I was riding my 1 day old MINI (it is an 03, but just bought the day before)and the asphalt company had cut a strip out of a perfectly smooth new road to check asphalt thickness. This left an unmarked 4.5 inch sharp edged curb that I hit about 35 MPH....






Beautiful SSR Comps are ALL bent, Pretty violent bump. My front fender was dragging on the pavement when my tires were in the hole - you can see this in the photos above. Fortunately the Mini drove home without incident, alignment seems OK, Turned OK, no odd noises, but didn't push it as the rim looks like the tire might come off. It did start to get a bit of vibration above 45 - probably need to get the tires balanced .

Looked under the car and didn't see anything out of order. The nearest MINI dealer is 250 miles away, so need to take her to a local mechanic.

My question is - what should I have them look for?? Bent control arms? Strut towers??

EDIT... More Photos
Here are a few more photos

Here is the hole with my cell phone propped against the far edge. The lip is taller than my cell phone. Alsa a distant shot, showing the strip of removed asphalt and the lack of any road signs

 

I'd look for a way to get the asphalt company to pay for the damage to my MINI.

Look at the upper front strut towers for evidence of "mushrooming" of the towers. Search "mushrooming" on NAM and you should get pictures to help with this.

I'd be plenty mad about hitting an unmarked abrupt change in the asphalt thickness, and at least try to get paid for the damage to my car.

 

If it's still unmarked take a photo proving it! You may need it.

 

That sux !

Yes, go after the company who was doing the work. Otherwise, you pay it ouit of your pocket or turn it into your insurance company. Your collision deductible will apply AND they will likely consider it an at-fault loss (hitting a pothole is... not 100% sure about hitting a maintenance area).

Ps. Surprised that tire is still holding air as bad as that rim is bent.

 

It's inconceivable to me that a paving company would cut that area out and leave it unmarked. Even well marked, it's a danger to most anyone...other cars, bicycles, even pedestrians. Unless you were doing something that you shouldn't have (speeding or driving through or around a barrier), I think the paving company is completely at fault. The first thing I would look for is their phone number. Then I would consider calling my own insurance carrier and tell them what happened. They should cover your damages and, at their choosing, subrogate against the paving company's insurance. The damage could be as little as 4 wheels (and tires?)... or as much as $10,000 in steering and suspension damage. It needs to be put on a lift to adequately assess. Did anyone else fall into this hole? Was it in a neighborhood? Jeez, that's a mess!

 

On a side note - My dog has the same bone, and thats her favorite toy! (As the one in your sig.)

On topic - If it wasnt marked get a picture as soon as you can, get the car on a lift as soon as you can, and fight tooth and nail to get the paving company to pay for any and all damages. If you have to goto your insurance, your premium will probably go up atleast a little bit.

 

Ouch...Good luck to you!

 

Fortunately the Asphalt company has assumed full responsibility and is going to have their insurance pay. I took lots of photos, but hopefully won't need them for the insurance. Not sure if they expect $2500+ in damages!

So, I'll be going to a good body shop today, but there isn't a mini dealer for 250 miles.... Hopefully they'll find anything out of whack.

I am assuming I'll need
4 Rims
4 Tires
Shipping
Mounting / balance
Alignment


?? Shocks
??

 

Glad to hear they're going to assume responsibility and you didn't have to fight them over it !

Hope when all is done your MINI is good as new again.

 

What's the nearest dealer? Baron in KC??

 

ouch... i would first check the strut mounts, control arms, hub, for any bends/fractures, and also mushroom on the tower. I would also check
the rear too and your tires for any bubbles.

i would also put your factory wheels on and get an alignment done.

You might be able to salvage your wheel here: www.wheelcollision.com
They fixed one of my earlier wheels i had in the past with great results.

goodluck.

 

I'd killed 2 runflats tires due to bubbling. One was a pothole and another a rock. So make sure the tires are ok.

 

was a profound impact!

 

Seeing the photos of your bent rim makes me realize why big/low profile tires are such a bad idea on this car.

If I were you, I would sacrifice the "cosmetics" of the wheels a little and spring for 15"-16" rims and tires with a higher profile (At least 55 and up).

 

Make sure to get everything in writting!

 

or jackie cooper in OKC

 

Yea, complete fault of the company...that's bull crap. And SSR Comps are EXPENSIVE rims to be bending!

Here is a picture of my strut mount after I hit a big pot hole at ~40mph. I also bend my rim, tire (RF) was saved though.





I would call your city and complain, and take it to a local shop for a full assesment of the damage (if any) that was done, and best if you take it to at least two different companies. No way you should have to pay for that. IF THERE WAS NO! SIGN OR MARKINGS OF COURSE. If there was, then your outta luck. Make sure to take plenty of pictures, and make sure to set your camera to time-stamp the pictures...so if you go to court you have evidence. Take pictures of the surrounding area and street signs too, so they know the specific location.

Good luck man!

-Cody

 

MINIs + potholes = big $$$$$$ damage

 

Sucks that it had to happen man, what a bummer. At least they're being responsible about it. My mini feels every little bump let alone that big a pot hole, can only imagine how the ride over it felt...

 

Once you get this matter settled with the paving company, hopefully using your insurance, you may want to get extra insurance on your wheels and tires. I did that with my MINI after I hit a manhole cover sticking 2" out of the road in a contruction area and blew out a tire.

 

Cody/Polizei - Are your pictures recent? And if so - where around town did *that* happen (so I know to stay away!!!)

 

Holy crap Cody! Am I seeing a rip in the unibody? POTHOLES WILL KILL YOUR MINI WITH 17" RIMS & RFLATS!!! We just got ours back from a right rear pothole repair last week. FYI, insurance companies treat pothole damage as an at fault accident. We have to pay the deductible and insurance got the rest They don't go after the city/state, etc. It's good to hear that construction zones are a different animal.

 

On a recent road trip I was going down a remote mountain pass in western CO and as I went thru a corner about 25 mph (05 S with standard X-spoke 16" OEM wheels and RSC's with about 15k on them) I noticed an entire section of road about 6 feet across, 4 feet wide, and about 8" deep was gone, and no warnings. Rather than braking or slowing down, I took it full speed, hit it hard, bottomed out, hit the downhill edge REAL hard, looked in RVM, rocks flying everywhere, then jolted out. Scary scary hit, worst ever for my car.

I thought for sure I'd done some damage, so I pulled over and did an inspection of the wheels, tires, exhaust, strut towers: nothing. Got back on the road, 40, 50, 60, 70 mph, nothing, dead straight (had a chassis alignment when I had my steering rack replaced the week before). Inspected the underbody the next morning, nothing. Even the lower air dam wasn't damaged. And nothing from the flying rocks.

I'd read many horror stories about these cars taking hits, in accidents, etc. and the consensus was that they are very tough little buggers. After my experience, I couldn't agree more.

 

You'll note in his pics, he has an MCS-JWC. The 15" won't fit over the brakes, and the 16" are a maybe depending on the wheel design. JWC brakes are larger.

 

The Body shop finally hooked the car to their computer, the front of the unibody is slightly bent upward and the strut towers are slightly bent outward, even with the ProMini Strut Brace. The shop manager was amazed at how little movement the strut towers made - he kept praising the strut tower brace for preventing a lot more damage..... Still the driver side strut is toast and he is going to replace the pair of struts, put the car on his frame rack and spend 4 hours bending the car back into shape....

MiniMadness and Alex at TireRack were very helpful in deciding what wheels to replace my SSR comps with.... Getting a set of O.Z. Ultraleggera with 5mm spacers. Can't wait to get out riding again