[sunny1974]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

The bent rim seen under torch light provided by the patrol guys
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The flat bed arrives finally
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And my beloved is somehow pulled onto it. They had to replace one of the tyres with the donut in the car (seen in the third pic).

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Finally a close up of the rear left tyre after it was switched with the donut.
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From the looks of it, the tyre still looks ok to me.

hey sorry to hear about your spoiler. these things do make you feel bad. Especially the 1st time. But let me tell you one good thing. After this you wont ever feel scared about other accidents or small damages in your other cars. Its like if you can take this in your stride then you can take anything.
Your rim seems to be quite bent which means there was a considerable force. probably some wrong angle etc. just get it changed with the insurance. Even the tyre. It will all be covered totally. Forget secure rims are covered even in usual zero dep insurances. Secure isn't anything special. most companies offer it these days. Even icici and axa etc. But few companies cover the expensive german cars.
When you take a claim you are relaxed for the rest of the year. Do not worry about the NCB loss. These cars always end up using a lot of money so you are lucky you have zero dep. I wont be worried being you but more worried being the insurance company after all they have to suffer. Just let them change everything. Tyre et all. Your tyre at 4000 km will probably have 7mm on the rear and 8 on the front. Which means you will get almost 100 claim. So get it especially if you have multiple nails. Your 10k ncb loss will translate into a 170000 loss for the insurance company considering you are changing the windshield , two alloys and the tyre.
You can blame it on anything its a combination of forces. Obviously the damage occurred when the car tyres went into different tangentials with the height difference and hit something hard too. like mentioned its the low profile tyres which do all this. I myself have hit potholes rocks etc and been lucky to survive them. though im sure someday the luck might run out. I still would believe in the runflats. The other day my wifes ecosport was hit by a E rikshaw and the the right front tyre got cut. there was also a front fender bumper damage. The alloy was slightly scratched. She said she didn't feel a thing when it hit the car and the damage looked bad. The tyre got cut and could have toppeled the car had it been speeding. So I still beleive in runflats.
luckily she was at a really low speed and the e rickshaw lost control and reversed into the main road driven by some learner. He admitted his mistake and was taken to task by the police. Paid some compensation to my wife though now a lot.I feel the only fair compensation is the ncb loss which one losses and id never take more than that to probably make that person remember their fault.
Insurance cost will replace the fender bumper and the wheel. So don't worry even wheels are covered under insurance if its an accident. its probably going to cost the company around 20k.
Lets hope you get the good news tomm that everything will be covered by the insurance. If not then insist on it. there are no two ways. Good luck.
And the thing to be learnt from this is not to overtake from the left as the trucker coudnt probably see your car there.Though accidents happen in all permutations n combinations but we should try to follow rules.

[prakhar1998]

The rim has taken quite a hit. Considering the situation you have described, seems like the alloys are very weak, and the RFTs too hard.
However, we do need to consider that the car was loaded, which might have exaggerated the brunt. Good that your family is safe.

I was wondering of buying the 3 for daily use (includes a monthly outstation run), but it's situations like this that keep me from taking this decision. Currently the Octavia is doing the duty, and quite well at that. It has run 140,000 kilometers without a hiccup. But then, it is very cramped and I think a little unsafe now, considering its 15 year old design.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by prakhar1998

The rim has taken quite a hit. Considering the situation you have described, seems like the alloys are very weak, and the RFTs too hard.
However, we do need to consider that the car was loaded, which might have exaggerated the brunt. Good that your family is safe.

There were 4 adults in the car including my sister with no luggage except the space saver. I am not sure if that can be called fully loaded. I know it was just bad luck. Now keeping my fingers crossed that the claim goes through tomorrow.

Ironically the Ertiga Taxi they came back in was being driven recklessly through all potholes and breakers with absolutely no damage to the car.

Special word of thanks for the highway patrol guys. They were really helpful and stayed with my family for close to 3 hours till the taxi and tow truck arrived. Dad tried paying them some money in return for there help but they flatly refused saying it was there job. Highly impressed.

Also a word of appreciation for the BMW Road side assistance team who were very helpful and methodical. They do not give you the number of the truck driver or the taxi driver but you have to call them everytime and they patch you through via conference call to the driver for any update that you might want. Overall my family was quite impressed with there dealing of the whole thing.

