Tow truck damage done to a 9 year old Pilot?

[wsar10]

I would say there is a solid point missing.... It definitely would not be on a tow truck driver or company (legally or anecdotally, this was clearly the result of a parking violation and quite often an excessive parking violation. Its not lost on me that all areas are different but here they will do everything in their power to resolve a situation before even calling a towing company. I know other places that just don't have time for this or the concern and just want to have a vehicle yanked, this is daily in Philly!

My frustration would lay with the root cause of the issue, not the forced outcome.

 

[parshisa]

I would say there is a solid point missing.... It definitely would not be on a tow truck driver or company (legally or anecdotally, this was clearly the result of a parking violation and quite often an excessive parking violation. Its not lost on me that all areas are different but here they will do everything in their power to resolve a situation before even calling a towing company. I know other places that just don't have time for this or the concern and just want to have a vehicle yanked, this is daily in Philly!

My frustration would lay with the root cause of the issue, not the forced outcome.

As far as I’m concerned, she did not violate any parking rules. She parked at the parking lot near my local HEB. When there’s an event taking place nearby, they put out signs that HEB parking only. She parked on the opposite side of the parking lot which to the best of our knowledge was not a part of HEB lot and no warning signs have been posted. I’m not sure how exactly they select which car to be towed, but this is just garbage. She was left stranded with 4 kids. So yeah, I am frustrated. This is absolutely maddening and I didn’t want to go that route into original post but since you asked

 

[PontiacHO]

It does hold in park. I haven’t noticed any new vibration sensation when idling or revving (which I would imagine be present if mounts are affected). Drove it for around 10 miles (low and highway speeds), and haven’t noticed any vibrations either. Time will tell, i suppose….

You’re good then.

 

[Dave Hess]

I doubt any damage was done if pulled for a short distance.

Those sketchy tow truck drivers are vultures looking to tow vehicles.

 

[parshisa]

I doubt any damage was done if pulled for a short distance.

Those sketchy tow truck drivers are vultures looking to tow vehicles.

Indeed they are. Property management is just as bad. Last and first time I had my vehicle towed was back in 2014, we lived in apartment and I had my ford focus dropped off for service. Went back home in a loaner car, got into apartment to grab a bite to eat and the car was gone in 15 minutes. Apartment complex management could care less, and that was few days after we moved in. Makes me wonder if they were getting a cut from tow truck drivers

 

[Chris142]

As far as I’m concerned, she did not violate any parking rules. She parked at the parking lot near my local HEB. When there’s an event taking place nearby, they put out signs that HEB parking only. She parked on the opposite side of the parking lot which to the best of our knowledge was not a part of HEB lot and no warning signs have been posted. I’m not sure how exactly they select which car to be towed, but this is just garbage. She was left stranded with 4 kids. So yeah, I am frustrated. This is absolutely maddening and I didn’t want to go that route into original post but since you asked

What's a HEB?

 

[Nukeman7]

What's a HEB?

It is a large grocery store chain based in Texas.

HEB Grocery Stores

 

[97prizm]

9 year old pilot with 92k miles, out of warranty. How exactly any mechanic would inspect transmission?

It would be pulled out then thrown onto tow dollies. Even a less than stellar tow truck driver isn't going to drag a fwd vehicle in gear on the front or back tires. This can be done very quickly.

 

[eljefino]

Cars get towed this way all the time and turn out fine.

The motor mounts can take enough torque to make the wheels spin when you hit the gas hard. The wheels broke traction in this example, too.

Like Chris said, you should see how they unload cars from flatbeds. Lots of bumping and shaking on a steep incline.

FWIW, I had a project Saturn towed home without the driver having access to keys, he did this, car turned out fine.

 

[Chris142]

It would be pulled out then thrown onto tow dollies. Even a less than stellar tow truck driver isn't going to drag a fwd vehicle in gear on the front or back tires. This can be done very quickly.

They do that every day here. They unload them off the flat bed by bouncing the bed real fast so that they "hop” down and off the bed.

 

[SC Maintenance]

At the end of the day you won't get anything out of the tow company if it was illegally parked. They were told to tow it, and they did. You could go to court - doubtful the judge would be on your side here.

If it holds in park and drives OK, motor along. If your worried about it, take it to the dealer or trusted indy and pay them to give it a once over. However it will be on your dime either way.

 

[parshisa]

At the end of the day you won't get anything out of the tow company if it was illegally parked. They were told to tow it, and they did. You could go to court - doubtful the judge would be on your side here.

If it holds in park and drives OK, motor along. If your worried about it, take it to the dealer or trusted indy and pay them to give it a once over. However it will be on your dime either way.

