Reimbursement for pothole damage?

**JWSmythe** · 12-31-2009, 06:08 PM

I was curious if anyone knew about reimbursement for pothole damage in Florida. I tried to find info on it online, and found all kinds of stuff, but nothing relating to Florida, and nothing official.

On Dec 25th, at about 2am, I was driving home after dropping someone off. He was drunk at the bar, and I took him to his house. I didn't know the roads very well, so I was following my GPS. At one point, I felt a little bump, and heard the air blow out of both left side tires. I was only doing about 20mph.

I stopped, and saw that they were both flat. I was 10 miles from home, so I just limped there at 10mph.

The next morning, I shot this picture...

I wasn't sure what it was. I assumed something in the road, like broken glass or nails. I went ahead and ordered new tires. When they came in, I pulled the two wheels that were flat, to take them to get the new tires mounted. That's when I discovered this:

Both the front and back rims look exactly the same. I went to a few shops to see if I could get them fixed, and they told me no. {sigh} Now I have new rims on the way, but it'll be a few more days before they get here.

I was in an accident last February, and the shop took forever to find new replacement stock 17x9 wheels. Since getting replacement rims was out, I bought a set of 4 new aftermarket wheels. The shops all make a serious effort to find the stock wheels though. They just couldn't be had anywhere new.

I got 4 tires, since it was the two left side tires, and I didn't want to mix treadwear. Last time I put tires on, I only put on two, so the fronts were a little more worn than the backs. If I put the right side tires on the front, one side would be more worn than the other.

So, I'm out $1k ($400 for the tires, $600 for the rims). I wouldn't mind at all if the state picked up the tab for it, since it was a hole in their road that did it.

**cammed goat** · 12-31-2009, 06:20 PM

You have the right to go to the town and give the location where the blowouts happened and request to be reimbursed.

**jeffsWS-6** · 12-31-2009, 06:34 PM

well if your intrested in some new stock wheels from an 01 WS6 i have some for sale if you dont get reembursed. just havent posted them because i dont have 100 listings. pm if intrested. good luck on the reembursment.

**wooddaniel** · 01-01-2010, 10:00 PM

You can always try. Find out where it happened exactly, shoot pictures, and contact the city/county where it happened. If it was on a county or city maintained road they are responsible for putting warning signs up or fixing the roadway. If it was a private drive (one without a green road sign) they are not responsible for it. You may also be out of luck if you didn't file a police report when it happened so they may try to say that you are lying but the worst they can do is say no.

**JWSmythe** · 01-01-2010, 10:07 PM

It was a county or state road, so if I can find the spot, I should be able to shoot a pic of the spot.

I drove through there today looking. Nothing jumped out at me saying "THIS IS THE SPOT", but I guess if it had, I wouldn't have hit it in the first place.

There were a few candidates. I excluded some because they were on the wrong side, and I know which lane I was in.

I'll probably give it another shot tomorrow, and take a walk through to see if I can spot it.

**SAGGIN** · 01-01-2010, 10:09 PM

All I see is you jumping through a lot of hoops for something you might not even get back...worth a shot if you think it's worth the time.

**JWSmythe** · 01-01-2010, 10:12 PM

Well, the bill comes to $1,000, so a bit of hoop jumping is worth it. Even if they only want to cover half, that's still $500 back.

**SAGGIN** · 01-01-2010, 10:20 PM

Originally Posted by JWSmythe

Well, the bill comes to $1,000, so a bit of hoop jumping is worth it. Even if they only want to cover half, that's still $500 back.

Better get some estimates so you have proof your not fabricating the $1000. But those appear to be stock rims so even if they dont pay anything, you shouldn't be out too much...the tire(s) is messed up too?

**JWSmythe** · 01-01-2010, 10:49 PM

I'll have the receipts to show the total cost. I have the receipt for the tires already. The rims won't be in until this coming week, so I won't have that until I receive them.

It can be assumed, if the rim took enough of an impact to do that, the belts in the tire have been damaged too. Since I drove it home, I'm sure the sidewalls were destroyed, even though I drove at 10mph the whole way. At this point, it shouldn't matter, because we know the belts should have been damaged.

I ordered the tires from Tire Rack. I already went through the game of trying to source tires locally, and the prices are always outrageous. 4 P275/40ZR-17 Sumitomo HTR Z II ($86/ea before shipping) come to $394.76 with shipping. . The rims came to $610, with mounting, balancing, valve stems, and new lug nuts (since the stock lug nuts are ugly). So, my total when this is done is $1,004.76.

I've had Sumitomo HTR Z III's on there for a while, and were really happy with them. I'm broke (like everyone else these days), so I had to go a little cheaper on the tires. But hey, if they only want to cover 2 rims, that's still $300, which is a bit easier on my pocket.

When I was in the accident in February, a lady changed lanes into me at about 25mph, and bent both front wheels. Well, her car bent the right side one. The left side one bent when it hit the median. Her insurance company worked with the Chevy dealership, and they spent a month trying to source new rims, and finally did at $1000/ea. I know, they got ripped off. It's sad, one of the rims that got bent this time is one of the brand new ones. I did ask then if I could get the check for the rims, and do it myself. $2k would have bought a nice set of rims and tires.

