QuestionHi Richard, I am in need of serious advice. Please advise me of the options I have at this point in time:
I live in California and got my front-wheel drive 2002 Toyota Camry XLE (full options) lawfully towed under CVC 22658-A last Friday, January 14th. It was parked in a private property apartment complex without a visitor's pass displaying. A couple days later, on Sunday, January 16th, I went to the towing company, paid the dues, and got my car back. The car was towed, as the tow driver explained to me on Wednesday of this week, by a "wrecker" truck which used "go-jacks" on the front wheels to pull my car out of the parking space and the "auto-loader" to tow my car away. I asked him if any hooks and/or chains were used in the process, and he said "no."
I wish my story would have ended at that-- I lost some money and learned my lesson... BUT this is not the case. My car was NOT in the condition in which it was from BEFORE it was towed away.
Immediately after the clerk (owner was not present) released my car, I gave the vehicle a 360-degree inspection and discovered that the "front left fender liner" and "front left engine under cover" was damaged. The hard-plastic "front left engine under cover," which is located right underneath the front bumper, appeared to have been ripped from the INSIDE OUT, as if by a hook. Definitely I could not have caused this, because if I had mistakenly hit a curb while trying to park, the plastic piece under the front bumper would have been crushed from the OUTSIDE IN, and not the other way around. Anyhow, I took my cell phone and snapped several photos of the damage on the spot.
The second issue I noticed was when I turned the car on. The "ABS" (Anti-lock Braking System) light was on. This light, as well as any other, has never turned on before. This leads me to believe the towing company caused it to light up.
Thirdly, as I drove away from the towing company, I immediately noticed two new driving sensations which I have never felt in the four years that I've driven this car. Firstly, the car felt drastically underpowered-- I had to depress the gas pedal much deeper than usual in order to accelerate to the speeds at which I normally drive. The car felt significantly weakened. I checked the "overdrive" function to see if my car performed from 0-60 as it normally did, but unfortunately the car felt and sounded sluggish in both "overdrive" and non-overdrive modes. The difference between "overdrive" and non-overdrive is now virtually unnoticeable, which is totally unusual because the "overdrive" used to help me pick up significant speed while entering freeways. This leads me to believe that somehow, the transmission was affected during the towing.
Secondly, while driven on a straightaway on the freeway without my assisting the steering wheel, the car veers ever so slightly to the right. At first I thought it must have been the unequal air resistance/drag that the broken piece on the left front bumper which caused this, so I experimented driving no-handed on a straight path at 20-25 mph. The same slight turning to the right occurred-- this leads me to believe the alignment is off.
To summarize, this is what is different from before my car was towed and after it was: Damage to the front left fender area, "ABS" light on, weaker acceleration than normal, "overdrive" function hardly, if not at all, makes the vehicle go faster, and slightly incorrect alignment.
AND here's the key point why my story was worth reading: On December 21st, 2010, my car was completely repaired by a reputable auto body shop after a minor accident. Coincidentally, the damages were on the front left bumper area and the entire region was replaced with NEW parts. Since then, only my grandmother and I have driven the car, and both of us are very gentle with the car. Honestly, I can't think of a better word to describe how my car ran since December 21st than "perfectly."
So, to recap, my car was completely fixed up on December 21st, 2010, and since then we had absolutely no problems with the car until the last time I parked it on that Friday evening of January 14th. Then, it gets towed on the 14th of January, and by the time we pick it up on the 16th the car has all these issues. I strongly believe something MUST have gone awry during the tow. All these problems the car is having now could not have possibly come from me, because I am sure it was perfect until I parked it last Friday night, on the 14th.
I've said my whole bit to the employees of the towing company. Oddly, the owner is a very difficult man to get a hold of. The towing company wants my insurance to contact them. I contacted my insurance company today, they will give me a call back soon. They also told me that although the fender will be covered by insurance, the transmission, if in fact that is the issue with the car's now sluggish acceleration, is not. The owner of the towing company will have to decide whether it is his fault or not. If not, I am willing to see this to the end and await a court verdict. The problem is, how am I going to prove that the car runs a lot slower than it always used to? Also, why would the "ABS" light be on, when it, in my mind, has nothing to do with the method of towing? So many questions, I don't know what to ask really.
All I know for sure is that the the car from before and after the tow has been changed from, in my honest assessment, "perfect, and running wonderfully" to "imperfect, and running sluggishly and askew."
Richard, the expert, do I have a winning chance if I take this to the end? Is it necessary for me to take this to the end? How do I prove all these new problems my car is having? How shall I proceed from here on out? Thank you so much for hearing me out, I apologize for the lengthy discourse.
P.S. Tomorrow I will visit the local gas station located at the choke point of the freeway by which the tow driver passed, assuming he went straight from towing my car to the company's garage. The gas station has surveillance cameras set up on the road which cars pass just prior to entering the freeway. By reviewing the video evidence, I can determine whether my car was towed correctly or incorrectly. If you want to know what I get from the video recording, I'd be happy to update you on my situation. Again, thank you very much for your well-thought-out advice.
Answerwow, lots of info here...
The best thing is to keep really good documentation on everything happening, and who you talk to at the tow company and other places. Repair quotes and stuff need to be kept and all that. You get the idea...
Now as to a few "towing issues" Yes "go-jacks" are used a lot to get vehicles out of spaces to allow them to be towed. They are not designed for long distance towing rather a block at the most.
Now the basic issues of towing it seem to be correct and if they did load it frontwards after it was moved out of the space then you should not have any any issues with the transmission.
The ABS light, well that tends to be a common issue after towing (I have seen it a lot) as the brake computer does sense that there is a difference and it tries to activate.
Now the damage sounds like they might of done a switch on the tow trucks, as it might of been towed via a flatbed after it was moved. Some tow companies use one truck to go get the vehicle and relocate it somewhere else then load it onto a flatbed... Just a thought.
Now as to the steering pulling, I bet there is a kinked or bend steering control rod or tie rod.
Ok on to the tow company owner, generally they are hard to get ahold of as a lot of them also drive or they are owners of several companies and spend a lot of time elsewhere. My boss has 4 tow companies and different locations, so he is hard to get hold of. Plus he drives also.
Good luck on the court, it sounds like you are going about it the right way, and if you have enough information you should win. You just have to convince the judge.
