Getting towed? Heres some must see advice!
 

I posted this on a couple other forums as well, figured I would share my experience with you guys so you can know what to do if your in the same position so you don't get :owned: by the tow company. Maybe mods could make this a sticky to inform as many people as possible!!!

So this past week I required my car to be towed. The tow company that came, immediately started hooking up the car to be placed on a flat bed. I didn't want to be annoying, but I warned the driver about my wheels, and that I didn't want him to hook anything up to them (because I have seen some tow companies place hooks on the rims to keep the car tied down while driving). I then let the driver do his job, expecting and assuming he would use wood blocks and the front tow hook because the car sits so low. He did not. He also didn't even ask for the front tow hook. I didn't say anything because most drivers are experienced and find it annoying when people tell them how to do their jobs. I decided there's a good chance hes going to scrape the bottom of my front bumper on the tow bed, so I pulled out my cell phone camera ready to record a video if the lip touched the bed of the truck. I recorded a video of my front bumper dragging along the tow bed, and filed a claim with the tow company after.

The tow company was very upset that I had recorded a video, and that I filed a claim for the scrapes on the bottom of the lip. They immediately questioned me (on a recorded phone call) as to why I didn't tell the driver he was damaging the car, and how do they know that there was no preexisting damage to the lip, and what EXACT damage occurred, and on which parts of the bumper (be very careful how you answer that, because if you describe any less damage on the bumper then there actually is, they will try to say the rest of it was preexisting because you didn't describe it to them).

Here is some steps to take in case you are ever in this position:
1. MOST IMPORTANT STEP Record a video of the damage taking place, showing the complete bumper as its being scraped, and take detailed photos
2. You do not/should not tell the driver he is damaging the car at the time it is occurring, unless you already have it on video. The driver would immediately lower the vehicle back down and if it wasn't recorded yet, you would not have had video evidence of him damaging it in action. He then would have deny any sort of claim that you make about him damaging it and you wouldn't have had evidence of that from the beginning. You are not being paid to teach the driver how to tow a vehicle, and it is not your job to teach them how to do theirs. Also, by mentioning the damage as its occurring, you run the risk of the driver leaving you stranded and having to wait for another company to come tow you, possibly opening up the opportunity for even more damage to be done.
3. Call the Tow company after it is dropped off, you are NOT obligated to inform the driver at the time of the incident.
4. You don't have any obligation of proving there was no previous damage because you have your evidence of them damaging it, but they don't have any sort of evidence that it was previously damaged before hand.
5. Inform the tow company that you have a video of the damage occurring, and they need to send someone to inspect it at the location of YOUR choice, not theirs.
6. Immediately email them a recap of all conversations, so there is a paper trail in the event they try to deny fault.
7. If they try to blame any damages on you, inform them that you have the video of the damage as its OCCURRING during the tow, and ask them if they have any pictures or if they did any previous inspection of the vehicle prior to the tow, proving that there was any previous damage on the bumper. (They will not have any). Be careful of what you say to them, because informing them of any sort of previous damage could result in them not covering the complete amount of repairs because of the preexisting damage, even if the damage you had was so minimal that it wouldn't require a repaint.
8. Get a written estimate for repairs by the shop of your choice, and submit that info to the tow company. If they try to low ball you and not pay the exact amount of the estimate, decline any offers that are short of the cost of the estimate to repair.
9. Inform the tow company that if they do not want to take responsibility for their actions, you will contact your lawyer, with the video and evidence you have obtained. You should also inform them that you will file a BBB complaint, and if the tow company was called by the police or your insurance, that you would be filing a complaint with them as well.
10. They will try to intimidate you and say that the video doesn't prove anything, but once you mention the above, their attitudes will completely change, and they will write you a check or pay the shop of your choice directly for the repairs.
11. Do not let them bully you into thinking you do not have a claim, or that they are not responsible for the damages. Be careful of what you sign at the time the car is dropped off, because the receipt will usually have something on it releasing them of any damages done to the vehicle.
12. If they still don't want to take fault, contact your insurance company and open a claim with them, submitting any evidence you have to them and they will cover your repairs and pursue action for reimbursement from the tow company. If you don't want a claim on your own insurance, ask them for their company insurance info and open the claim with them instead, or contact your lawyer and go that route.

