I was driving on Jericho turnpike going west Tuesday right near the new Hamlet in Jericho when I hit a minor pothole. The two right side tires went over it with a minor thud, I thought nothing of it as it was not jarring in any way. Almost immediately the car started to fall apart. It started to pull to the right and vibrate pretty bad. I call up MB in Massapequa and went straight there.

As per the service advisor I bent the two right rims and threw off the alignment. He told me it was going to be $1100 for the two rims and $200 for an alignement. I told him to hold off on the rims as I had a new set of snow tires/rims I wanted to put on anyways. They put on the set and tried to align the car, no dice. Apparently I did some major suspension damage at the same time!!!!!!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never bent a rim much less totalled a car especially on such a small pothole. It is actually hard to find on the street!!! What is this car made of tin cans??????????? They still have the car and will start going into the suspension on Monday to see what is left of this POS.

I absolutely loved this car until I saw this, I am just completely speachless...

Two friends, one with an Audi A6 the other a BMW 3 convertible, both destroyed two rims on minor potholes and did suspension damage. Both had optional low profile performance tires. A neighbor who owns a speed shop does a nice business replacing road damaged high performance tires and wheels. IMO most people driving on average or worse city/suburban roads should stick to 55 series or higher tires. Going below 45 series is really inviting problems on all but smoothest roads. Many auto journalist advise against sport options because of the ultra low profile tires, which provide only nominal handling improvements on the street 98% of the time. If a car is tracked you would be better off buying dedicated performance wheels and tires separately. If vanity compels big wheels and low profile tires, be prepared for possible expenses.

I never really thought the pothole thing through when I bought my car b/c I have been driving trucks for years. Expensive lesson learned...

Wouldn't the suspension damage be covered under warranty?

Also, even if the wheels weren't covered under the warranty, I'm sure your insurance would cover it, right?

And if all else fails, slap some HRE's on it, slam it, and post some pics.

Sorry to hear that.
That’s exactly why I bought the tire/rim insurance from the dealer when I picked up the car. I thought I was just throwing money away but, reading your email, I am starting to believe it was the best investment. I hate the streets in NY, especially some in Brooklyn.
I hope the dealer does he right thing and gives you a break.
Good Luck.

It's the same thing as having an accident.

Your front fender wouldn't be covered under warranty if you hit something and dented it.

Mfg Warranty protects you against manufacturers defects, not from accidental damage to to road hazards.

Don't worry. Its gonna cost some money, but the car will run like new again. The 18 sport wheels are low profile & as such offer very little forgiveness against bad road. You'll enjoy the car again. A lesser car would have been torn apart. ..and this should be a collision claim, right?

Jeez, I live right down the road from there, in Syosset. I'm gonna have to keep and eye out along there.

You have an insurance claim, same as a collision. You'll pay the deductible and they will fix your car. Calm down. Calling the car a POS is like calling it a POS because your trunk was smashed in in a rear ender. Neither is your fault. Neither is the car's fault. That's what insurance is for.

Generally speaking it is best to avoid pot holes. You are in control, you have the ability to steer around, stop or have a direct hit on a pot hole. The fact that you hit one should be an indicator to yourself that it's time to slow down, leave more following distance and pay more attention. Don't blame the car for your lack of control.

Thanks for your utterly ignorant comment. Have you ever seen Jericho turnpike where they have filled hundreds of potholes on a cement roadway with asphalt? The spotted cow look sure makes seeing potholes very difficult. As far as speed, I hardly think 35-40 is excessive, I was in traffic and following the car in front of me with proper distance.

But all in all thanks for your blaming me on my incompetent driving.

As far as the car goes, I am pissed that it fell apart with such a minor bump, I can't stress how minor it felt, like hitting a medium sized pavement joint. It's not like I hit a curb at 40 here. I have hit potholes with other cars where I clenched the wheel waiting for the airbags to go off (anyone ever been on the BQE in winter?), but never bent a rim much less destroyed a car. This suspension should not have handled it so poorly.

