Can I do anything about a wheel falling off?
Discussion
Ok so I bought a used car a from a private seller and a week later after leaving a garage for some knocking noises on my way back the wheel the wheel came off(nuts gone and wheel hub stud snapped). Luckily I was driving slowly at the time so no harm to me but but I've had to spend about half a grand on recovery and repairs.
Everyones telling me it's because of loose wheel nuts period.
So either the garage didn't tighten the nuts properly or the guy I bought it from (who was a diy mechanic and told me he had been fixing a few things) didn't do it properly.
Obviously it would be difficult to prove who it was so I guess nothing can be done about this? But if I could get camera footage of me going into the garage with 4 wheel nuts and then the wheels coming off on the way back might I be able to do something? Problem here is though i was on londons many cameras how would I get such footage and even then, the garage may say they didn't remove the wheels which may/may not be true(I went to them for a knocking noise under car and they examined ball joints and anti roll bar and then did a test drive).
Can anything be done about this, any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Everyones telling me it's because of loose wheel nuts period.
So either the garage didn't tighten the nuts properly or the guy I bought it from (who was a diy mechanic and told me he had been fixing a few things) didn't do it properly.
Obviously it would be difficult to prove who it was so I guess nothing can be done about this? But if I could get camera footage of me going into the garage with 4 wheel nuts and then the wheels coming off on the way back might I be able to do something? Problem here is though i was on londons many cameras how would I get such footage and even then, the garage may say they didn't remove the wheels which may/may not be true(I went to them for a knocking noise under car and they examined ball joints and anti roll bar and then did a test drive).
Can anything be done about this, any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Can't see why the garage would take your wheels off for what they inspected. They would not do it unless they had to. You simply don't know who's at fault unfortunately. If they were loose pre-garage - and I mean really loose - as they would have had to be, I'm surprised they didn't notice, but then they would nto be looking at the wheel nuts for a knocking noise.
DIW35 said:
I'm thinking the knocking may have been a result of the already loose wheel nuts. You could argue that the garage should have spotted that, but it would point the finger of blame at the previous owner. I think you're going to struggle to get any recompense out of this one.
I know a loose wheel nut could cause a knocking noise, but would that knocking noise be under the car in front of the gear box and clutch(so it felt when driving)? If it turns out the cause of the noise was the loose nuts, then it must have been the previous owner. I took it to two mechanics both of whom probably just assumed the wheel nuts were on fine and didn't diagnose properly so that's not very good either.
So if it was due to loose nuts, who do I go to and what can be done, seems like everyone's saying nothing?
elanfan said:
I don’t suppose you did any checking yourself? You’ll have no comeback as you should have and private sale.
Sorry.
Nope, I just assumed the seller wouldn't be so negligent to do something which could have caused his or my death, but i guess this is a lesson not to ensure I do those checks.Sorry.
SpeedySpeedBoy said:
If it turns out the cause of the noise was the loose nuts, then it must have been the previous owner. I took it to two mechanics both of whom probably just assumed the wheel nuts were on fine and didn't diagnose properly so that's not very good either.
So if it was due to loose nuts, who do I go to and what can be done, seems like everyone's saying nothing?
“Must have been the previous owner”So if it was due to loose nuts, who do I go to and what can be done, seems like everyone's saying nothing?
“Probably just assumed”
Where do you come in to this? Do you think it’s everyone else’s fault but yours?
your entire post history is impressive. and that's just the topics you've started ...
MOVED: Any penalty for defective wiper? ( 1)
Any penalty for defective wiper? ( 17)
About the london motorshow live arena ( 1)
How do you feel about dash cams and being prosecuted? ( 165)
Appealing motorway impound ( 15)
Pulling up on hard shoulder due to check engine light? ( 33)
Parts and labour? ( 40)
Garage no longer want to work on my car cos Im not loyal ( 79)
What is the penalty for driving with an extra passenger? ( 35)
MOVED: What is an police advisory? ( 1)
What is an police advisory? ( 24)
Penalty points for missing lug nuts? ( 31)
Liability when no claims are being made ( 15)
Can I do anything about a wheel falling off? ( 11)
MOVED: Any penalty for defective wiper? ( 1)
Any penalty for defective wiper? ( 17)
About the london motorshow live arena ( 1)
How do you feel about dash cams and being prosecuted? ( 165)
Appealing motorway impound ( 15)
Pulling up on hard shoulder due to check engine light? ( 33)
Parts and labour? ( 40)
Garage no longer want to work on my car cos Im not loyal ( 79)
What is the penalty for driving with an extra passenger? ( 35)
MOVED: What is an police advisory? ( 1)
What is an police advisory? ( 24)
Penalty points for missing lug nuts? ( 31)
Liability when no claims are being made ( 15)
Can I do anything about a wheel falling off? ( 11)
Pistonheads, where being an asshole matters. 
Garage should have checked, knocking noises are likely to have been the loose wheel bashing about. Any numptie garage should have spotted it right away.
You could try writing a carefully worded email to them requesting an explanation as to how they missed something so obvious, and that they either missed it or failed to torque the bolts up after their explanation. This is on the assumption they billed you for anything? Inspection, labour etc? If not, you've got no hope.
Not sure how far you would get, but if a main dealer/chain if dealerships you might be able to help your cause with requesting their complaints or head office details unless they rectify their cock up.
imo is it their cock up, most people don't know a wheel bolt from a wheel stud. They trust the garage to, and to sort it for them.
Garage should have checked, knocking noises are likely to have been the loose wheel bashing about. Any numptie garage should have spotted it right away.
You could try writing a carefully worded email to them requesting an explanation as to how they missed something so obvious, and that they either missed it or failed to torque the bolts up after their explanation. This is on the assumption they billed you for anything? Inspection, labour etc? If not, you've got no hope.
Not sure how far you would get, but if a main dealer/chain if dealerships you might be able to help your cause with requesting their complaints or head office details unless they rectify their cock up.
imo is it their cock up, most people don't know a wheel bolt from a wheel stud. They trust the garage to, and to sort it for them.
Andehh said:
Pistonheads, where being an asshole matters.
Garage should have checked, knocking noises are likely to have been the loose wheel bashing about. Any numptie garage should have spotted it right away.
imo is it their cock up, most people don't know a wheel bolt from a wheel stud. They trust the garage to, and to sort it for them.
"most people" probably shouldn't be driving. The OP has history. I don't think it's unfair to take that into account when answering his sillinessGarage should have checked, knocking noises are likely to have been the loose wheel bashing about. Any numptie garage should have spotted it right away.
imo is it their cock up, most people don't know a wheel bolt from a wheel stud. They trust the garage to, and to sort it for them.
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