If you have a video of the damage occurring, they have absolutely no choice but to cover the cost of the damages that occurred due to the negligence of their driver.

Questions to ask in case of denial of fault:
1. What are the drivers qualifications to tow
2. Why didn't the driver use the front tow hook
3. Why did the driver not use wood blocks while loading a lowered vehicle
4. Why Should I have to tell your driver how to do HIS job (they get pretty speechless when you ask them that one lol)
5. If your driver or your equipment isn't capable of towing a low sports car without damaging it, why didn't they refuse the tow?
6. Why didn't your driver do a pre-tow inspection proving there was no preexisting damage the vehicle?

Basically if you take the above steps when your in this position, you can rest assured knowing you will be compensated for any damages that occurred to your car caused by the tow company! I wrote this so that anyone who finds themselves in the same position, can take the right steps to avoid getting screwed for damages they didn't do. :tup:

Good info, Repped. :tup:

My car has been towed twice since I owned it and each time I removed the front bumper and advised the driver to please be very careful and each time they were very good with using blocks and hook points...

one driver told me the tow hook was to pull the car and not for getting it onto the bed... but both times they were successful, but I have heard a ton of horror stories...

Back in day a tow company ripped my integras bumper right off my car , and i was SOL.. no video and they said it was tow at my own risk , I agreed, and they carelessly just pulled my car on and didn't give a darn about it...

its all about the driver and what kind of person he is really....

great info though, thanks!

Rep for you good sir. :tup:

My Z was towed from in front of my own house inside 2 hours from coming home because it was parked on the street since my roommate had friends over and their cars were in the driveway. They didn't use a flatbed, they had this one that has arms that deploy inside the rear wheels and lift. Talk about furious, I called to have my car reported stolen and that's when I found out... the 911 operator told me it had been towed and where to pick it up. For the OP I live in Glendale and they towed it to MESA!! :mad:

$300 later I picked it up, but it was luckily scratch free. :shakes head:

That's crappy man, that is a LONG drive! I am out in Surprise. You're lucky they didn't damage anything, I'm surprised dragging it didn't cause any scrapes to your front lip!

I had my 350z towed and the tow truck the insurance company sent out would not even attempt to tow it after seeing I was lowered. I went home and googled companies that can tow exotic sports cars. The next day the guy asked if I had a tow hook, then placed wooden planks in front of my wheels and towed my car without any problems. Not every tow company is used to towing a lowered car.

We'll have to meet up sometime and trash talk the towing companies here. :rofl2:

Thanks C6! All good advice. I had to have my Z32TT towed once... the day I purchased the roadster, actually. That is another story though. I was fortunate that my tow guy was and enthusiast (S13 owner) and treated my car as it were his own. Then he hung around for about a half an hour shooting the bull as I started looking for my electronic gremlin. :tup:

One thing that is also important is to be very clear when you call in your tow about your car being modified/lowered to ensure they send the correct equipment. It's best to wait for the right one that get towed by the wrong one!!!

One thing... Threatening to file a complaint with the BBB does absolutely nothing to scare a company - I've tried that several times and most places honestly don't care about the BBB at all.

They definitely don't have the pull they used to.

Definitely man! As soon as my car is out of the shop we should get together! Is there any Z/G meets that you attend in the area?

The company was fairly new to the area (within the last couple of years) so that made a huge impact on them. Calling the Department of Public Safety (the company that dispatched them to come tow) was even more of an impact, because of so much referral business, they were worried about losing the contract.

good job wide. :tup:


but this is just a start of tow companies denying towing low riding cars when you are really in need. i suppose we could undo the front bumper while we wait at the scene for a disabled car.

I would also suggest everyone get AAA. The tow company usually will not refuse the tow, and you can forward your complaints to AAA. Excellent info OP.