The big part now is finding the damned pothole.

If I can get the county or state to pay something, I'll be happy. If I don't, it'll just be a little waste of my time, but not too much. A few letters and phone calls will hopefully do it. I was hoping someone here knew who to contact about it though. I think I'll end up spending more time trying to find out who to send the info to, than I will trying to collect.

**Z28_Driver** · 01-02-2010, 12:36 PM

Not sure about Florida. In Ohio you would be SOL. Good Luck in Florida. Maybe the nice weather will give them a better attitude.

**00LS12LS6Z28** · 01-02-2010, 04:46 PM

Probably should have called the cops before driving home, so at least you can get a claim number.....Don't know how much of a fight you can put up, since you drove home 10 miles after.....I guess just give it a shot. The worse the city/county can say is no.

**Spikito** · 01-02-2010, 08:02 PM

You can give it a shot. But the city is gonna say, prove it.

I've honestly never heard of this, but who knows, may work

**tatertot91** · 01-02-2010, 08:07 PM

It took you an hour to get home!
must have been a crappy ride home
Hope you get it all sorted out

**Spikito** · 01-02-2010, 09:29 PM

did you screw up the tires limping it home? im sure creasing the sidewalls didnt help

**JWSmythe** · 01-03-2010, 01:27 AM

Originally Posted by Spikito

did you screw up the tires limping it home? im sure creasing the sidewalls didnt help

I'm sure those two tires are trash now.

I had one tire go low while I was driving once a few years ago, because I drove over some glass somewhere in San Diego. Because I drove on it, it destroyed the sidewall. I didn't notice until I was on I-5 heading home. Even with plugs in the sidewall (I know, not a good idea) and 3 cans of fix-a-flat, I only make it a few more miles. I was told by the first shop that the tire was ruined because low profile tires do not like being driven on underinflated (i.e., flat) under any circumstances. That became obvious when I finally gave up. it was leaking all the way around the sidewall. I was staying in Los Angeles at the time, and had went down to San Diego for a day trip. It was less than entertaining for 4 people to ride home in a tow truck, from San Clemente to Glendale. I limped into 3 different shops who all said it'd be 3 days to get a replacement that would fit.

This time around, I assumed nails or glass ruined the tires, so I didn't really care about the sidewall. There is a nice groove where the rim was pushing on it though.

**JWSmythe** · 01-03-2010, 01:32 AM

Originally Posted by tatertot91

It took you an hour to get home!
must have been a crappy ride home
Hope you get it all sorted out

Yup, tell me about it. It happened at 2am, and I didn't make it home until 3am. I should have made that stretch of road in under 10 minutes. It also burnt up about 1/4 tank of gas, because of the extra drag, and the fact that I was driving in 1st gear the whole way. Anything over 10 mph was bouncing real hard. at 10mph, it was smooth, but pulled hard left. I had a bruise on one of my thumbs because of it. Shifting to 2nd gear simply didn't work as well as expected.

I moved the car back a few feet before I shot the pictures. I needed to move it up in the driveway, to where it was flat. It moved like I had the parking brake set, and was standing on the brakes. It did move, but it was anything but normal.

**tatertot91** · 01-03-2010, 08:16 AM

Ouch, well, like i said before
hope you get it straightened out

**wooddaniel** · 01-03-2010, 01:49 PM

I remember a thing in the newspaper here locally where a few deputies ran over a pothole and blew out some tires and bent some rims. About five of the guys hit the same pothole within the span of a week or so. Where it was in the road you couldn't really see it until you were right up on it. A civilian hit the same one and blew two tires and she got some money. Plus the county filled it in the next day. It didnt say how much $ she got in the paper but the least you can do is ask. Find the hole and take detailed pictures though.

**2000LS1Bird** · 01-04-2010, 02:59 PM

Driving on a public road is a priviledge not a right. That's why you have to have a license to do so.

We don't live in a perfect world from the future where little robots fly over the roadways and inspect them hourly for damage. Hell, I don't even live in a state that can afford to fix the roads (Oklahoma) period.

Pothole damage reimbursement?

That's the dumbest thing I've read all day on teh internets. Thanks!!

You know, Florida has its own Fark tag for a reason...

**JWSmythe** · 01-04-2010, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by 2000LS1Bird

Driving on a public road is a priviledge not a right. That's why you have to have a license to do so.

We don't live in a perfect world from the future where little robots fly over the roadways and inspect them hourly for damage. Hell, I don't even live in a state that can afford to fix the roads (Oklahoma) period.

Pothole damage reimbursement?

That's the dumbest thing I've read all day on teh internets. Thanks!!

Well, some places do it, which is why I asked.

And... We pay for our drivers license. We pay for our registrations. We pay road tax on fuel, which aptly named is to maintain the roads. If I can get some of my $1000 back, I'd prefer it. God knows I've paid my fair share into the taxes.

This is the first time in 20 years that I've had this kind of damage due to a pothole. Only once before was there any damage, and it just tore the sidewall on my van. Getting one take-off put on a beater is a whole lot cheaper than new rims and tires.