Last weekend I hit an unavoidable pothole with the front offside wheel. Ever since I'm experiencing scraping noises over bumps in the road. The car's lowered and every now and again I get scrapes from the rear on big bumps but I've never experienced them at the front before. Is it just the geo that's been affected or is it possible for anything to have actually been damaged? I've unsuccessfully tried to claim damage to my Lotus Elise from the council when the splitter was damaged by a pothole. The damage in this case was easy to prove but how can I prove what's happened this time?

 

You need to take the wheel off and check what's broken. Is the steering still straight?

 

Make sure car is roadworthy

Photograph the pothole before the bstds fill it in. take a tape measure with you

Get professional opinion as to damage in writing/estimate etc

Write to the council telling them that they have failed in their duty of care to maintain the highway and ask for compensation or claim off your insurance but get them to claim off the council instead

I stuffed a car into a lump of concrete left on the road and the council (eventually) paid 75% but that was in the good old days

Hope this helps

good luck Eric

 

get all 3 dimensions - width, length and depth. pictures too. then send it off to council. i guess they'll also need a quote for repair work too.

 

Get a copy of the Councils road inspection schedule before they have a chance to alter it. Their obligation is to carry out regular checks and maintain records of each inspection. It is not so easy to claim as some may think.

If you have fully comp then advise your insurers immediately or even they may not pay out!

 

IME you will likely fail.
They have dedicated teams to ward off such claims.
Report the hole, threaten them, fix car, move on.
If you get some cash its a bonus TBH.

 

Well I went back and found the hole and it's been marker painted which means they are aware of it and it's awaiting repair. This is the same situation I had with my Elise. Quite how you're meant to be able to see a pot hole markered with white paint in the dark is anyone's guess!
Took the wheel off today turns out the arb droplink had come off and one of the tabs the holds the wheel arch liner had bent. Looks like it had caught the tire and been bent downwards which was causing the scrubbing noise.

 

If the council were aware of the pothole then you have a case against them.

I often see 'Honest John' recommending the following websites for reporting/checking on reported potholes: www.fixmystreet.co.uk and www.potholes.co.uk.