[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Of course switch to the space saver and drive the car home. There is no limit on the distance with the spare, it will last as long as a normal tyre.

Shows how stiff the runflat walls are. All the damage went to the rim. I have a hunch that the runflat will be cracked too, maybe from the inside.

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I just googled about it and on a few links it says that a space saver's life is around 70 miles although people have claimed to use it for much more than that. The tow truck and taxi are half an hour away now. The highway patrol guys are really helpful and there is mini tea party that has started there now. 3 personnel from the patrol and parents, sister and grandmother.

Since the truck has almost reached, isn't it better then to let it be towed to the workshop? If you are 100% sure that the space saver has only speed limit and no distance limit then I would really like to use that. No mood to hand over my car to tow truck people without anyone to supervise the car when it reaches and even on the way to Delhi.

[drmohitg]

Update

The flat bed and the taxi reached quite fast. I expected them to take more time. Also they had the sense of sending an Ertiga and not an indica or something since there were 4 passengers. Dad was quite tired by the time and hence we decided that we will not risk it and rather let the car be towed.

The car was dropped off safely at Bird Auto's gurgaon workshop. They have already called dad in the morning and told him that both the left side rims have got bent. Also the left rear tyre has some nail in it ( might be at some previous point). They are going to evaluate the car for anyother damages and then start the claim process.
Few questions I have:

1. Is alloy damage covered by Insurance? I have 0% dep insurance from Icici + BMW secure. My friend's new C class had gone in a pothole a few months back and his car also suffered 2 bent alloys. Mercedes and bajaj allianz ( in his case) refused to cover it under insurance and they had to pay from there pocket.

2. If the insurance claim is processed and then my car had also suffered a chip off on the front windshield due to a pebble a few months back. Its a small chip off ( around the size of 1x1 cm) with no crack or anything. Does it not make sense to get the windshield also changed then at this time only?

3. The rear left tyre apparently has a nail in it. Should I opt for a new tyre under BMW secure or just repair the puncture? There are contradicting views on how much the customer has to bear under BMW secure for a new tyre. Some say fora 4000km run car it will be 100% born by the BMW secure whereas another friend was apparently asked to pay close to 25% cost + Rs. 2500 processing charges on his 320d which then doesn't make sense.

4. Coming to the last question. Are the alloys of these German cars really so weak? The car was doing 2 digit speeds when this happened. The height difference between the road and the gravel alongside isn't too much ( the car didn't scrap its bottom to give you an idea). Still both the rims suffered damage. Similar thing happened with my friend's Mercedes C class where his dad was driving from Delhi to Chandigarh and car went through a small pot hole and 2 rims got damaged. I have seen people easily taking there cars on the gravel while overtaking on those 2 lane highways sometimes or to let an oncoming bus/truck pass. Also during Jams so many people take there cars ranging from hatchbacks to Innovas on the gravel to overtake the jam from the left side. Even my own Innova and Altis would have gone over multiple potholes etc. But no damage to an alloy has ever occurred. So is it only because of my bad luck or something to do with quality? I do not buy the RFT being hard logic because my friend's C class has regular tubeless tyres and even that suffered the same fate.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Update

4. Coming to the last question. Are the alloys of these German cars really so weak? The car was doing 2 digit speeds when this happened. The height difference between the road and the gravel alongside isn't too much ( the car didn't scrap its bottom to give you an idea). Still both the rims suffered damage. I do not buy the RFT being hard logic because my friend's C class has regular tubeless tyres and even that suffered the same fate.

It's a combination of factors.

1. The RFT's don't absorb the impact as much as regular tyres
2. Most of the european manufacturers have 17-18" rims on low profile tyres. The Altis rides on 65 profile. lower the profile lower the cushioning.
3. The suspension is STIFF as hell. That's the reason the handling and high stability is so superior.
4. The springs/shocks have very very less travel which means a sharp bump will hit the max travel and transfer the force of the impact to rims and other parts.

This is what you should expect with BMW/Merc/Audi. A Toyota Innova/Altis is built to take on all these roads.

[arihant jain]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I just googled about it and on a few links it says that a space saver's life is around 70 miles although people have claimed to use it for much more than that. The tow truck and taxi are half an hour away now. The highway patrol guys are really helpful and there is mini tea party that has started there now. 3 personnel from the patrol and parents, sister and grandmother.

Since the truck has almost reached, isn't it better then to let it be towed to the workshop? If you are 100% sure that the space saver has only speed limit and no distance limit then I would really like to use that. No mood to hand over my car to tow truck people without anyone to supervise the car when it reaches and even on the way to Delhi.

I recently went to dehradun in my car and encountered horrendous roads. Went into quite a few potholes at triple digit speeds.. Was really concerned and instructed my chauffeur not to exceed 50 kmph. Because of the tubeless tyres no damage whatsoever. Feeling blessed after hearing your experience to have changed to tubeless. Indian roads being what they are we have to be extra careful. Believe me I had my heart in my mouth every time I went into a pothole, craters actually. Very bad roads in UP and uttranchal. Especially the state highways.

