Wheel falling off after powdercoating...

[TonyM]

My mate had his astra VXR wheels powdered at http://www.wheelrepair.co.uk/, it supposed to be quite reknown for good work. Since he has been hearing a knocking noise near the wheel, was on the way to vauxhall to find out what it was and wheel came off driving. There is obviously alot of damage to the car and at first wrc said they where liable, seeing as they where the last people to take the wheel off.. But now they are denieing liability because vauxhall had taken the bumper off prior to it happening.

Where does he stand in some kind of battle to get them to pay this £4000+

[Neil]

powdercoating will not usually not cause a wheel to come off mate....... not unless its been done on the fly and hasnt been done properly ie: threads all covered up when done.

if a company powdercoats the wheels they're done professionally.... check and make sure the threads arent stripped on the wheels first, if so.....are they stripped due to the threads being wrecked on the stud? check the wheel stud as well to see if thats been stripped, putting a stud back into a wheel the slightest of wrong angles will destroy the threads and crossthread the entire lot, disc, wheel, the lot.

the wheel company are paid to powdercoat a wheel only, check the other wheels, are all the threads clean and dont have any powdercoating colour in them? if so.... check the damaged wheel and see if it has where the threads are....

if they dont, then its vauxhall to blame mate... i work doing powdercoating and respraying cars and ive never found that even a quick powdercoat around wheels has ever damaged threads going into wheel studs, its possible yes....... but very doubtful if the comany have done a proper job.

[TonyM]

Yea but they where the last people to take that wheel off. It could just be that they didnt put the wheel back on right, not about getting anything in the thread.

[smartly]

Yes, they would have taken the wheels off and have a duty of care to put them back on and tighten them. How long after did the knocking start and how long after that did the wheel fall off? At what stage did the dealer take the bumper off? Did they take the wheel off? Are they prepared to put in writing that they didn't if they didn't?

[Neil]

Yea but they where the last people to take that wheel off. It could just be that they didnt put the wheel back on right, not about getting anything in the thread.

just looking at all available possibilities mate sometimes paint in the threads can get in the way when putting a wheel back on but it needs to be MEGA HEAVY to even do that... powdercoating ive never seen that happen yet, but it may be a possibility... whoever put the wheels on and off the car is to blame, they are the last person to do that and if they saw damage on the threads it should have been noted and mentioned while doing so..... its a garages responsability to do so for the safety of the customer as far as im concerned.

if vauxhall took the wheels off, then theyre to blame, if not.... then whoever took them off and put them on is to blame.

[Sag]

What was the time frame from his having the wheels refitted at WRC, and the wheel falling off.
Also, why did Vaux have to take the bumper off, as you have written they took it off prior to the accident?

He hasn't got much ground to stand on in my opinion:
1. He cannot prove that the wheel has not been removed since leaving WRC
2. Depending on the time above, he should have reported the problem to WRC as soon as he left their premises.

[Greg]

Why are you asking us?

[Neil]

maybe hoping someone has had experiance in this before mate and anyone from a legal point of view's opinion on this.

if in doubt try your local citizens advice beareu if he's not sure what to do or where he stands. someones mucked up on this though.

[C2Gavi]

I think it's a possibility they haven't re-fitted the wheel correctly & are trying to whiggle out of it by claiming that vauxhall have done shoddy work.

if this was the case then shouldnt WRC be liable to check that:

[a] inspect the wheels etc. first so it is safe for them to remove & perform there work.
Health & Safety Act 1974 - Acts & [B]emissions

If they arent directly responsibile it is there responsibility to inform you that vauxhall have possibly maybe a cock up & that your friends wheel may/should come off, by not actually informing you they are putting your friend at risk & other drivers at risk aswell as damaging the car itself.

so IF WRC are the last one to remove the wheel then they are the liable party. i would advise your friend to look into investigating all possible avenues &
get some legal advice.


There is obviously alot of damage to the car and at first wrc said they where liable+

They have admitted to being liable.

ask them for a private settlement (repairing the damages) or Take them to court would be his best bet if they refuse. They will more than likely
pay up for the reason that they won't want a bad reputation.

Who fitted your friends wheels back to the car?
- is he qualified/trained to use the machinery & tools he probaly used to bolt the wheels back on?
- did he use the correct bolts?
- if he isnt qualified why is he using the machinery on your vehicle.

theres loads of reasons you could try to get them to pay up.


hope this helps.

[TonyM]

Why are you asking us?

Just wondering what peoples thoughts on it where.

Not sure what hes done so far, but the car is at WRC, they did admit liability to start with though.

[Greg]

Just wondering what peoples thoughts on it where.

Not sure what hes done so far, but the car is at WRC, they did admit liability to start with though.


Ahh right fair play.

[Zorrosmart]

This will have to be claim in personal insurance IMHO

[Neil]

never read that they have admitted liability, did they have this in writing or verbally to the person? was there any witnesses from the victims side to back this up that they have admitted liability?

if so then you have a very strong case.