Towing Issues: Damage to factory spoiler from towing., monday morning quarterback, factory spoiler

Question
My 2000 Sebring was towed the other night for suspended
liscense.... It recieved some damage to the front spoiler
and we went and got an estimate totaling 1017.00 on the
suggestion of the tow co. owner.... now he says he talked to
his driver and they aren't responsible but i should file a
claim with my insurance and they would work out
responsiblilty with his insurance.... here are a few key
factors:
- Bumper was recently replaced
- damage is in a location consistent with front end tow
- both parties noted and documented damage with photos at
time of pick up
- Police tow report marks vehicle in fair condition with no
damage... vehicle was inspected by both officer and driver.

do you think we should go to our insurance or straight to
small claims court?

Answer
Well I have to question a few issues here, and also state a few things.

First of all, if there were "BEFORE TOW" pictures with damage showing in them then it will be hard to dispute this damage claim. Prior damage is hard to fight, but then "additional damage" is something which might be possible.

The Police report on damage is one where the officer looks for damages which are real easy to see in most cases, they do not look for key scratches around locks, rock chips and curb scrapes on spoilers as a general rule. If you backed into a pole and dented a bumper kind of thing they would most likely notice and mark that kind of damage. Small damages are sometimes hard to see.

Now since I can not see the vehicle and do not know what kind of tow truck did the tow, there is a possibility that some damage might of happened but I can not say that they did it.  It's real hard to "Monday morning Quarterback" this kind of issue.

Now as to the tow company saying they did not do the damage and to contact your insurance company, I tend to agree with this at times, and at times I do not. Reason being is that most tow companies get "damage claims" all the time and it generally is in retaliation to the vehicle being towed at the order of the police department or from private property parking lots. People tend to try anything to get out of paying for the tow, (this is personal opinion and thoughts after seeing it for 30 years now) and some companies have taken the position of very small or hard to believe damage claims of referring you to your insurance company who will deal with either the tow company direct or the tow companies insurance company...

Kind of a standard issue answer now for most tow companies, kind of like the answer to the statement, "I am going to sue you", which tends to be "have your lawyer contact our lawyer"

Now personally I cannot tell you to go the insurance route or the small claims route, as each one has its own drawbacks.

If you notify your insurance company they might raise your rates or cancel you due to the claim and the fact that your license was suspended and you were driving. That is a huge risk and NO NO on their part of the coverage of you.

And small claims court, well unless you have great proof and evidence which really points to the tow company doing the damage, you might lose in court which takes money to file and time to attend.

Each one of them would be a crap shoot on your part, but I would tend to be real careful on the insurance part as it can be real costly for several years insurance wise.

Good luck on what ever you decide to do.