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

I know it was just bad luck. Now keeping my fingers crossed that the claim goes through tomorrow.

That is just bad luck and nothing else, we know the RFT's are hard and with these 50-55 profile tyres on 16-"17" wheels, its just a matter of time and luck that you hit that one pothole which results in a damaged tyre/alloy.

The alloy has taken a significant impact, maybe the jolt inside cabin was not much but it seems to have hit quite a deep pothole. These things can keep happening, encourage your father to forget this episode and enjoy the car once it is back, don't let this one experience spoil the ultimate driving fun. Just advice your dad to take it easy over potholes (am sure he does, just a wee bit more care), also next time when a tyre change is due, go for normal tubeless tyres which improve ride quality and also provide some relief to alloys and suspension.

Ironically the Ertiga Taxi they came back in was being driven recklessly through all potholes and breakers with absolutely no damage to the car.

, that holds true with with most indian manufacturer cars. It is a well known fact that all german cars have a little delicate alloys. The same Ertiga exercise can be done by your Innova or Altis but they can never match the driving pleasure of a german car, every car has its pros and cons.
Wish you all the best with your 3 in future.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

The same Ertiga exercise can be done by your Innova or Altis but they can never match the driving pleasure of a german car, every car has its pros and cons.
Wish you all the best with your 3 in future.

Driving pleasure where? In city limits you cant speed up. And on highways around Delhi other than Yamuna expressway there would be that occasional ultra well disguised pothole or speed breaker. Its not easy to spot those specially when you are doing digit speeds ( enjoying the car). So I am a little bit confused if this driving pleasure is really possible in the real world.

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

So I am a little bit confused if this driving pleasure is really possible in the real world.

No it is not, you can only speed up in these cars if you know the roads well. This is a part and parcel of owning such an expensive luxury car and i am sure you knew it beforehand. Our country does not deserves these cars but that topic is for a different thread. There is a reason why Fortuner at 27 L still sells so much when people can add another 2-3 L and go for a Q3 but they dont and the reasons are same as yours.

You are atleast getting good quality fuel so you took your car to Rajasthan (german luxury cars are sensitive to fuel quality as well ), i have some friends who own a superbike for which they spent 18-21 L and cant go out of Delhi as 97 Octane fuel is not available. An Audi Q3 or A4 may have survived this hit due to tubeless tyres and soft suspension but then you had tested Audi and rejected it.

These cars are not made for indian torture, and no other way than to change your drive style accordingly on bad roads, get all zero dep insurance, bmw secure you can and hope for the best.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Driving pleasure where? In city limits you cant speed up. And on highways around Delhi other than Yamuna expressway there would be that occasional ultra well disguised pothole or speed breaker. So I am a little bit confused if this driving pleasure is really possible in the real world.

Don't get depressed Doc, you are starting to sound like my wife. When I wanted to buy a BMW, she nicely pointed out that I don't even maximise the potential of our Superb - and agreed to let me rent nice cars on vacations abroad instead of buying one here. So I have had a Mercedes in Scotland, a Volvo on CA Route 1 etc but nothing fancy here. (OT)

But getting back to the point, these are minor mishaps that can happen to any car even with a careful driver. Frankly, I have seen even Innovas suffer rim damage on the kind of pothole that they normally would breeze through - its a function of the angle of contact and the laws of physics, so cheer up.

[arihant jain]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Don't get depressed Doc, you are starting to sound like my wife. When I wanted to buy a BMW, she nicely pointed out that I don't even maximise the potential of our Superb - and agreed to let me rent nice cars on vacations abroad instead of buying one here. So I have had a Mercedes in Scotland, a Volvo on CA Route 1 etc but nothing fancy here. (OT)

But getting back to the point, these are minor mishaps that can happen to any car even with a careful driver. Frankly, I have seen even Innovas suffer rim damage on the kind of pothole that they normally would breeze through - its a function of the angle of contact and the laws of physics, so cheer up.

Completely agree. Put this little bump in the past and approach the car with the same zeal you bought it with. It was a freak accident. Enjoy the drive... It's a fantastic piece of machinery and you are lucky to own one

[VeyronSuperSprt]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

They are still not sure if the tyre needs a replacement and will check tomorrow and tell.

Sorry to read about the incident.

