HarrierRX300

Guys,
I bent my rim here in San Francisco because of a pothole. I went to the city and told them that the road was horrible and it bent my rim. I took pictures of the area with the potholes and guess what? I filled out a form and 5 weeks later, they sent me a compensation check for $700.00. Not enough, but it sure helps.

LS4fun

Dude, since this damage is on the inner rim...why don't you fix yourself???

I've had a set of rims before that had some similar damage to yours. I did fix myself.

Here's how. Get yourself a nice hammer....not a small one...something that is nice and heavy.

Place a rag on the damaged bend and wack it with the hammer. I would start out very lightly at first and increase force gradually until you push bend back.

BTW i would do this with the tire off the rim and off the car of course.

You will be surprised if you take your time and are careful on how well you are able to repair this.

You are not looking for a perfectly cosmetic repair....after all this is on the insides of the rims. Once you get close to what they should look like, have the wheels/tire rebalanced as well.

Good luck.
I know you might be afraid to attempt this, but you would be surprised on how much money and time you could save yourself.

TurboSC

You might want to try a heavy rubber hammer just to be safe..

retrodrive

^^^hehe...as long as it does not whack you back on your head

LS4fun

I dont think rubber hammer will do any damage.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Thanks Manuel... I don't mind some DIY work (well, if Dex helps me ) but I probably won't try this particular one myself. I'm really picky about how smooth the ride on my GS is and cannot stand bumps, shakes, rattles, etc. I just don't think I'll be able to get the rim back exactly as it was before.

BTW, I had the two passenger wheels taken off and put my two new ones on. At least 50% increase in ride quality . I was also glad I got backup tires; the bead on the original tires were damaged too where the bend was. Doesn't look bad, but I would welcome opinions on whether I should continue to use these tires.

Here are a couple of pics of the wheels off the car (can see the bend better) and the damaged tire.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

front passenger rim

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

rear passenger rim

LS4fun

I wouldn't risk using that tire AT ALL! I still think you should still repair those rims yourself.....you wouldn't get them perfect like you said...but balancing would take care of the imperfections....

If you have money to throw out the window, then by all means, go for it and have professionally repaired....they will use the hammer...

Good luck....

SCHEME

This place is in Cincinnati, I carried mine in but you can ship them too. I got my rims on my Camry fixed there all the time. Sometimes they were way worse than your pics. Other times I would do it for any little bend because it was only like $80 a wheel.

Edit: To Moderators: Why was this link removed? I'm not complaining, I just want to stay inbounds from now on.

Manaray

Dave, use a piece of wood (like 2x4) and place that on top of a towel or rag and then bang on the 2x4 instead...I've seen many bent wheels look perfect after that (you can also radius the 2x4 so that it's the "correct" shape...if you have a jigsaw or something...)

As for the tire, I wouldn't risk it...$200 that can potentially get into a messed up accident? Not worth it IMO...

Are you running over people again?

lawman

Just my humble advise. Do as HarrierRX did. Send an honest, straight forward letter - make it professional and not whinny - about what happened. The hardest thing to do is to remain calm about it. Attach copies of the photos you have- color if you can if not black and white is fine.

Have someone else read this letter - because this has happened to you, you may tend to skip things that are in your mind but not put them down on paper. Remember another person who has no clue about what happened is going to read this letter and see if your claim is valid.

Be clear, write about what happaned and where - even photos of the holes you ran though, dates, the more factual you are the better. If you can get a quote or estimate from the repair shop you "may" send your wheels to or the recipts from what you spent on your replacements attach those as well. Even a statement from the tire shop/wheel shop you are at now that it looks like the cause was the potholes. The more factual things you have to back up your claim the more responsive it will be. Attach your contact information.

MAKE A COPY, keep the original and send the copy to your local city hall - there should be an address for complaints - and cc the dept. (ie. dept. of transportation, Dept. of roadworks) If you don't know if its a city or state road send to both places. Be patient

Like RX said they may not pay in full. They may outright deny the claim. They may want to settle if they can get a good deal. Long shot they may pay most of it. That part is up to you. I would at least try this to recoupe some costs. Best of luck

SandRock

LOL