[dkaile]

Sorry to hear about your plight Mohit. You would have by now realised that it is not only a Skoda that is usually on top of a tow truck, it's the entire German lot. These cars are not homogenised for Indian conditions as well as say a Toyota. God knows even my Skoda can take/has taken more bad road abuse then say a Beemer. Tyres and Rims are a big Achilles heel for BMW and even after persistent issues they are not ready to change to Indian Condition tyres and rims. The pleasure of owning a luxury car goes down the drain after even one such issue especially so early in the ownership cycle. And you are left with a bitter after taste and a lesson for the future to get used to living with these white elephants in Indian conditions.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Update

The flat bed and the taxi reached quite fast. I expected them to take more time. Also they had the sense of sending an Ertiga and not an indica or something since there were 4 passengers. Dad was quite tired by the time and hence we decided that we will not risk it and rather let the car be towed.

The car was dropped off safely at Bird Auto's gurgaon workshop. They have already called dad in the morning and told him that both the left side rims have got bent. Also the left rear tyre has some nail in it ( might be at some previous point). They are going to evaluate the car for anyother damages and then start the claim process.
Few questions I have:

Good to know the truck reached quickly, and the car is at the workshop.

1) If you have secure then alloy damage should be covered. I don't know what happened with your friends Merc but I don't think they have a secure equivalent.

2) Again if its not growing then why change it now? I haven't been able to use the windshield repair kit yet, been too busy. But why don't you just order one and try it out anyway. Its about $20 and even Indian sites sell one but it was out of stock when I tried hence had to order from the US.

3) First check the condition of the tyres from the inside. Make sure the sidewalls aren't damaged. If the sidewalls are fine then just repair the puncture. You will have to pay according to tread depth. They will measure the tread, and going by the KMs run I think you will have to pay 25% of the tyre, though it may be less.

4) The alloys are not weak per se. Its a combination of factors like Vid has mentioned. The runflats have much stiffer sidewalls and absorb less of the impact. Same for the suspension. Also depends how high the air pressure was that you were running, what was the pressure? Remember these are 50 profile tyres, and while the suspension can dampen out bumps well anything more than a small bump can cause damage. It is only bad luck what happened this time.

[the_skyliner]

Sorry to hear this Doc. Good that there were Patrol people to help and tow truck came in time.

By the way, how come the left side went out of road while overtaking? It should be the right side, isn't it? Or am I missing something here?

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

This is what you should expect with BMW/Merc/Audi. A Toyota Innova/Altis is built to take on all these roads.

My friend was running on regular tubeless tyres on his 2000 km run C class. The Delhi chandigarh highway is one of the finest around Delhi ( the other highways going into Haryana and Rajasthan are horrible). Still he ended up with two damaged alloys. And in his case also his father was driving who is a doctor ( so generally speaking you can imagine that he wouldn't be driving recklessly).

I knew before buying that this is no Toyota. And I do not have any remorse at all. The car is fantastic. But it saddens me to say that if it cannot even counter Delhi-Jaipur highway then it basically is a car to potter around in Delhi city limits only. Anything more adventurous than ultra smooth roads would end up with huge repair bills and more than that can leave you deserted.

Originally Posted by arihant jain

Feeling blessed after hearing your experience to have changed to tubeless. Indian roads being what they are we have to be extra careful. Believe me I had my heart in my mouth every time I went into a pothole, craters actually. Very bad roads in UP and uttranchal. Especially the state highways.

Good that your ride didn't suffer any damage. But please be careful even with tubeless tyres. My friend's C class with tubeless tyres also suffered rim damage in a similar fashion.

Originally Posted by dkaile

And you are left with a bitter after taste and a lesson for the future to get used to living with these white elephants in Indian conditions.

I always knew German rides have there pros and cons. But yea seeing your family stranded in the middle of nowhere at midnight leaves a very bad taste in your mouth. They were literally kept standing there from 11pm to 3 AM. The same trip has been accomplished by Innova with 8 passengers and full luggage on multiple occasions. I know Innova is a different vehicle but still makes you feel frustrated that the car failed on the very first trip. The result will be that Dad will never agree to take it outside Delhi ever again.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

2) Again if its not growing then why change it now? I haven't been able to use the windshield repair kit yet, been too busy. But why don't you just order one and try it out anyway. Its about $20 and even Indian sites sell one but it was out of stock when I tried hence had to order from the US.

I was thinking if a claim is being taken then why not get the glass changed totally. I would anyways be losing the NCB.

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

By the way, how come the left side went out of road while overtaking? It should be the right side, isn't it? Or am I missing something here?

The truck was apparently not in mood to leave the right lane. So they overtook from left. Just when they were about to overtake it, the truck decided to move to the left to avoid a pothole on the right lane and dad had to go more to the left to avoid hitting it. And we know what happened after that.

