if they fook up.
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I pay taxes too and like nice roads, but this does not change the facts: POTHOLES EXIST...this is why drivers have eyes, not to mention nice agile Scooobies that can dodge around like a jungle cat to miss stuff in the road.

 
I missed you DG...
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You are correct - I'm just playing Devil's advocate. It does come down to personal responsibility, but it does suck when you've driven over the same road day after day after day and one morning there's a pothole that wasn't their yesterday because of a washout or something similar.

 
from what i know about this situation: the city has X number of days to fix a pothole if deemed a hazard after a complaint. if said pothole is not fixed, city is liable.

to what extent and how the time works on it i don't know, this is just what i've been told.

and nigel it's pretty easy to say "oh just drive around it", but what about all the rain we've had? those things can be completely hidden. portland let's their roads go to s**t, half-ass the repairs, then lather, rinse, repeat annually. i hate driving on these roads every day, they're friggin awful

 
potholes are a PITA no doubt

last Friday evening, I was driving out Rte 52 in Lincolnville, a stretch of road I drive most days. saw a couple red lights in a strange place...it was taillights of a Nissan PU that had caught a wheel in a washout on side of road (which was marked with reflective red/white stripe sawhorse, BTW) and nosed over into the ditch. those taillights were no more than a foot above the road level, but connected to a 14-foot-long truck whose grille was smooshed into the bottom of the ditch.

the world is full of stuff we need to pay attention to. yeah this year's weather has been wicked on the roads. watch out for bad **** and go around it!

 
Hope it works out. Happened to my Dad a few weeks ago in Scarborough, cost over 800 bucks to get the wheel replaced. (E500) I told him to go back and take pictures but was too late, they filled it in. But insurance covered it, minus the deductable.

 
UPDATE

Just got notice from the city that they aren't paying for anything because they didn't know about the hole 24hrs prior to the accident. So I guess I'm not getting reimbursed...oh well
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