[EarlyDays]

SWMBO had her first drive in the M3 yesterday. Unfortunately, she hit a major pothole very hard. The bang was extraordinary.

When I stopped, I could see that the exterior lip of the n/s/f 20” alloy was dented which explained the vibration I could immediately feel having just had the wheel balanced. I’m amazed the tyre didn‘t burst.

Replacement or repair do you think?

 

[nicktyler]

You could get that repaired. Hopefully it is not worse or cracked on the inside edge.

prices

Our prices start from just £55 + VAT per wheel. We offer wheel straightening, welding, refurbishment in powder coated, diamond cut & polished finish.

www.fawheels.co.uk

 

[dk6780]

Sorry to see that.
As above it should be repairable if there is no other damage. However, I'd look at replacement on such a car. Repaired wheels are generally weaker and it's hard to get a perfect finish.
Have you considered suing the people responsible for the road?

 

[EarlyDays]

Thanks for your replies both and for the link @nicktyler.

I am concerned about the safety of a repair. I am considering claiming for it, there wasn’t really a way to avoid the hole.

Local wheel shop reckons about £200 because they must recoat them. I’m waiting on Tesla for a price on a new wheel. Can’t imagine that will be cheap.

 

[dk6780]

Pothole Claims

My local council has a stated policy of not paying out for potholes that have been in existence for less than 7 days, although they do make exceptions. Also beware who is responsible for the road - a number are Highways England.

£200 sounds very expensive - coating should be around £30 plus the cost of mounting tyre etc. plus the cost of the actual repair. If it is "just" rolling out a bend that should be a lot less, but if it is cracked then it sounds closer but that is a major reduction in strength going forwards.

 

[EarlyDays]

Thanks @dk6780, I shall shop around.

On another note, I just called Kwik-Fit about wheel alignment because they have the proper four-wheel, weighted, laser kit and I had a year contract for it on the old car. They said they wouldn’t touch a Tesla due to all the ‘advanced self-drive options’. Anyone have any experience of getting it done on a Model 3?

 

[dm57]

I would take a picture of the pothole if possible and send it to the relevant authority with a request for a claim form.
There repair team will be out within hours.
My son had a similar experience and pursued a claim with several other claimants it took ages but did get a payout eventually.

 

[EarlyDays]

In case it helps anyone else searching on wheel alignment …

The Tesla Service Centre quoted me £200 to do it. They said any garage with proper alignment equipment can do the job provided they have the correct settings.

I took it to a local shop that have been doing this for decades. They looked it up on their system and double checked with their vendor before starting work. Fee is proportional to the number of adjustments. In my case it cost £57. Maximum would have been £105. Technician said that the only thing unusual about the car was that all the adjustment points were shrouded with covers (presumably for aerodynamics) that they had to remove and refit.

Haven‘t had the wheels fixed yet, but the car already feels better than it ever has.