I have to agree with EMilner on his response to this. Try driving in the New York area and not hitting an occasional pothole. Its not a matter of negligence. Sort of like saying you should drive carefully so as not to get hit by bird doo. Sometimes things happen beyond one's control. Obviously emilner hit something deeper than he thought from the noise and sensation; probably the MB ssuspension soaked up most of the impact, but obviously not all of it, which is unfortunate -- but you just can't blame him for being inattentive for having run into a pothole. Yachmaster, I hope for your own sake that your holier than thou attitude doesn't someday leave you terribly embarrassed.

+1 neighbour. I doubt I could have replied in such a restrained way. I more the F-U type.

My uncle got one of the first year Porsche Boxters a while back, which my lead footed brother proceed to blow the engine apart in. But apart from the initial P.O.S. reaction, they were most impressed by how Porsche handled it. New engine was just the beginning. Porsche guy came to visit to get a detailed step by step of the incident, as well as recent background on the car. Told my uncle they wer gonna ship the engine back to Germany for further study.

Doubt MB will react this way. But come close, and I will be well impressed.

Early boxster engines are known for their propensity for self destruction

i have bent 1 rim on Jericho tpke and 2 rims on New Hyde Park Rd. Thats why I put my factory 17's on... Long Island Roads suck *** for the taxes we pay!!!!

<<Early boxster engines are known for their propensity for self destruction>>

Early..late..they are still doing it. My friend SJB just paid 12 grand for an engine in his Boxster S. Out of warranty, needless to say.

+1...Also, I'm always skeptical of any dealership service department when it come to non-warranty work. They will push the limits and some cases go beyond what is ethical. If it is non-warranty work and if you fix it through your insurance I'd at least get a second opinion. I know that may be a pain in the ****, but I've personally been burned by MB on non-warranty and out of warranty repair work.

That is why I won't take my car to MB after the factory warranty runs out and even when I get an aftermarket warranty. I'll go to an independent MB mechanic who has lower labor rates and has the capacity and willingness to repair rather than just go directly to replace mode at every opportunity.

Good luck with the repair...

you're lookin at $5k+ if major suspension parts are f##ked up.

(1) I'm wondering if your suspension components were "about to break", and this minor pothole incident triggered the breakdown, bec. cars go along Jericho Tpk everyday.

(2) OR u're getting ripped off by the dealer. I could understand bent rims, but suspension damage from minor potholes on an '07? That means cars going over those minor potholes too should suffer damage. I've been driving in NYC for 15 yrs. and I steer around potholes, but I can't avoid every one. I've never bent a rim. Be wary of that dealer... Keep us posted. Good luck!

You're not the only one...

My experience. Client drives brand new E550 over large pothole and bubbles outer sidewall of both left side tires. The tires were replaced under her "tire warranty." Both of the wheels were slightly bent but not covered due to the fact that they held air... Fast Forward two weeks and two hundred miles later.

Client allows a relative to borrow the car and manages to plow over some "city *******" trying to avoid a car or something... Resulting damage= both wheels broken on the left side, both tires shredded, rear toe link bent, rear knuckle bent, front knuckle bent, rear subframe bent.... So watch out for what is in the road.

My own experience with potholes is that the city responsible for maintaining the road is responsible. I lost a rim and tire to a pothole and I sent the bill the city sent a check.

Now I know I am not in New York but at a minimum it was an accident and your insurance should cover the damage.

This is definitely an insurance-claim, however I would throughly investigate just how much this claim will possibly affect your rates (if at all). In the long term the ins. co could really ding you for it.

Ed, just out of curiosity, why did you take the car all the way to Massapequa when MB of Huntington is so much closer ? Is it because you bought the car there ?

Emilner,

Jericho Tnpk is like most of the roads on the island, all have risks but, I know what you mean, I often go that route to Woodbury Vet, Armallinos dog food and St.Anthonys HS
I absotively and posilutely suggest calling Mid Island Collision in Malverne for ANY repair work on High-end cars.
They're MB certified and do perfect work, I've had 2 cars repaired by them and know someone personally.
They do not make excuses or take shortcuts and they'll get your insurance to cover everything.

Good Luck

I would try to submit a claim with the city.