Côte-des-Neiges pothole spawns hubcap graveyard

Huseyin Bakirci was driving along Decelles Avenue in Côte-des-Neiges on Wednesday night when he hit a pothole so huge it broke two of his car's rims and sent two of his hubcaps flying.

"When I went over the pothole it was like a big noise. After that the car really shook a lot but I was able to stay straight," Bakirci said. 

At first he did not realize the extent of the damage to his car and continued on to his friend's home to drop him off.

When his friend got out of the car, he noticed two of Bakirci's rims were broken and his hubcaps were missing.

"He said, 'Hey, did you remove your caps?'" Bakirci said.

They returned to the scene to retrieve them and in the process discovered a hubcap graveyard.

More than a dozen hubcaps littered the road where Bakirci had lost his. He decided to snap some photos of them, as well as of the pothole. 

He said he called the city the next morning to inform them of the pothole and find out how to get the city to pay for the damage to his car.

City wants to know about potholes

However, Montreal spokesman Jacques-Alain Lavallée said it's actually pretty rare that people ever get any money back because the law technically exonerates the city in almost every circumstance where material damage is caused by road conditions.

Still, Lavallée said, they appreciate when residents tell them about monster potholes.

“We also ask our citizens to signal us any information regarding potholes, so whether this one had been repaired or wasn’t repaired," Lavallée said.

"Don’t forget, the weather conditions are so cold and despite that we still do a lot of pothole filling as quickly as possible because we want to ensure the safety of the roads is maintained in Montreal for citizens.”

My car got damaged by a pothole. What now?

What do I need to do?

• Go to an Access Montreal office to fill out a form within 15 days of the incident, or fax a printed copy to 514-872-6082.
• Call Access Montreal for more information: 514-872-2977.
• After filling out the form, you have up to six months to present your claim.

How long does it take to get your money back?

• "It varies but it could go up to six months," Lavallée said.

How much money can you get back?
It depends on whether you want to go to the small claims court after. If it's for less than $7,000, you can go to small claims court.

The city only gets about 300 claims a year. Why so few?

The law exonerates the city from any damage incurred to vehicles' tires or suspension.