Do note that tyres that have been subject to such a hit will have serious internal damage in the plys which will not be visible externally. Insist on having the tyres changed as high speed drives with a tyre that has suffered such a hit will be dangerous if not suicidal.

Regarding the specs, BMW has considerably softened the suspension in the India spec F30. RFT's are no more as hard as they used to be. Additionally your sidewall height is 123.75 which is amongst the highest for any sedan. After all this, for the rims to have been damaged so heavily it isn't a problem with any of the specifications of the car such as the suspension or the RFT's but factors external to the car.

And it isn't just a pot hole either but some metallic object such as a rock which has hit your rim hard unless the pothole was very deep. Unfortunately, you cannot take these cars off the road into a pothole at night at the end of an overtaking manouver and hope that everything will be okay. Whatever has been said, clearly this wasn't just another overtaking manouver and the pothole wasn't just another pothole.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

The bent rim seen under torch light provided by the patrol guys

Sorry to hear about the incident. But looking at the picture of the bent rim it does not look like a pot hole hit but rather the road shoulder edge coming in contact with the inside part of the rim. The inside sidewall of the tyre has scrape marks of the road shoulder and then the rims have taken a direct hit. The bend is quite pronounced.



I don't think this incident has so much to do with tyres being RFT but more to do with the lower profile of the tyres. Higher profile tyres are much better in protecting the rims in Indian Road conditions.

There's always a trade off between better driving dynamics and abuse friendly characteristics. We need to be a bit more careful about where we are putting our tyres with these Euro sedans. Yes at times its unavoidable and there's nothing much we can do.

[androdev]

Hey sorry to hear what happened. Thankfully everything went OK and you guys are all safe.

My guess is that the tarmac at the edge of the road ended like a "step" and not like a "ramp" so when left wheels went off the tarmac, the inner rims hit the tarmac. This has very little to do with RFT/suspension so don't lose trust in the road worthiness of your BMW.

Please don't take offence but really I would never travel long distance in the night that too with women on board. And that overtake manoeuvre is a pretty risky one. I am not sure other cars like Innova, etc. would have fared any better in the same situation.

Just treat is as a freak incident and enjoy the BMW, it is no more fragile than Innova. Except for better ground clearance, Innova has no other traits that make it structurally more road worthy than a BMW. I know you mentioned the same trip has been done by Innova without any issues but can you also share details regarding how both cars are driven. Most likely that Innova was driven very soberly, without taking much risks while BMWs are driven with an air of invincibility.

There is also this myth that German cars suffer rim/tire damages too often. There is nothing German about it and it has to do with alloy size, tire compound and profile, etc. If my car is going over a pothole, I definitely wish I was in a BMW and not a Corolla. I prefer my back to be intact and don't mind paying for new rim/tyre.

[nitinbose]

Hi drmohitg, I understand the pinch when something happens to your car. You may also try rim straightening which works out cost effective. A similar incident happened to me and I'd straightened my rim and it works like a beauty, though my rim damage was to a much lesser extent. The only thing we can or should do is to exercise caution while driving.

[drmohitg]

Yes it wasn't a pothole but the steep edge of the road. This is what I feel too. I know it was sheer bad luck and guys trust me, I am still very much in love with the car and the brand. Thanks for all the encouragement.

[vishalchaudhary]

Really unlucky situation, but awesome patrol guys

I know it is and a wrong comparison to make but..

If McDonald's, KFC, Domino's, Pizza Hut, etc. can tweak their menus to suit the Indian taste so as to make their brand the preferred one, is it really that expensive and unimportant for the German or even American manufacturers (Figo's hood opening lever is on the front passenger side) to modify their cars for the Indian market ?

It should be done atleast if the car is going to be manufactured in the country itself (figo example a case in point) and attempted in case the car is being assembled in the country (if possible) and if the manufacturer wants to be the market leader in the segment.

I mean these are the aspirational brands for Indians today and the no. of these cars plying on flatbeds rather than roads is quite appalling to say the least.

Well, I hope frequency of incidents like these becomes negligible soon.

[drmohitg]

So the claim has been passed for both the rims. I have decided to let the windscreen be like that only since the chip off is not growing. The claim for that had been passed too but the workshop people do not have the rain sensor in stock which would also need replacement with the windshield. Hence getting only the rims changed since I do not want the car to stay with them for long. According to them the tyres are all fine and no need of any change.