Skoda Rapid DSG & broken lug nuts, a painful story

I was warning them to be careful and why are you keeping just one wheel lug bolt on and all. Snap! The guy working on my car hands me over the broken bolt and says 'naya le lena sar' (buy a new one).

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I got my suspension work done on Sunday (10th March) and I couldn’t get the alignment done as shops were closed that day. Meanwhile, I avoided driving my car and straight away took her home gingerly. Today, I planned to get my alignment-balancing sorted, looked for a reputed shop on google and it took me to Kariwal Tyres, Pachpedi Naka Raipur. From the reviews, I saw some beemers and Porsches, so I thought, it must be a good shop (first mistake- I should have stuck with my regular balancing guy).

Once the work started, they asked me to sit inside and I insisted on being there, so, they removed the front left wheel and then tried removing front right wheel. So apparently, one of the lug bolt was jammed, what these guy did-

• They removed 4/5 lug nuts of the Front Right wheel

• Dropped the car to floor, with the wheels touching the ground

• They tried removing it manually, again used wheel gun, then lifted the car, again dropped it back, tried removing it manually.

• I was warning them to be careful and why are you keeping just one wheel lug bolt on and all

• Snap! The guy working on my car hands me over the broken bolt and says “naya le lena sar” (buy a new one)

I got furious and asked them how do we remove the part of bolt which is already stuck inside, they said it will come out easily, I asked them to do it then, which they couldn’t obviously. Now the owner walks in, I explained him the situation, he took a look and started hammering the broken bolt. I immediately asked him to stop and I said I will speak to Skoda first. Well, I called Skoda and they are ready to work on it and their response was that first we will try to get it done through lathe and if it doesn’t works then we will change the part. I informed it to the tyre shop owner that I will get it done through Skoda and I will send you the bill because it’s because of incorrect way of handling by your guys is what has lead to this failure. 

Now, he was like its a small thing, it happens everyday, showroom will always try to fleece you by changing parts, I can get it done in an hour and BS. I said, then let’s get it sorted right away, I had to wait for 30mins as owner went somewhere, when he got back, he removed the wheel, rotor, and then tried removing it via plier but it didn’t work, now he called his mechanic and he refused to work as the mechanic didn’t have time. Now he called some other workshop, 10kms away and asked me to drive there with his guy, I drove to the other part of the city and there after seeing the problem, the garage guy tells me that you will have to leave the car for a day and you can take it tomorrow.

I again called the tyre guy kariwal and informed him about the situation and how my time is being wasted with their hit and trial. I told him that I will get it done from my mechanic and he should foot the bill, to which he denied initially and tried blaming that the lug bolt was wrongly tightened in the first place. I was surprised they had the audacity to do it. I said, I’m fine paying the bill as long as you take care of the damage, in the end, we compromised on the condition that I won’t pay for balancing and alignment charges and I will get it repaired by my own. I again drove back 10kms to the tyre shop to drop his guy out of my own courtesy. In the process I lost my 3 hours of time, missed a meeting, burnt few litres and some mental peace. 

Now, I need help and suggestions from the experts here as to how to get it sorted, should I change the hub itself or should I try the lathe method because the stuck bolt is just not moving?

And

Does removing brake calliper needs brake bleeding? (Pads were not opened though)

P.S. My front right tyre is running only on 4 bolts currently as opposed to 5

I went to Skoda to get the HUB removed but they suggested I go to transport Nagar Raipur and try a lathe/weld shop. Went to a workshop called Padum Motor Works and he initially tried removing the snapped bolt by welding a joint to it, it failed thrice. After their lunch break, he removed the rotor and calliper and drilled onto the broken bolt. As expected, the threads got damaged and he did a re-threading and I was out by 5pm. It costed me Rs 750/-. 

Straightaway, I went to Skoda to get it inspected and install a new bolt. They gave a go ahead and got the new Bolt for Rs 245/-. However, the threads are not 100% perfect, there are some missing threads too, however bolt goes in-out smoothly. This time around, I asked them to use grease on bolts (suggested by Skoda guy) and also use torque wrench to tighten the bolts. 

After that I went to Akash tyres for alignment job as my car was pulling to left, and finally the snapped bolt saga was put to rest.

My thoughts on the experience-

• It was a painstaking job because finding right guy to do the job was a challenge

• Had service centre guys been more prompt, I would have replaced the HUB as it costs only 1600, I have spent more on my fuel running here & there and lathe workshop charges

• It was a such a painful sight to see weld and grinding sparks flying all around my car and also some hammering around the hub to get that bolt out

• I definitely got to learn a lot from the experience, I got to know the local markets, I got to know the components of the car and their function from depth

• Also, when any welding work is being carried in your car, disconnect the negative terminal of the battery

Few pictures from the day-

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