WantingaTDI
Veteran Member
There is a question for the forum at the end of the post.
I bought tires from Costco a few years ago and they have a free tire rotation service and fixing leaks etc. I brought my car in at the end of December to have a leak fixed in one tire and the tires rotated. A week later I was driving on the highway and the front driver side wheel started wobbling violently, the steering was off. I used all strength to pull the car to the side of the road. The front driver side wheel was tiled at a 15" angle downward and all by 1/2 a lug nut bolt holding the wheel on.
Quick thinking on my part, I looked up the nearest Costco and (2 miles away). I jacked the car up on the side of the road, removed the wheel inspected for damage and identified the following: 1. Two oblong lug nut holes in the alloy wheel and 2. the brake caliper had come free from the wheel. I removed one lug nut from the other three wheels and put them on the front driver side wheel and drove to Costco two miles away.
Upon getting there the manager of the tire shop as well as the assistant manager of Costoco were summoned to the tire stop to inspect the damage. The manager assured me Costco would pay for the damage. Because of unknown damage, they requested I have the car towed to a garage of my choosing. I found a VW dealership three miles from their location (I was 60 miles from my house) and had the car towed there.
The dealership found the following wrong with the car and a result of the the ordeal. The hub needed to be replaced because the "sleeves" for the lug bolts had been stripped, a new wheel was needed because of the oblong hols, the caliper bolt had stripped out and the brake pads and rotors had warped.
1.[FONT="] LUG NUTS AND HUB REPLACEMENT $355.00[/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="]2. NEW WHEEL $375.00[/FONT]
[FONT="]3. THREAD CALIPER BOLTS $360.00[/FONT]
[FONT="]4. FRONT BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS $525.00[/FONT]
The third party Costco claims adjuster (Gallagher Bassett) calls me and first is not willing to take any liability. After talking with the adjuster's supervisor, they admit limited liability for the first two items. They denied liability for # 3-4 and said this was not their responsibility
Please let me know your thoughts on whether the stripped brake caliper bolts and warping could be caused by driving with a wheel at a 15 degree angle.
Thanks for your help.
-Mark
Here is a photo of the wheel. The other parts were not retained by VW
https://mark.seltzer.org/photo/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190120-082842.png
I bought tires from Costco a few years ago and they have a free tire rotation service and fixing leaks etc. I brought my car in at the end of December to have a leak fixed in one tire and the tires rotated. A week later I was driving on the highway and the front driver side wheel started wobbling violently, the steering was off. I used all strength to pull the car to the side of the road. The front driver side wheel was tiled at a 15" angle downward and all by 1/2 a lug nut bolt holding the wheel on.
Quick thinking on my part, I looked up the nearest Costco and (2 miles away). I jacked the car up on the side of the road, removed the wheel inspected for damage and identified the following: 1. Two oblong lug nut holes in the alloy wheel and 2. the brake caliper had come free from the wheel. I removed one lug nut from the other three wheels and put them on the front driver side wheel and drove to Costco two miles away.
Upon getting there the manager of the tire shop as well as the assistant manager of Costoco were summoned to the tire stop to inspect the damage. The manager assured me Costco would pay for the damage. Because of unknown damage, they requested I have the car towed to a garage of my choosing. I found a VW dealership three miles from their location (I was 60 miles from my house) and had the car towed there.
The dealership found the following wrong with the car and a result of the the ordeal. The hub needed to be replaced because the "sleeves" for the lug bolts had been stripped, a new wheel was needed because of the oblong hols, the caliper bolt had stripped out and the brake pads and rotors had warped.
1.[FONT="] LUG NUTS AND HUB REPLACEMENT $355.00[/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="]2. NEW WHEEL $375.00[/FONT]
[FONT="]3. THREAD CALIPER BOLTS $360.00[/FONT]
[FONT="]4. FRONT BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS $525.00[/FONT]
The third party Costco claims adjuster (Gallagher Bassett) calls me and first is not willing to take any liability. After talking with the adjuster's supervisor, they admit limited liability for the first two items. They denied liability for # 3-4 and said this was not their responsibility
Please let me know your thoughts on whether the stripped brake caliper bolts and warping could be caused by driving with a wheel at a 15 degree angle.
Thanks for your help.
-Mark
Here is a photo of the wheel. The other parts were not retained by VW
https://mark.seltzer.org/photo/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screenshot_20190120-082842.png
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