Cadillac XTS. Karma strikes. The Management Fleet

crankandpiston.com’s Phill Tromans discovers that karma can be ruthless when he backs the Management Fleet Cadillac XTS into a kerb and damages a rear tyre.

Karma is a funny thing, and it can come back and bite you on the behind. You may recall last month we were all mocking James Gent for kerbing the wheel on the Volkswagen Golf GTI. Bad move.

This month, I was manoeuvring our long term Cadillac XTS through a dark hotel car park when I accidentally dinged the right rear wheel on a kerb as I turned. Most annoying. Thankfully on close inspection, the damage to the rim itself was restricted to just a small scratch – the brunt of the impact had been taken by the tyre sidewall, and something had sliced right through it. The rubber was completely flat by the time I looked at it.

So, no more putting it off – time to get a new tyre, and at the same time sort out the tyre-pressure monitoring system that had been continually telling me that the right rear was low on pressure when it wasn’t. Ironically, it now read zero, which was the most accurate it had been for months.

There were a few hiccups in the dealership experience, but it was largely stress free. My first trip to the dedicated Liberty Automobiles Cadillac facility in darkest industrial Dubai was fruitless, as they didn’t have the necessary Goodyear Eagle RSA 19-inch tyre in stock. And then there was a public holiday, so I had to wait until the following week to go back. This wasn’t ideal, as it meant a few days pootling about on the small black space saver spare, which didn’t exactly look the part in the massive wheel well, and was about the thickness of a bicycle wheel. Not particularly confidence inspiring.

Still, nothing bad happened and a few days later I returned, handed the key over and spent some time relaxing on a very comfortable leather sofa in the Cadillac lounge. No mixing with the paupers that own Chevrolets or GMCs for me, oh no. Us Cadillac drivers are a breed above.

The process of changing the tyre, and of fixing the broken centre console storage space handle, took longer than I’d hoped, but I had a good book and a limitless supply of hot chocolate, so it wasn’t too much of a stress. After 90 minutes all was done, the handle replaced and a shiny new tyre installed. It wasn’t cheap though – the grand total was $563.57. That’s pretty good incentive to take care in the dark in future.