UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi All,

Won't bore you with all the details, but a week back, I hit a sizable piece of rock, when I was forced wide by a driver avoiding a puddle. Hitting the rock at maybe 50 -55mph resulted in a huge lump on the tyre, and my tracking 2.2 degrees out, all at a cost of £80.

My worry is: Could I have sustained any other damage to the car which hasn't been picked up on by tyre fitters? As the car still seems to be driving differently!

Any advice would be appreciated!

Bushes or suspension arm, hub (unlikely), bearing (possible and dangerous).

Have you check that the wheel itself isn't buckled? If you put the spare on does it still handle the same?

Your only real chance of a diagnosis(sp?) is getting it on a ramp at the dealers, I'm afraid.

You can see the rear lower bush if you put it on full lock and look under the rear inside of the wheel arch liner, but I don't know what it would look like in a damaged state... Plus there are others that would also need checked.

You can check for a knackered bearing by driving it for a while and putting your hand on the centre of the wheel - compare with the other side (as they'll be hot from the brakes) -- is the suspect side any hotter?

You might have to swallow a diagnoisis fee at your dealer, I'm afraid.

Deek.

similar thing happened to me in my rover 45, the ball joint on the hit side was knackered.

Thanks for the advice guys.

It is becoming a worry!

If I hold steering wheel in straight postion it will drift to the right, if i let go of the steering wheel it will drift to the left (impact side), makes little sense to me! I was considering a trip to my local dealership, however with my job I rarely fit in with their opening times, which causes problems. Im also worried about being left with a huge dealership bill - could I claim on insurance?

Oh the wheel isnt knacked as the tyre fitters put a new tyre on it, I assume they would have picked up on that!?

sounds like your suspension arm may be bent, it is designed to collapse with impact, would have thought tire fitters would have noticed this tho, kinda difficult to see when not on ramps. presumably it is on the left.....turn the wheels fully to the right and have a look at the back of arm, £50 for a new one from the dealer.

Thanks Tim!

Ive now spoken to two dealerships, the first said not to drive the car, and that they would be able to look at it in two weeks....not very helpful! The second told me to take it to a bodywork shop! I need my car for work, and am now completely cluelesss!!!

Matt

Just before my polo went in for it's service, when it was under warrenty, thinkin that it would be an oil top up etc I got hit with a 1k bill for various things, including new front & rear brake pads & discs which were the most expensive part of it.

Anyway, the VW garage also said that one of my alloy wheels was damaged and that I needed a new alloy - me being a woman even knew that an alloy is a lot of £££'s.

My boyfriend didnt think that the alloy was damaged, admittedly it was drifting, but we had put that down to me having to drive in a very deep pothole (which they'd also told me had put my tracking out big time).

In the inside of the alloy there was some damage, but it was only slight. VW's view on this was that the inside of the alloy was not circular, which apparently meant spending money on a brand new alloy.

Thankfully my dad helped me out big time and paid for it, including the new alloy. It cost £110 plus VAT, though got Holburns to fit the new tyre to it (to not give all my dad's money to VW)

Anyway, a bit of a long story, but you might want to check if you have got alloys that you dont have any damage.