Rear wheel smacked

sassy_one

Hi
After some basic advice given all garages are closed now until next week.

Yesterday night going around a roundabout at around 30 mph, rear wheel slipped and I managed to get it back but not before it took a large impact with the kerb.

Instantly traction light came on, ABS and tyre pressure fault (not low pressure).

Tyre isnt flat, alloy looks okay besides scuffing.
However the front have of the wheel is bent outwards, with the rear part of it still pretty normal looking.
Car wont drive in a straight line and tyre isnt flat on the floor.

Car is front wheel driven.

I havent taken the wheel off as its only just been recovered.

What am I looking at worst to best case on this? Silly question, but need to weigh up it all asap for likely solutions 

matt_drummer

You don't say what car it is.

If it is is an exotic supercar, then it will probably cost many thousands to fix.

If it's a banger then not so much.

It sounds like the kerb managed the slide rather than you though

How can the wheel look ok apart from scuffing if it is bent outwards at the front and not at the back, that means the wheel is bent, surely?

It will be a wheel and at least one tyre, a beam axle, or suspension parts if not a beam axle, possible floorpan damage.

How could anybody guess the cost with the information you have given?

caprikid1

matt_drummer said:

You don't say what car it is.

If it is is an exotic supercar, then it will probably cost many thousands to fix.

If it's a banger then not so much.

It sounds like the kerb managed the slide rather than you though

How can the wheel look ok apart from scuffing if it is bent outwards at the front and not at the back, that means the wheel is bent, surely?

It will be a wheel and at least one tyre, a beam axle, or suspension parts if not a beam axle, possible floorpan damage.

How could anybody guess the cost with the information you have given?

Sounds like a lower arm is buckled, depending on the car , repaired by a garage expect about £150 - £250 plus tracking, doubt the wheel survived the though.

Car_54

sassy_one said:

However the front have of the wheel is bent outwards, with the rear part of it still pretty normal looking.

If you drive forward a few feet, the front of the wheel will be ok.

fatbelly

I doubt the wheel has survived that, though the tyre might be usable. Getting the suspension components straight again is where you will need a garage who can do tracking.

I had a similar episode with an Octavia - managed to sort it out cheaply to the point where everyone else said it was fixed. It never felt the same to me.

Sold it at that point

sassy_one

Alloy doesnt look cracked, just scuffed not sure how its not done more damage to it.

The lefthand part of the wheel looks visually level, the righthand part however is severely bent outwards, around 3/4" at a guess. 

The car is a VW Passat. It has active adaptive suspension, and adaptive chassis control.


I cant get it looked at anytime soon so I guess I'm trying to gauge the level of possible damage / cost if its worth repairing or moving on.
My concern is ive read it can knock the chassis out of alighnment and it would be a right off.
Car value is only £6k and I dont want to make a claim on insurance.

I do have breakdown warranty but theyve said they only cover engine and gearbox not suspension parts.

Would floorpan damage be detectable if I check boot floor? 

Ive never had this happen before just surprised of the damage taking only doing 30 and the alloy isnt cracked / tyre isnt flat, seems the bigger parts have taken the impact more

matt_drummer

1.6 tons travelling at 30 mph is a lot of energy.

Today's cars are so quiet and comfortable that 30mph feels like nothing, you wouldn't want to get out of it at that speed! Try looking out of the side window as a passenger travelling at 30 mph, it's moving quicker than you think.

It won't be the boot floor, it will be the suspension mounting points that could have moved.

The wheel is soft alloy, it will bend a lot before it breaks.

You can't claim on a warranty for self inflicted damage.

A wheel is round, it doesn't have a left hand, if you turn it it could be the top, the bottom or the right hand side.

It's bent along with other stuff by the sounds of it.

It needs checking and assessing properly.

subjecttocontract

Have you tried fitting the spare wheel ?

WellKnownSid

sassy_one said:

Ive never had this happen before just surprised of the damage taking only doing 30 and the alloy isnt cracked / tyre isnt flat, seems the bigger parts have taken the impact more

30mph means that you are travelling 13.5 metres every second - in a piece of metal weighing one and a half tonnes.  That's a lot of energy...

sassy_one

I havent tried changing the wheel for the spare, is there much point 

True, I guess what I need to decide now is how far I go with it.

Control arm ive been quoted on supply and fit but all the lights came on soon as it happend.
If its more than control arms am I right in saying its going to start getting expensive?
Am I right any decent garage wont replace one side only either, and want to do both rear points?

The wheel is out one side 3/4" so its not minor movement. 

elsien

I don’t think damage caused by slamming into a kerb would count as a breakdown anyway would it?