Advice Needed: Crater of a Pot Hole has left me with 2 egg shaped wheels

Skipton01 said:
Take a look at www.rs246.com and in particular, the RS4 downloads section - there are a number of scanned letters re. the soft wheels issue and the goodwill lifetime replacement warranty!

Quote this, have a damn good moan and between Audi and the council, you should get sorted.
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Just looked at the letters, very interesting indeed. Is there actually any 'proof' out there confirming that the 17" wheels on the A2 are indeed of the same manufacture as the original RS4 wheels?

The reason I ask is, the first thing they're going to say (and indeed, already have tried to say) is that it's a different car and also different wheels.

As you will note from my previous post, I do actually have 4 buckled wheels. Two of which I am 100% certain were caused by the afore mentioned pot hole as the car drove fine before the incident, and nausiatingly rubbish from that point onwards.. However, whilst I was having the wheels checked out last Friday, I also had the other two checked. One of which is minor in comparison to the deformation on the other three. Needless to say I'm rather miffed as the all out repair bill will top £1400 and it is money that should not need to be spent given:
a) Our roads shouldn't be so apalling that they cause damage to vehicles, and
b) Audi should not design wheels that are so soft they deform easilly, and then deny any responsibility for this when 'damage' occurs.

I certainly can't afford to replace these wheels. The damage to two lies soley down to the council concerned, and whilst the other two could have been damaged at any time, you don't exactly buy a car with concerns such as 'will the wheels buckle easilly?' on your mind.. instead, things such as 'will it be reliable and well made' or 'are the electrics likely to cause problems' are the standard concerns..

Salesman: "Are you interested in the Audi A2?"
Buyer: "I am indeed, however, how soft are the alloy wheels and hence are they likely to get bent?"

Utter madness.

:mad:
 
Why dont you all contact BBC Watchdog. If they receive several complaints there is a good chance they will follow it up with Auid.They recently had a good result with faulty TT instrument clusters so it must be worth a try.

Cheers Spike
 
I've mailed the RS246 forums to ask their advice on whether the bendy wheel problem was confined to just the RS4 alloys or whether it is far more widespread.

For info, our RS-style wheels are NOT the same as those fitted to the RS4 (B5) - they took 8.5J 18 wheels, as opposed to our 7J 17s.

By the way, have a look at the video, also on the downloads page - it is extremely revealing (apparently, Audi designed the wheels to bend, to provide a means of preventing damage to the tyre and/or suspension!).
 
hi yes skip i know all of this and its not about them being the same wheels its the compound and its the same, they are bendy for performance but the performance doesnt include **** roads and speed bumps - simple as.

my advice is to get the replicas (a set of 4) for under £600 with tyres and be done with it.

but definately push audi CS and the council for compensation.

sorry if short but in hurry :)

regards
 
No worries S.A.C. - I'm not in the position of having to claim from the council (good job really as I AM the council - in Tameside at least, I'm a councillor!), but my dealer pointed the buckles out to me, having completed a full, and I mean full, check of the steering system, after the PAS failed 3 times.

I will seek advice from the dealer (they will give me straight advice and not just tell me to get another set if there is a better solution) and wheel specialists and get something which will hopefully last a lot longer and be better able to stand up to British (read crap) roads.
 
hollyrescue said:
We had a fair and legitimate claim against a council once, the insurer was Zurich. They made life as difficult as possible, and were happy to go the steps of the court before capitulating. I wouldnt ever insure with them.
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Hollyrescue,
Interesting that it was Zurich, my council also insure through them, I might now take it to small claims court in light of your information, thanks
 
Update

Received a letter today from council informing me that they have received my complaint form, covering letter, signed damage confirmation, photos and pro forma invoice for repairs by an Audi dealer. The details have been passed to their insurers and the road maintenance schedule is being requested from another dept.

Next step: should hear from their insurers.

I was informed, one way or another, from the date on the letter that the claim should conclude within 90 days, otherwise I can take them to a small claims court.

..at least things are happening! Meanwhile, my car still rides like a bag of nails :(
 
Can you not charge them for car hire as yours is not safe to drive? Or, at the very least charge for a 'loan' set of alloys from your friendly local alloy shop.

On another note, don't bother getting genuine audi wheels again, coz they are sh!t.
 
As requested.. here's an update!

Still not got any money out of the council, but time is running out for them as they have 90 days from acknowledgment of the claim in which to come to a verdict/pay out. If they don't meet this, they have to pay out regardless.

I'm in regular contact with the council at the moment as records have finally been dug out by a seriously troubled department (have spoken many times to them directly also). I only have 2 weeks before the 90 days are up, and the claim is in hand as far as I am aware.. fingers crossed.

As for the car, I've swapped all the wheels around in an attempt to reduce the discomfort, however it was tna :(
 
i drove through a pothole and i got abit paranoid after reading your story went over some bumpy road and thought my alloys were buckled too.
is it only the sports version that suffers from soft alloys? or the SE version 16"s? can someone shed light
 
I've hit some biggies in my SE in the last 14000 miles (4 months!) and it's fine! Mind you it's close to needing front tyres (44000!!)
 
I think the sport is more prone to such damage as the wheels are the same design and compound as those of the previous RS4 - of which Audi acknowledged there was an issue
 
Although the design is the same, the compound used in the A2 sport wheel is NOT the same as the original RS4

I have been categorically told this in writing by Audi UK and believe them. What is a probable cause of wheel buckling is that the wheels are actually A3 parts (take a look at the part numbers stamped on them, they're not 8Z* *** ***)

The only time this wheel was used on the A3, it was fitted with 225/45 tyres, giving a sidewall height of 101mm. In the A2s application, the sidewall height is 82mm - result: less rubber between the road and wheel, leading to a greater probability of deformation caused by road imperfections.

As several of you will know, I've been talking this over with Audi for several months now and I've finally got a goodwill gesture from them toward new wheels. Whilst they admit no liability, I would urge anyone having issues with their Sport wheels to consider fitting 215/40 tyres - that's what I've got now (Goodyear Eagle F1s) and the ride quality is vastly improved, as is the rim protection.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Done the same here Mike, same reason and result, and as a bonus my speedo sort of matches my GPS speed unlike before! just watch those ABS cables for rubbing
 
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