Hillbilly tow truck idiot says hi!

[ForeignMuscle]

So has anyone on here had the unfortunate experience of meeting Mr. 2-wheel tow truck driver yet? I'm curious as to how well the AWD LX cars can hold up to the abuse. My beater talon got yanked from a friend's apartment complex a couple weeks ago (due to a mis-guiding visitor parking sign) and although clearly marked with all-wheel drive badges, and the fact that he would have had to see the rear differential when hooking up his truck, the driver dragged it on two wheels anyways, destroying the center differential and viscous coupler. I found some surprises when dissassembling the center differential.




So has anyone has the unfortunate experience of finding out what happens to a AWD LX in this situation yet? and if so, what was the outcome?

[LowGo]

That really sucks. Are they responsible at all for the damages?

I have never had my car towed, and I certainly hope I never have the unfortunate experience of having an idiot tow truck driver do it without my knowledge. I would dare say that it would not be a good thing for an AWD LX!

[HemiHearse]

Anybody worth his salt as a Recovery Technician would know that AWD's require rollbacks only. I'd be getting their insurance adjusters ear if that happened to me.

[Jimsmag06]

I have been in towing and recovery for 11 years....My rule is, when in doubt, Dolly or flatbed. And always look at all 4 corners, to see if there are CV axles!
Yes, The towing company IS responsible. And when doing a Private Property Tow, I always dolly, because we cant access the vehicle to secure the steering wheel.
Jim

[ForeignMuscle]

I have been in towing and recovery for 11 years....My rule is, when in doubt, Dolly or flatbed. And always look at all 4 corners, to see if there are CV axles!
Yes, The towing company IS responsible. And when doing a Private Property Tow, I always dolly, because we cant access the vehicle to secure the steering wheel.
Jim

Do you have any recommendations as to how to handle this? It happened about 2 weeks ago and I have been on the fence about what to do. Luckily between two friends of mine I was able to get all the parts fairly quick to fix the transmission myself, ended up costing me about $100 in parts, on top of the original $150 tow fee. I have called them a couple times but the tow company just swears they used dolleys, though it's obvious they didn't. It really pisses me off as it was a set back for me on on top of the $250 i didn't plan on spending, but I'm not sure if $250 is worth the hassle of going after them.

[Hemi31]

Don't forget to add in the time it actually took to fix the car Dave.If you had to have a shop fix it you would have been out alot more than $250.

[chance6384]

Yessir.. your time is valuable too... nobody works for free.

[NOTPAID4]

Man, what an idiot! I'd be mad as H#+*!!! It's the principal as much as the $!

[tt_dexter]

Tough spot to be in. Personally, It wouldn't be worth the aggravation to try to get reimbursed. It's clear they won't take responsibility for their actions so you'll have to take them to small claims court without a lawyer (I doubt you'd find one that would take it for less than $500). If a "Certified" repair facility (whatever that is) had done the work and could demonstrate that the only way the damages could have happened would be from improper towing...you might be able to recover your costs (including labor). I think you're own labor is lost and there is no real way to prove that they caused the failure. OK, enough arm-chair lawyer-ing.

Yes, I think it stinks but, your sanity is more important in the long run. It's great that you have friends that were able to chip in and help when you needed it. I think you should add the cost of your friends favorite beers and share a fun evening to thank them.

[moonstreaker]

I've been a victim of the tow truck idiot. Though it wasn't AWD. I wasn't there when the car was hooked up...my wife (g/f at the time) was there to supervise. I was having my '86 Mustang GT towed to a friend's shop who was going to allow me to use his lift to replace a busted tie-rod and leaky power steering rack. Well the inbred sonbitch that towed the car neglected to remove the drive shaft for a 15 mi tow (12 of which was highway).

My wife was driving behind the tow truck. She said that as the deuche bag was getting up to speed entering the highway there was a bang, pop, and then a nice cloud of smoke. Did the dipstick even bother to pull over? Nope...just kept right on going like nothing happened. By the time the car made it to the other end the transmission was so bound up that the car couldn't turn over in N or P. It took about 15 mins of cranking in order to break it loose.

There were so many hard parts in the tranny destroyed that it would have been cheaper to replace it. But then I couldn't have had that wonderful bullet proof AOD built. I had no problems dealing with AAA, they overnighted me the check to cover the rebuild the day after it was finished. The worst part of the whole ordeal was driving my wifes k-car for almost a month.

[SickMyDuck]

I heart Jews!