I understand and agree with everything above. However, what makes 0 sense to me, is why tow truck companies are essentially given carte Blanche to do whatever they can/want to complete the job without facing any consequences if job is done poorly (damaging the vehicle). This is just wrong. If I’m hire to drill a well, and getting paid for it, I have to follow the rules and regulations, to do it safely and efficiently. If I don’t, monetary and in some cases legal consequences will apply. So why are they allowed to do anything they want? You don’t have to answer my question, it’s more of a retorical question.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I understand and agree with everything above. However, what makes 0 sense to me, is why tow truck companies are essentially given carte Blanche to do whatever they can/want to complete the job without facing any consequences if job is done poorly (damaging the vehicle). This is just wrong. If I’m hire to drill a well, and getting paid for it, I have to follow the rules and regulations, to do it safely and efficiently. If I don’t, monetary and in some cases legal consequences will apply. So why are they allowed to do anything they want? You don’t have to answer my question, it’s more of a retorical question.

Its a reasonable question - and the short answer is the government mostly gets to do whatever they want. So by parking illegally you gave them the right to tow, and after that your pretty much out of luck, because even if technically there liable, no one will enforce it in this case and they know it.

If you had hired them yourself to tow, it might be a different story.

And yes, don't get me started on the parking games. You could spend the rest of your life looking at egregious parking / ticketing scams set up by cities and tow companies. When I go downtown Charleston I only park in a garage - never on the street, and I am very careful to stay in the lines.

The world is full of grifters that add no value and who's only goal is to relieve you of your money. There no better than petty thieves. Unfortunately this is the world we live.

How much did it cost, if I may ask?

 

[clinebarger]

Indeed they are. Property management is just as bad. Last and first time I had my vehicle towed was back in 2014, we lived in apartment and I had my ford focus dropped off for service. Went back home in a loaner car, got into apartment to grab a bite to eat and the car was gone in 15 minutes. Apartment complex management could care less, and that was few days after we moved in. Makes me wonder if they were getting a cut from tow truck drivers

They do get a per car cut....This racket's been running for years in Texas metros. I've heard Florida is bad as well.

 

[parshisa]

Its a reasonable question - and the short answer is the government mostly gets to do whatever they want. So by parking illegally you gave them the right to tow, and after that your pretty much out of luck, because even if technically there liable, no one will enforce it in this case and they know it.

If you had hired them yourself to tow, it might be a different story.

And yes, don't get me started on the parking games. You could spend the rest of your life looking at egregious parking / ticketing scams set up by cities and tow companies. When I go downtown Charleston I only park in a garage - never on the street, and I am very careful to stay in the lines.

The world is full of grifters that add no value and who's only goal is to relieve you of your money. There no better than petty thieves. Unfortunately this is the world we live.

How much did it cost, if I may ask?

Thank you for confirming my suspicions. We, as a society, are so screwed.

Total was 320$. 10 minutes tow from HEB to tow cars yard.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Thank you for confirming my suspicions. We, as a society, are so screwed.

Total was 320$. 10 minutes tow from HEB to tow cars yard.

Stuff like this happens over and over. Eventually people get sick of it and stop going into the city. The businesses fail, no one wants to live in the city, and the city turns into a hollowed out dump. Then they cry about it on TV, and beg for federal or county money for "revitalization", to fix the problem they caused.

 

[02SE]

Back when I owned a business that had docks that needed to be accessible 24 hrs a day, we ran into people illegally parking on our private property, primarily because we weren't far from a baseball stadium. On game days, this became an issue to being able to conduct business. So when illegally parked cars were found on our property, we had cars towed from our property.

I put up signs that cars that weren't authorized to park, would be towed at owners expense. 24 hrs a day/ 7 days a week. We did get a cut of the towing fee for every car towed. Every Tow Truck driver I've talked to, said that they hook the car and leave as quickly as possible, as some illegal parkers aren't too happy about getting their car towed, and some might resort to violence against the tow truck operator.

 

[zzyzzx]

Makes me wonder if they were getting a cut from tow truck drivers

Is there really any doubt in your mind?

 

[crashz]

I'd talk to a Selectman about this. My understanding is that your wife parked in a big shared lot with a large grocery store. The lot is near/adjacent to a public park. If the park has its own parking lot, I can understand the towing issue (though petty and sleezy), but if not, then what does the City/Town think of their patrons being towed?

Its worth making a stink about this. If the City/Town has any financial stake in the parking lot due to the park, they should be aware and hit back at the lot operator. In my mind the condition of the car is the minor issue compared with leave a Mom and four kids stranded.

 

[TimeFlies]

A lot of businesses nowadays like tow companies, live and die on reviews.
So make sure you go to every review site, and leave them a horrible review.