The chuck holes are much worse than normal this year here in Chicago. I try very hard to look for them and avoid them. My 550 Sport has 8,000 miles on it. This evening my right front tire went flat immediately after hitting an especially bad chuck hole in a poor suburb with horrible roads. The wheel has a gouge 3/32" deep in the edge of the wheel. The wheel was badly curbed earlier this winter. Last week before this most recent monster chuck hole I priced having the wheel refinished. They smooth out the bad stuff, but they can't add more metal to the wheel. The cost to have this cosmetic work done is $130 with rebalancing the wheel.

What should I do?
1. Should I just bite the bullet and buy a new wheel?
2. Are tires generally repairable after hitting multiple chuck holes and going flat? Or should I just bite another bullet and buy one new tire to replace this flat tire?
3. Can one replace one front tire and not the other? Or do I just have to replace both front tires?
4. I have the wheel and tire insurance that posters here recommended. Will they contribute to the cost of this?

 

4. You're covered entirely. Get a new wheel and tire.

 

+1

 

Call your insurance company and ask what their criteria are for rim repair. I just went through the same thing last week. The tire was toast and they would pay to replace that, but wouldn't cover the cosmetic damage to the rim. They required a check to see if the tire would hold air on the rim, if it held pressure, they wouldn't pay to repair the rim. The cosmetic damage is minor and the rim is not dented, so I guess I can't complain too much. I was promised that it covered cosmetic rim repair when I bought it though. Still, the one tire covered about 80% of the cost of the policy.

 

Take whatever the insurance company would allow for a wheel repair and buy a new one. Then if you are so inclined, have the damaged wheel fixed by one of the companies who can restore it to like-new condition. Keep it for a spare or for the next time your Chicago potholes attack again.

 

My wheel and tire insurance is with Paragon Motor Club, formerly theautoclub.com. I will find out how good they are and keep interested e60 members posted. They are here: http://www.paragonmotorclub.com/

 

I also have a claim for a new tire from them that I put in 2 weeks ago.
Good luck
cheers
vern