tow truck regulations?

[hvyman]

Hey guys i recently had my car impounded for a day due to an unpaid speeding ticket(i should have paid if i had the money) and the officer let me watch my car get towed but the tow truck driver drove my car up the flat bed instead of winching it. I t burned my stock clutch which only has about 5-7k miles on it and also im assuming when then were taking it off at the impound lot they cracked my front bumper and it folded forward and the grill is all messed up.

Ive been doing a lot of research to get as much info as i can to file a claim. But i was wondering if anyone had a link to some info about tow truck regulations and such. I was under the impression and had some friends tell me that they are not allowed to drive your car on the tow truck. And if the car is lower than normal that they are supposed to use a car Dolley or something.

Ive had my car towed before with my current car and my old mk3 which was lower and have never had a problem ever watching both coming up and lowering.

My car is not illegal as far as modified suspension since the bottom of the head lights are above 23" so they cant say anything about that. Even brand new corvettes are lower than my car and the whole bumper would have been tooken off if owned a vette.

I would appreciate any help.
Thanks kyle.

 

[Poodles]

They damage it, they pay for it. Though you're going to have to fight them for it...

 

[WhtMa71]

Did you bring this to the tow truck company's attention? If you didn't you should've right when you picked it up so they can't blame you for the damages.

 

[hvyman]

yes i did. i asked them if there going to pay for it(to the guy that owned the place) and he said no now get the f off my property. it was in fresno in the ghetto part of town. but even when me and my friend(who has a mk3 and saw my car that day that it was impounded) and his gf pulled up and started walking to the door my car was right out in front and i saw the damage. the guy was like dont touch my car. i was like its my car and hes like no its not until you pay for it. so i went in and payed for and they told me my keys were in it. so i went in my car grabbed my camera and took pics of the damage with the car right where it was in front of the front door of the place with there logo on the door.

im just trying to gather as much info as i can to send into the claims for chp i believe is where i have to send it, with pics of my car before and after and letters from my friends that saw it that day at the meet. as i got pulled over leaving from there on the freeway.

this way there more info and facts i have i have a better chance of just getting the insurance company for the towing place to just write me a check vs. having to go threw a bunch of bs to get my car fixed. and im not going to give my car to someone to repair it when i have certifications to do it my self and have zero records any where of other people working on my car.

 

[Poodles]

Get your insurance company involved, they'll usually help you fight.

 

[hvyman]

yeah except i dont have full coverage soo they prolly wont do much. im pretty much on my own but my mom is really good at typing up letters so she can write up a good letter and im hoping that if i just send them enough for the claim that the tow trucks insurance wont even fight and just write me a check. but well see.

 

[Poodles]

Do some searching on laws in your state on this. If the cops did the damage you'd be SOL, but the tow truck drive did the damage so you might have a good shot.

 

[hvyman]

thats what i have been doing. just trying to get as much as i can and this sort of thing is kinda hard to search for.

 

[honestabe]

Just curious, why did you let the tow truck driver drive it up onto the flatbed in the first place?

 

[dubsupra209]

i was there the chp was basically not listening to anything me or kyle had to say the whole situation was bs cause when he got behind us a car passed us going 85+ rite next to use but he pulled us over...ive seen some dumb tow truck driver but he looked like a straight tweeker....

 

[hvyman]

i was parked close to the curb and i thought that he was just going to re position my my car to make it easier to pull up the flat bed. instead he just drove it up the flat bed. i spoke to Ca tow truck association which said that driving a car up the flat bed is a no no and other people have confirmed this and i have had a car towed before not because of impound and not once have they drove a car up it.

i even told the officer that my exhaust is lower than normal which my exhaust is a greddy sp which is 93 dcp and i have a ref sticker for ca. my car is higher than 23" for the head lights so they cannot get me on modified suspension.

but in the end result from taking my car off the flat bed i have received bumper damage that was clearly not there and also driving my car up the flat bed bed was a no no.

Ive had my car towed from AAA before a few times for other reasons and never once have they drove my car up flat bed. also CTTA said that driving a car up the flat bed is not recommended. even if the car is lower than normal they should have other means of getting it onto the truck.

ex: a brand new corvette will not make it up any alignment rack which is lower than any flat bed and takes wood to get it up on there.

i was not in control of the situation as the officer would not even let me roll my windows up and it was in the middle of raining and not raining. elliot(dubsupra209) was with me and saw the whole thing and i have 20+ people that can verify that the damage was not done before hand.

i also have receipts for a new clutch for a machined flywheel and new Toyota clutch/pp/ pilot bearing/ throw out bearing that is less than 5k old.

i am a certified Ase mechanic and have Toyota certs also.

i am just trying to get as much info as i can to send in as possible to further my case and get results back as quickly as possible.

 

[Dachande]

1. Small claims court
2. Wait years for trial

 

[92nsx]

^^ Yep and hope the tow company shows up.

 

[SySt]

^^ Yep and hope the tow company shows up.

I believe in conciliation court if one party does not show up, the judgement is given to the party that did show up by default. Assuming in any case the court does decide the tow company owes you money, it can be be difficult to get the money from the tow company. Especially if they take the whole situation personally and choose not to pay you.

 

[lewis15498]

Tow truck drivers always try to drive the vehicle onto the ramp, they actually can get a little pissed if they find its not possible...lazy fucks.

 

[92nsx]

Call your local news company they always seem to get the answers. PR is everything now days.

 

[suprahero]

Sounds like a great idea to me. At least tell the tow truck place you've been in contact with the local news department and they want to run a whole story on the abuse your car received while at the hands of said towing company.

 

[lewis15498]

Brilliant! Do it up!

 

[hvyman]

hmm. i think i will add that to my claim.

im going to send one to the tow truck company and see if they will just write it off on there insurance first and if they dont then chp is going to get involved and do a investigation. and if chp concludes that the tow truck company has to pay, then they have to.