car got towed and they dented my oil pan

[sky jumper]

my car was bogusly towed a couple weeks ago. I fought it and won, and will be getting a refund for the tow charge. however, the hole in the wall tow place must've really beat the h3ll out of my car in transit because the oil pan is scuffed and dented, same with the tranny pan, and there are scuffs on some of the undercarriage members. this was not there before the tow.

do I have any legal recourse? I cannot prove they did it, but I know they did.

 

[Dark Jedi]

unless you can prove they did the damage. then its your word against theirs. so how can you prove it wasnt there before they towed. did you look under there before it was towed?

 

[sky jumper]

you're asking a bitog member if he knew his oil pan was dented or not? man I know every scratch on that car. and whatever caused this damage did not happen while I was driving it. the only possible cause is the tow. but how to prove it.

 

[Ramblin Fever]

There really is no way to prove, their word against yours unfortunately.

I completely believe you though, there isn't an inch on ANY of my trucks that I don't know of.

You'll probably have to take up with your insurance company, as that could get $$$ if the internals of either are damaged.

 

[eljefino]

Take pictures. The scraped metal is shiny now but will dull soon with rust. Include a newspaper in the photo. File a police report for vandalism. Then get two estimates for repair, write a polite letter to the tow company, wait 30 days, and sue.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

I think you're screwed. The local news here had video of city tow trucks side swiping parked cars with the cars they had in tow. The city's response was, "So what?"

 

[unDummy]

If you're illegally parked, I say "so what" too!!

But, he claims of a "bogus towing". Reread eljefino's post.

But, I don't see how 'lifting' a vehicle will cause undercarriage damage. Sorry, 'side swipping', ripping bumpers apart, fender damage,....... are the common damages that I've seen caused by ignorant tow companies. Most of my undercarriage damage is caused by snow storms and other unplanned offroad adventures. But, I did lose and oil pan to a brick once.

 

[sky jumper]

it was bogusly towed. basically they put up temporary signs and immediately started towing cars. here's the city's judgement...

 

[spf182]

If you are intent on recovering damages I would start with eljefinos advice. Sometimes the threat of legal action is enough to get some recovery. You do need to do a cost/benefit analysis to see if it is worth the cost and time of pursuing though. Unfortunately you may find the cheapest thing you can do now is to just be stuck with either some dents or some repair costs. I totally understand your frustration - I'd be mad as heck if it was my car that got messed up by those cave men.

 

[cousincletus]

^^^ Some of the tow truck guys I've seen give cave men a bad name.

 

[road_rascal]

I'm with eljefino. Photos, estimates, police report, etc. Find out how much filing a small claims court case is. Small claims is an excellent way to solve this- sounds like you have a good case.

 

[Dark Jedi]

yeah yo ucan take a pic of the newspaper date. but all they have to do is say hwo do we know he didnt get an old paper and took the pic. this still dont help you. yo ucan try by all means and I hope you win. but its hard to prove this as in the end its your word veruses his. and burden of proof is on you. not him.

again I hope you win but I doubt you will. its just liek my next door neighbor had her jeep keyed. she thought my mom did it (at the time they didnt get along but thats another story. lol) well she took my mom to court and before the case even started the case was over. the judge asked her. did you see her key your car. she said no. the judge then asked did anyone see her key your car. she said no. then the judge said then why are you waisting my and her time by comming here. then the judge ruled for my mom.

not too long after my ranger got keyed. now if she did it or not I dont know but I wasnt going to court over that with no proof. so this is one story to show. if you dont have hard evidence then your basically screwed. burden of proof is on you my good man.

 

[olddognewtrks]

Can you tell if the scratches go back to front? Also, check out angles/areas scratched. If it's obvious that they're only able to be messed up from a certain angle, i.e. towing nose down, you might have a bit of leverage. At any rate, good luck.

 

[Gary Allan]

I would put the whole deal on the insurance company. It's accidental damage and you'll have to pay the deductible. They should go after the tow trucks company's insurance carrier to recover it. If they're successful, you get your deductible back.

It will probably be all done without the tow truck company ever being contacted except to verify that they towed it. You may not be the only claim that was made against them.

 

[sky jumper]

I don't have collision coverage, only liability and comp (for chicago break-ins, which I've had a few). I'll ask State Farm if this is something they cover with comp, but I have a feeling they will not. but its worth a call to see what they can do.

I don't think they towed it nose down, or at least I hope not -- it was in park! and I have no clue what they did to it to cause the damage - almost looks like they angle-dropped it on a bumper stop or a curb. just dropping it straight down the suspension would've bottomed out before the pan hit, right? they probably blew out my struts too. and who know what this did to my transmission internals.

 

[Kestas]

It's interesting that a somewhat similar story was on the 6 o'clock Detroit news yesterday. A guy - who happened to be a lawyer - had his car impounded for unpaid parking tickets. After settling the tickets he went to pick up his car. To release the car from the impound lot he was required to sign a form that released the towing company from any responsibility for damage to the vehicle during towing. The towing company said this is standard procedure.

He refused to sign - and rightfully so. Who in their right mind would want to categorically absolve anyone from damaging your vehicle? They refused to give him his car back, saying they can't release the car to him unless this form is signed. He's taking this matter to court.

 

[Schmoe]

Is there not anymore honesty in the world any more?

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Sky Jumper..

This isn't a collision issue, this is a comprehensive issue. It happened during an illegal/improper taking of your vehicle. I'd do a combo action against them. Drop a small claims action on them for starters, and while you're waiting, get your insurance company on it. Your insurance will investigate it, pay you minus the deductible, and go after the tow company (subrogation, I think they call it) to recover the claim. By the time that gets done, they'll be anxious to pay your deductible. They aren't interested in courts, they're interested in getting rid of you. Smack em around a little.

Go on. Be a Tiger..

 

[moribundman]

I recommend Judge Judy.

 

[SirEager]

The only thing I can add to eljefino and toocrazy2yoo advice is take film photos. In a court room digital photos are week as best. But these guys have the right idea.

If all you have of this damage are digital photos get the get them printed on photo paper and hope for the best. I'm too the point if the photo looks too clean and the grain is missing I know it a digital photo.

BTW Courts frown on digital photos since they can be too easily edited.