NPC - Tow Truck Damage

[widebody911]

I bought a '61 VW double cab this afternoon. Not the cleanest car I've ever bought, but it was very straight.

Was.

I used my AAA to get it towed home. One the way, one of the straps came loose, and the VW rear-ended the tow truck. It was being towed backwards, on dollies, so it's the rear-end of the VW that got bent.

Any ideas for recourse?

[Adam]

Doesn't AAA insure against this sort of thing, Thom?

[MBAtarga]

Wow! Is what appears as a vertical crease along the quarter panel just behind the rear tire also part of the damage?

[john walker's workshop]

AAA drivers are the worst. most of them seem like they're on their first tow when they bring cars in. they can't even back a car into the shop. they leave them parked on the street facing the wrong way. hate 'em.

[dtw]

Yep, those network on-call tow guys are the worst- they're the ones without enough balls or sense or skill to do real tow work.

They probably won't talk to you since this was a restoration candidate anyway, and those dings can be fixed quickly during the normal course of restoration. Still, there's no excuse for it. Why the heck did he use dollies if he had the drive axle off the ground? Was the steering column lock broken? If so he should have just used a strap or the seatbelt to tie down the steering wheel. What an idiot.

On behalf of professional tow men everywhere, I apologize for this jackass's behavior.

[ted]

Tell AAA. I imagine if the tow truck operater wants to keep his contract with AAA he'll pay up.

I've had good and bad AAA tow drivers. Recently when I had my car on the hook the driver forgot to release the E brake on the car in tow.

As he pulled forward my car didnt move and with a loud BANG fell off the hook. I gave the driver a blank look and asked "does that happen all the time?"

[widebody911]

He dollied it because the bus is lowered, and he couldn't get the claws under the front. I don't think the dollying is a factor, as he woulda just bent the front end instead.

Actually apart from the gates and a couple small dents in the roof, this bus was very straight. Someone had started restoring it, and was painting it one panel at a time, probably so they could keep driving it. Apart from disassembly, this would have been a weekend paint job.

There's a body shop associated with the tow company (isn't there always?) and the driver told me to call them on Monday. I'm sure as h3ll not dragging this beast all the way to Fairfield to have some body yahoo look at it though. I called AAA, and they said to follow up with the tow company. If they give me any grief, then I need to contact AAA and get them on the case. I might casually drop that fact when I call the tow/body shop.

This morning I'll take some more pix of the beast.

JW - email me with the #'s again - your phone message wasn't clear.

[Embs]

In Ohio they must have insurance for customer vehicle damage.
All you should have to do is get a few estimates from body shops
and submit them to their insurance carrier.

Regardless of whether or not it was a restoration candidate, it still incurred damage. Gouge um if you can!

[ChrisBennet]

Is AAA a prepaid towing plan or is it just a breakdown insurance?
-Chris

[widebody911]

AAA has a "travel insurance" plan. For something like $73 a year, you get a certain # of 100-mile tows, emergency hotel stays, etc.

Originally posted by ChrisBennet
Is AAA a prepaid towing plan or is it just a breakdown insurance?
-Chris

[Vipergrün]

Yep, these doods are complete idiots. While loading my SC onto a flatbed they got their hooks around the tierods as well as the control arms. Talk about a whacked out alignment. I billed them for the parts, alignment, and my time to install the stuff and they paid up. Seems pretty clear your guys horked it up and should pay.