well if anyone in the bay area knows san francisco roads, they know that they're shitty as hell...

basically, i was driving home last night at 11pm, and it was late and i was tired, there was a truck double parked so i went around him, and by the time i saw the pothole, it was too late...so i just grabbed on and tried to swerve to the left...after i passed it, i pulled over and looked at my wheel..i noticed
-curbed wheel, VERY curbed
-damaged tire, sidewall is messed up

but i didn't have a camera or anything with me, so i just went home, this morning i went back to take pictures of the pothole so i can report it to the city and have my repairs reimbursed, the pothole was covered up!!! i couldn't believe it, i was so mad, but i still decided to take pictures of it

i got home and i looked at my wheel again, and i noticed the damaged wheel is actually sitting closer to the rear of the car than the other side, which is almost perfectly centered..the damaged wheel is about 1/2" farther back, so i bring it to an alignment shop, they put the car on the rack, and the guy goes under, and tells me right away that an alignment would do no good, my lower control arm is bent

i went to dealership to get price quotes for
-1 new lower control arm, passenger side
-1 new honda fit sport 15" wheel
then i went back to alignment shop
-i got a written estimate for labor to put on the new control arm + alignment
then i went to a local tire shop
-i got a written estimate for the same tires that are on the car right now, just 1 of them + mounting/balancing

total came out to be about 650 dollars in repair + labor

i call the city's pothole hotline and the guy tells me there was a work order for that specific pothole, and there have been numerous complaints about it before, they actually patched it up this morning at 7am, and he gave me a number to the claims hotline that i can report everything to, but the bad news is he isn't there till monday

here are the pics



even though it's patched, look at the size of the thing!!

BEWARE SAN FRANCISCO DRIVERS

 

Dude that sux, Sorry. F ing dpw.

 

Man, that really bites. So sorry!

 

Where do potholes come from anyway? I always wondered how they form.

 

Ouch!!! That is one damn BIG pot hole!! I can't believe the city left it untouched for so long! I can't believe there was no damage to the bodykit!

Anyway, just an FYI....you might wanna keep a disposable camera in your car for these particular moments. After my first accident, my insurance agent recommended this (along with a few sheets of paper listing "necessary info") and I've since never looked back....you can never be too prepared.

By the way, I hope you get a refund!

 

the underside of my front lip is all scratched up and stuff, but it doesn't really bother me since you can't see it unless your'e looking up from under the car...

 

Sorry about your tire, but thanks for the location of the pothole.

I think potholes in San Francisco come from broken water main pipes, causing
the water to cause a sinkhole. At least that's what happened on my
street. I could hear rushing water underneath and it was the
water main not the sewer/storm drain pipes.

 

Ahh the Sunset district. I live in the same 'hood too.

The damage that your car suffered doesnt seem to match up with the picture of the pothole. How fast were you driving?

 

damn sorry to hear that bro.... that just sucks man

 

I thought Ohio potholes were bad! Sorry about yout Fit! That's terrible. In Ohio, most potholes form this way: street crews throw down rock salt on the road for winter de icing, and the salt melts the ice and snow. The water from the melt soaks into cracks in the pavement and refreezes, then expands in the crack and begins to buckle the pavement. The snowplow then comes by with the blade down,catches the edge of the crack, and tears out a chunk of pavement. Then we hit it with our car wheels a couple thousand times and you get a potholes and damage. I would never use a wheel/tire combo here that is lower that 55 series sidewall for this reason...everyone I know that uses a 45 series loses a wheel each winter. I have 4 Civic steel wheels with Blizzak snowtires that I think are 65 series which I will put on my Sport next winter. I believe the offset, etc. is the same as the Fit. Can anyone confirm this?

 

That's terrible! I know how you must feel, 'cause potholes here in Boston are outnumbering the amount of street lights in the city. I would look into a wheel and tire warranty, if I were you. I got 5 years of coverage for $395.00, and it covers ANY type of damage to the wheel or tire. Whether it be a simple slow leak plug, due to a nail puncture, or a wild dingo nawing it to shreds. All replaced at no extra cost, including towing.

 

Sorry dude...

 

Totally agree and right on the money. I don't run low pro's during the winter do to price and why mess up a good set or rims. I run my tires for winter and run same size but yoks for the summer. Next spring I'll have new rims and tires for summer.

 

Claim that shiet! Usually CalTran or whatever municipal is pretty good about it.

 

i'm calling the DOT management on monday to talk to him about my claim, i'm not sure what's gonna happen, but no matter what, i'm gonna have to fix this, it's just wether out of my pocket or the city will reimburse me

 

I hate potholes. Around here, many cities have passed legislation removing any responsibility to damages caused to vehicles due to road conditions. Totally pathetic.

Good luck fighting the city, took my buddy over a year to win against the City of Ottawa due to a similar incident.

 

thats bad...but what i'd do is buy another rim and tire

 

that's the least of my worries, my lower control arm is bent slightly but enough to be seen by the eye...my rim still holds air and my tire is rotated to the back

 

I had a large 'posum run out in front of me (in freakin' north San Jose in the middle of town??) and I heard it hit twice under the car (whump whump!) but everything seems okay... I saw it rolling in my rearview mirror and then it stood up, so it must've not hit anything too hard or it wouldn't have stood up.

 

damn I guess just bring it to the body shop get an estimate for the city that u sue