Road hazard destroys oil pan

[Scrippy]

Hey guys,

I had the misfortune of running over something on a dark road. The blacktop is smushed from constant 18 wheeler traffic causing a raised bump in the road center of lane. I could not avoid it and drove over it and heard in complete horror this raised up road scrap/impact the bottom of my car. When I got home oil was pouring out of the engine. What I am wondering is how would I go about learning what city is responsible for maintaining a safe road condition for this road? I would just like to seek reimbursement for repairs.

[rcracin]

Insurance is your best bet. Trying to get money from any city is like trying to get blood from a rock. NYC couldn't pay for all the damage to cars due to potholes and poorly maintained roads so they just ignore us.

[pbonsalb]

City is probably not liable unless it had advance warning of the problem and failed to fix it. You can try but be prepared for frustration and failure.

[amrazM]

Originally Posted by rcracin

Insurance is your best bet. Trying to get money from any city is like trying to get blood from a rock. NYC couldn't pay for all the damage to cars due to potholes and poorly maintained roads so they just ignore us.

+1. then they repave the roads and its immediately dug up for construction and poorly patched up.

[Scrippy]

Yeah I hear you guys. Where would I start anyway? The deformity on the roadway where this happened is like a 5" anomaly and this will happen again to someone. Who to call to figure out what municipality to contact?

[Scrippy]

Already not a good morning.

[pbonsalb]

That is all stuff you have to figure out. It’s not easy. Figure out whether it is city, county or state road then contact maintenance or dot

[carenthuziast]

Good lord. How far did you drive from damage to home?

Does anyone remember back in the day when there was a Castrol Syntec commercial where the oil was drained and it still ran? You’re lucky the engine did not seize.

The city will not reimburse you anything.

I had this happen to me once where I drove over a concrete median and cracked the oil pan.

[McSwine]

Just get it fixed and put it behind you. There's probably not a damn thing you can do about it and pursuing it will just piss you off.

[EJT86]

Seems the city is the only entity that can legally get away with the “we didn’t know” excuse

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by McSwine

Just get it fixed and put it behind you. There's probably not a damn thing you can do about it and pursuing it will just piss you off.

It's already at BMW and I reported it to my insurance. Considering the oil pan alone is $1200, I'll be happy to pay my deductible and move on. I will still be attempting to seek reimbursement. I was told to try dot.ca.gov and they do have a claim section for damages up to 10,000. I'll gladly piss in the wind and try.

[carenthuziast]

Originally Posted by Scrippy

It's already at BMW and I reported it to my insurance. Considering the oil pan alone is $1200, I'll be happy to pay my deductible and move on. I will still be attempting to seek reimbursement. I was told to try dot.ca.gov and they do have a claim section for damages up to 10,000. I'll gladly piss in the wind and try.

At this point can’t your insurance company cut you a check and then have them go after the gov for the claim as they would do the same if another driver damaged your car?

[Flying Ace]

Ouch. Hopefully you didn't have any oil starvation in the motor.

[Solo_M_Tech]

The insurance company will most likely total the car out if they suspect any internal engine damage.

I had a friend hit a ladder on the interstate with his F10 M5. The engine spun a bearing before he got the car pulled over due to oil starvation ( oil cooler was completely ripped open). Insurance company initially paid to have the oil cooler replaced. Dealer completed the work, but upon start up an obvious knock could be heard. Something the insurance company knew about before replacing the oil cooler. They had to eventually total the car since the engine replacement cost exceeded their maximum.

I'll be shocked if they don't try to total the car.

[DreamTime]

Originally Posted by Scrippy

It's already at BMW and I reported it to my insurance. Considering the oil pan alone is $1200, I'll be happy to pay my deductible and move on. I will still be attempting to seek reimbursement. I was told to try dot.ca.gov and they do have a claim section for damages up to 10,000. I'll gladly piss in the wind and try.

A buddy of mine just bent one of his wheels on a horrible series of potholes on I-85 here in town. He contacted the city, who told him to reach out to DOT. He's in the process of possibly getting reimbursed in some way or another, but it has been a huge PITA. Apparently, the contractor who is doing all the construction on the I-85/385 interchange has the responsibility to pay for things like this because they have been tearing up the interstate so bad. Not sure how relevant this is to your situation, as there are some key differences. But, it does seem that DOT is the right place to maybe start asking questions, if you do want to seek some sort of reimbursement.

[dkracing]

Can you get more detailed pics?

If you have to go through this headache, might as well document it.

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

Ouch. Hopefully you didn't have any oil starvation in the motor.

I can almost guarantee I do. The pan is coming off and I asked my advisor for a RB quote secondary to obvious damage quote. I would handle the RB replacement myself. I'm curious to see the state of WPC bearings I put in 90,000 ago anywho.

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by DreamTime

A buddy of mine just bent one of his wheels on a horrible series of potholes on I-85 here in town. He contacted the city, who told him to reach out to DOT. He's in the process of possibly getting reimbursed in some way or another, but it has been a huge PITA. Apparently, the contractor who is doing all the construction on the I-85/385 interchange has the responsibility to pay for things like this because they have been tearing up the interstate so bad. Not sure how relevant this is to your situation, as there are some key differences. But, it does seem that DOT is the right place to maybe start asking questions, if you do want to seek some sort of reimbursement.

Thanx for the insight. I always knew it would be like moving mountains to make whomever is responsible for road worthiness step up but I will give it a go. The good news is there is an actual submittal process for claims at all, so I'll see what happens. I just have to wait for the tab of repair to show up for the claim.

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by dkracing

Can you get more detailed pics?

If you have to go through this headache, might as well document it.

I did take video and an abundance of pictures already. This is the cause here. Constant big truck traffic has depressed the road and the edges on either side of the depressions are minimum of 5" above the road surface plain. The fucked up road is right where the rear wheels of a truck sit at the light. The weight of the load on the kingpin is what is causing the road deformity.

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by ham_sammich

The insurance company will most likely total the car out if they suspect any internal engine damage.

I had a friend hit a ladder on the interstate with his F10 M5. The engine spun a bearing before he got the car pulled over due to oil starvation ( oil cooler was completely ripped open). Insurance company initially paid to have the oil cooler replaced. Dealer completed the work, but upon start up an obvious knock could be heard. Something the insurance company knew about before replacing the oil cooler. They had to eventually total the car since the engine replacement cost exceeded their maximum.

I'll be shocked if they don't try to total the car.

I'm not opposed to a totaling of the car. I owe little to nothing and I like Space Grey more than jet black. I also wouldn't mind a carbon fiber roof.

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by EJT86

Seems the city is the only entity that can legally get away with the “we didn’t know” excuse

True but the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

[Scrippy]

Originally Posted by carenthuziast

Good lord. How far did you drive from damage to home?

Does anyone remember back in the day when there was a Castrol Syntec commercial where the oil was drained and it still ran? YouÂ’re lucky the engine did not seize.

The city will not reimburse you anything.

I had this happen to me once where I drove over a concrete median and cracked the oil pan.

So other than the noise of hitting the bump.....no warning lights. No temp increase but it was 47 degrees, so weather was on my side for once. The valves were noisy by the time I got home and there was like 4 liters of oil on the floor when I shut it down. It all fell out when I stopped the car like it was circulating and when the pump shut off.....splushe! This isn't saying much because the oil level sensor is not a real time reporter.