Hey All,

Sucks that my second post on here is this one, but such is life.

Long story short, I parked in a lot I shouldn't have, and my car was towed without my knowledge. I was literally only gone for 5 minutes. In that time, the predatory tow truck driver snuck in, grabbed my car, and got out of there. I don't know how he could have possibly radio'd for approval, positioned his truck, lifted my rear wheels and got out of there in under 5 minutes, but he did..

So they got me for the ridiculous $125 fee towing fee. Ok. Whatever. I pay it, and go home. Get out of my car and start looking around, hoping to find no damage. Boy, wouldn't that have been nice.

As I feared, the underside of the front lip is scraped to hell. I just bought the car a few weeks ago from Carmax and know this damage was not there before. I have some photos of the car from before, but nothing *extremely* clear showing that there is no damage (I wasn't under the car taking pictures of the lip...)

I have emailed the company and will call during business hours tomorrow in hopes this wrong can be righted. Since I am fairly confident I would just get a runaround from the towing company, I also had the police come out and file a report. The officer concluded that the damage was fresh. I really hate playing hardball like this but feel if I don't, I will be stuck with the repair bill.

Pictures of the damage are attached. It is that way all the way across the underside of the lip. Pretty bummed.

Any advice or thoughts? Fellow commiseration stories?

 

wow thats some pretty serious amount of scratches from how it was. good luck with the claim!

 

Dam towing company, I can't stand these guys. Hope they pay up! GL man hope all works out. Your going about it the right way, just follow up and keep us posted.

 

Is your car lowered?

 

Man.... I hope they don't say "You should've checked for damage before you left the impound lot." Stupid tow truck guy obviously needed to get out of there in a hurry and did not care for your car. I'm glad they at least towed it from the rear and didn't cause more damage to your car.

Hope it all works out

 

I don't believe so. To my knowledge, the car is all stock.

 

Damn man SUX, Guys that what happens when the tow guy flys in to scoop up a car,, They are proably going to say go pound sand, That was there, Ever see LIAR,LIAR,, :/.. Sorry man

 

Sorry to see the damage. But they just may say that you should have checked for damage before you left...and honestly... you should have checked for damage before you left, lol.

Otherwise, it will be hard to prove that you didn't go park somewhere else and get too close to a curb or something. GREAT idea to get the police report. That should help a bit. Maybe I'm being prejudiced but I can see them being difficult.

Good luck, bro!

 

I'm sure they will be difficult. I am hoping the owner will be a reasonable person and accept that his driver screwed up on this one.

I would have liked to inspect my car before I left the lot, but they were closing and the guy was practically "closing the gate" and if I didn't leave my car would have been stuck. It was also dark in the parking lot so I couldn't see, anyway.

Thanks for the comments. I will keep you posted!

 

Well, I'll say 5 mins, is impossible to tow a car. But if its true, they were def. rushing like hell. And hence the reason why there's damage.

Isnt it better to just file a claim with your insurance too? At least you probably don't have to deal with the tow company. Tow comp's surely going to keep BS'ing you. Let your ins deal with it.

 

If they don't pay and you have time small claims court might be your only hope. It's hit and miss because like some have said you need to inspect before you sign for your car..... no excuse will work here. Parking illegal is also no excuse even if only for 5 mins, many lots have spotters watching for people like you.
You would have a better chance if it was something mechanical that could be seen before driving the car. Good luck

 

Car can be hooked up and lifted in under a min. It's scary. Chicago tow truck drivers are good for this.

 

OOOH! Thats a GREAT Idea. especially since he has pictures previous to this. I'd say go that route if they don't comply. And then buy yourself a new front bumper cover like the IPL (if you like it) or some other one.

It may have been a blessing in disguise.

If something ever happens to my front, Im getting a new bumper. I just hope nothing ever happens to the rear since I don't like any aftermarket ones lol.

 

I don't mean to sound like an a$$, but from your pics it looks like curb damage caused by driving up on a high curb.

If a tow truck did it by picking it up from the rear and making the bumper drag, it seems there would be more damage to the lip below it by looking at where the scratches are on the bumper...they are very close to the lip instead of closer to the front like it would be from being picked too high in the rear.

Not defending the tow truck drive; I know they really don't care...but those pics don't show enough evidence to support it...I could be wrong though.

 

It's possible...I was just throwing it out there that the pics themselves don't seem to show completely if used for insurance or court purposes. It may look different in person...I would get some pics with better angles and better close ups.