Excuse Me While I Go Throw Up

// March 10th, 2006 // Cars & Bikes // 3,495 views

Take one set of really nasty potholes on Bellairs drive, one “unsuspecting” driver and what is the result? Bubble on the sidewall of the tyre, which naturally means…replacement.

So off to Tiger Wheel and Tyre to get it swapped with the full spare in the back. Now, this was supposed to be a temporary solution, till I had to replace another one, in which case two tyres wouldn’t break the bank “that much”. Hmm…right.

Upon inspection of the rear tyres, it became apparent my day was going to get worse. Said the friendly sales manager, “Sir, we’re going to have to replace both rear tyres - the thread is on the limit. It’s a small wonder that it lasted the 47,000 km’s. Now if you’re going to hit water……” I stopped him there. “I know,” I said. “It’s going to have to be replaced and there’s nothing else we can do.”

Now as luck would have it, it turns out that said branch received stock just yesterday, since the Pirelli P7 tyres are fitted to all the new Volvo’s - go figure. Even with the 30% discount, wheel balancing, blah blah, nitrogen filled, etc. etc. the three tyres came to a staggering R6000.

Well there goes my April holiday trip.

So, now yours truly is the “proud” owner of a set of 4 brand spanking new tyres and an old spare in the back. Oh and I’ll be getting a Pirelli jacket some time next week - for the pain and suffering.

**Update**
Turns out I’m not the only one who had to replace some tyres lately.

Technorati Tags: Pirelli, tyres, potholes,

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11 Responses to “Excuse Me While I Go Throw Up”

angel says:

March 10, 2006 at 5:24 pm

MAN- i love pirellis, i say a tyre can be beautiful- that’s how i describe them. and one day when i’m big i’m gonna have pirelli’s on my car!
Jam says:

March 11, 2006 at 4:47 pm

It’s seriously hard to NOT drive into potholes in JHB at the moment…I’m sure all tyre places are doing little rain dances over the piles of cash they’re making.
Daedalus says:

March 13, 2006 at 8:18 am

They have dedicated R13 bln to the Gautrain budget â€¦ I do not think they have much left to fix the roads with…
Billy says:

March 13, 2006 at 1:15 pm

I nearly got wiped out on Bel Airs last week when the car in front of me lost a wheel in a pot hole. Crazy!
Michelle says:

March 13, 2006 at 5:51 pm

Here’s another tyre-replacer checking in from the non-pothole Cape! 3 out of 4 had to go… There goes our FOOD, never mind any holidays.
ChittyChittyBangBang! says:

March 14, 2006 at 1:54 pm

Same thing happened to me yesterday.
Spending money I can ill-afford to.
Leon says:

March 16, 2006 at 5:44 pm

Well, I never thought i’d actually be one of the pothole victims. I had to replace the two left tyres (hence all of them) on my T5 yesterday. The cherrie on top was that I have to have one mag repaired because it buckled). Luckily when I bought the car it came with a full sized spare. Oh, and it was on CR Swart.
Aquila says:

March 17, 2006 at 8:19 am

Hey Leon, it looks like the T5’s are not built to hold up against the JHB potholes. I share your pain - I have a T5 myself. Tyres are not cheap.
David says:

November 30, 2006 at 7:57 am

Hey Guys,
I have also had damage to a V50 with Pirelli’s from a pothole. However it is important to know that where the defect in the road is known to the muncipality, you have a claim. Check with your lawyer - I was one for 27 years! On Saturday I lost both left tyes (and the rest) as the result of roadworks that were left unmarked in Hillcrest. The Local authority is going to pay for my damage.
Hopes this helps.
Aquila says:

December 1, 2006 at 4:17 pm

Good stuff David. Next time I think I’ll give you a call then.
Pirellinut says:

August 25, 2008 at 12:22 pm

Pirelli tyres are great, They work well, You cannot expect any tyre to hold up against the poor road conditions in this country.