[Amarendranath]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

I always knew German rides have there pros and cons. But yea seeing your family stranded in the middle of nowhere at midnight leaves a very bad taste in your mouth. They were literally kept standing there from 11pm to 3 AM. The same trip has been accomplished by Innova with 8 passengers and full luggage on multiple occasions. I know Innova is a different vehicle but still makes you feel frustrated that the car failed on the very first trip. The result will be that Dad will never agree to take it outside Delhi ever again.

Sorry to hear about this Mohit, from what you have mentioned the car didn't seem to have taken any serious hit. I guess its better to get the tubeless tyres installed to avoid such situations. What was the tyre pressure when this happened ? I guess BMW secure shall suffice the damage and i hope you guys don't have to bear the burden.

[Samar117]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

4. Coming to the last question. Are the alloys of these German cars really so weak?

Hey Doc, a dear friend of mine never faced this problem on his 3'er. It was most probably ill-fate which caused it. Maybe the pothole had a really sharp angle when the car entered the gravel.
That said however, the suspension does come into play, I remember our Gypsy had a lot of bent rims because of nearly zero suspension play.
But it is surely not that much in a BMW to cause rims to get bent on gravel at XX KMPH speeds. Do not get disheartened, take it out again on the highway, and enjoy the luxury!

[RickyC]

It does sound quite painful to go through this messy situation due to your new car as it robs the perceived value one has for that vehicle.
However, must admit that somebody like us buying a German car in India does have this thought in the back of one's mind..just incase something goes wrong...
I did a day trip to Anandpur Sahib last month in my 1500kms old 520D. A much sedate and careful driving did the job although the whole of 670 odd kms were quite blissful.
I guess one just has to keep the fingers crossed with these vehicles...

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

My friend was running on regular tubeless tyres on his 2000 km run C class. The Delhi chandigarh highway is one of the finest around Delhi ( the other highways going into Haryana and Rajasthan are horrible). Still he ended up with two damaged alloys. And in his case also his father was driving who is a doctor ( so generally speaking you can imagine that he wouldn't be driving recklessly).

If you read my post, I mentioned RFT as one of the points. The other points will also cause a regular tubeless tyre to also incurr damage to the alloys.

A doctor does not equate to not reckless driver but you don't have to be reckless to cause this damage. All it needs is a miss of a pothole or bump or even small stone size of a tennis ball to finish the alloys and tyres of these cars.

[differential]

sorry about your alloys and the road side delay and stress to your family.

Regarding your insurance queries: I might be able to throw some light.

1. will the tyres be covered?

if you have BMW secure - yes, maximum of 4 tyres per year. They usually assess the tread wear and based on the percentage of wear the balance has to be borne by the customer. (i.e. 50% wear - 50% cost)

2. will the rims be covered?

BMW secure covers it. But do check if they cover more than 1 rim per year (i might be wrong on the number of rims.)

3. windshield?

toatlly covered along woth the light and rain sensors.

i had all these except the wheel damage on my car and have had everything done to my satisfaction with least amount of stress. It definitely helps if you speak to the service incharge yourself.

effects: you will lose your no claim bonus and the secure premium is going to shoot up.

BTW: I am insured with bajaj alliance.

all this aside, dont be put off with these experiences, the beemer is a fantastic piece of engineering and apart from the RFTs there is actually nothin much to complain of. I have covered about 27000km in slightly less than 3 years and have had 2 punctures and a broken windshield froma rock flying of a dump truck, but everything else has been positive.
Hope this helps.

[drmohitg]

Well to answer your queries the car was running on 29 psi in front and 31 psi in the rear tyres. That was what was recommended to us. And they got the air checked just before leaving Delhi.

Anyways the car has reached the workshop and dad and BHPian Sameerg001 ( thanks a lot man) went to the workshop to submit the documents. The surveyor will probably come tomorrow. They have filed the claim for rims and the windscreen both. The BMW representative told that since the chip off over the windscreen will be documented this time, any future claim on it will not be possible. Hence we decided to get it changed too. He initially suggested to file 2 different claims, one for the rims and one for the glass. But I made him file one saying that the chip off also happened at the same time. Hopefully the claim goes through.

Now they have the rims in stock but do not have tyres in stock. Really frustrating since the company should anticipate this issue with RFTs and have some sort of arrangement with all dealers to keep stock of RFTs in all sizes. Alternatively it might be a hot selling item going by the failure rates and hence they run out of stock very quickly.

Anyways they are saying that it will take around 5-6 days for the tyres to arrive. They are still not sure if the tyre needs a replacement and will check tomorrow and tell. Both BMW secure and my insurance policy cover tyre damage so the SA was of the opinion that I would not have to shell out much for the tyre in case it needs replacement. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Some pics of the trip and then the disaster:

Starting from Delhi with music in the air



At the destination ( Shri Khatu Shyam temple)



The trip computer after the first leg of the journey


And then the disaster stuck. 3 cheers for the highway patrol guys.

[drmohitg]

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



The flat bed arrives finally

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).





Finally a close up of the rear left tyre after it was switched with the donut.



From the looks of it, the tyre still looks ok to me.