Where do i stand, dodgy wheel company

stuart_hatch

Poor Student
Aug 28, 2005
318
0
Glasgow
Ok, i bought a set of wheels from LTC Tyres through ebay in january, now last week i hit a traffic cone base at 75mph (i have a witness as a guy from my dads work was following me in his van)

And i now have a crack halfway round the rim, i took the wheel to the refurbers and they were shocked and had never seen anything like it and said that the wheel should never be that weak.

I have emailed LTC Tyres and they have been non too helpfull and dont belive that i hit a cone and i did much worse.

Quote:

"It is obvious to us that you are not telling the full truth regarding what really happened to the wheel, as from looking at the photographs this wheel has hit something little more than a plastic road cone.

As far as I am concerned this matter is now closed and we will no longer answer any more of your emails. "

Now i do not see this as justified and i would like to know where i stand and what i can do.

Toledo%20Wheel%20001.jpg


wheel.jpg
 

flashbsd

Guest
trading standards!

they are trading as a company and so know the boundaries that they have just crossed, personally im disgusted at that attitude.

Take it further :)
 

Cupramax

Uber pimp meister
Aug 1, 2001
3,977
0
Remind me not to hit any traffic cones with mine... :-o :wtf:

To be honest I dont think you've got much chance seeing as you hit something bloody hard. Motorway cones sometimes have weights in the base so it could have been that causing the damage. Pretty shoddy service from the supplier though, they could have at least offered to look at it for you, hardly surprising as they trade on Ebay....
 

davidol

New ghetto whip :)
Aug 17, 2004
1,978
0
Cardiff
yeah in all fairness the wheel didnt exactly collapse under normal driving or speed humps did it, for all you know (correct me if im wrong here) it may of been weighted at the base with a brick etc and thats done the damage. IMHO its up to you to buy a replacement, although i do disagree with the companies attitude and calling you a liar is also a big no no
 

WatchHill

Twonk
Mar 10, 2004
392
0
Cumberland
www.gunculture.net
When you think about it the cones on motorways etc have to be quite hefty to withstand the draft of blimmin great waggons hoofing past. Still shocked at the damage though, you can understand the wheel people being sceptical.
 

matt_s

4 8 15 16 23 42
Dec 23, 2004
651
16
A dent in the rim is one thing but the wheel almost disintegrated. I think you can expect more than that from a road wheel. I've hit a kerb face on at a junction and just lost the centre cap and got a small dent in the rim.

I expect the trading standards people will take it away, maybe with your other wheels and test them to see if they are strong enough. They could have been made from the wrong alloy or not enough metal.

I hope you've got something to put on the car in the meantime because I wouldn't have the rest of that set of wheels on my car.
 
Aug 1, 2005
2,695
0
Cullompton . Devon
Sorry mate i think you stand a chance for the one simple reason you have admitted to driving at 75 mph when the max speed limit is 70 mph. If you tried taking them to court you would have to admit to braking the law ( speeding ) so your claim would get thrown out of court plus you would probably get three points and a fine !
 

xJib

Full Member
Do you know if the wheel was TUV or some other body approved. It’s just you could take it up with the manufacture of the wheel.

As said I don’t think you’ll get anywhere with a company that can seen beyond the end of there nose. But if the wheel had a manufacturing defect then you might be able to get something down that route.

Another thing, if you’re a member of the AA they have a very good legal department, give them a ring and ask to be put through and give them the whole story and see what they say.
 

F2 Stu

I. Am. Legend.
Oct 4, 2001
5,577
0
Crawley, UK
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The damage is startling, but not surprising seeing as what you hit.

the tyre place sounds arsey but to be fair its only one side of the argument:shrug:

I once hit a dead fox doing 80, soft they're not, made one hell of a bang!
 

WeeJase

pert
Jun 2, 2001
8,595
0
http://www.melba.co.uk/showProd.php?ID=1
up to 9kgs of weight in a cone(mostly the base) going to be hard as a lump of tarmac(mainly made from old tyres theses days), hitting one at 75mph is going to hurt,but i'm surprised its fooked the rim that much.
tyres are tested to 140+ mph on Z type tyres,what if you were hit something at that speed on an autobahn?? doesn't bear thinking about
 

driveforward

Is at the Nürburgring
Nov 5, 2002
3,245
0
www.driveforward.com
Given I hit a pothole at a max of 20mph and the result was that 2 of my Audi alloys are now bent, if I'd have hit a cone base at 75mph I think I'd expect my wheels to look similar to yours tbh.

I don't think you'll have any joy with the wheel company, but what was the cone base doing in the middle of the motorway? Don't forget though, the legal limit is 70mph ;)
 

stuart_hatch

Poor Student
Aug 28, 2005
318
0
Glasgow
Right so im not sure what to do now, some say yes some say no, and i was going a "indicated" 75mph so in real terms that would be less than 70mph

I just collected a set of audi a8 wheels to do me in the mean time, just got a bloody punture tho!
 

prc

Sooty Meister
jason said:
http://www.melba.co.uk/showProd.php?ID=1
up to 9kgs of weight in a cone(mostly the base) going to be hard as a lump of tarmac(mainly made from old tyres theses days), hitting one at 75mph is going to hurt,but i'm surprised its fooked the rim that much.
tyres are tested to 140+ mph on Z type tyres,what if you were hit something at that speed on an autobahn?? doesn't bear thinking about

but even tyre testing is for a perfectly good tyre, meaning that if you've patch a flat they won't guarentee that it will have the same characteristics.
 
I've been chasing East Dunbartonshire council for a year and a half for the to pay up on a £60 tyre, never mind a wheel.

I hit a pothole and made a claim, they sent me the maintenance records etc for the road, which clearly showed it hadn't been checked for more than their manditory monthly checks......and still denied it was their responsibility.

They took one look at the tyre, wheel and car and are now contesting that i was doing more than the 60 limit, just because of the way my car looks....

They will do everything and anything to not pay up.

You'd be aswell saving the hassle and buying a new rim, as you could be waiting a good while if you go the claim route, whether it be against the sales company, the manufacturer or the roads company....

By the time you deal with letters, postage, calls, time and travel, you'll have spent the money you'd get to buy a new rim.

I gave up, just because of that......

The company have been totally disgusting though the way they have dealt with you. I would therefore make a complaint about the way you have been dealt with to the Trading standards office and try them for compensation that way, as you have proof that they were d1cks.

Your local TSO should be in here

http://www.scotss.org.uk/pages/strathclyde.htm
 

BenS1

Full Member
Jun 26, 2001
3,459
0
West Sussex, England
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I'm assuming that the cone wasn't there to warn you of a F**king great pothole?!

But as others say, cones can be heavy and at speed it doesn't really suprise me that if destroyed the wheel.

How come you hit the cone anyway?

Ben
 
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