Towing Issues: Chevy Malibu towed, tow truck operators, chevy malibu

Question
I had to have my Malibu towed 3 times over the last month due to mechanical problems. The first 2 times the tow truck operators tied chains to both sides of the undercarriage of the vehicle. This last time the operator only tied a chain to the driver side undercarriage and when I asked if he was supposed to chain also on the passenger side he said no. I just picked up car today from dealership and noticed right away there was something wrong with the car. (The car had mechanical problems that is why it was in the dealership, nothing dealership did to car had to do with the tires, steering, etc...). The steering wheel is misaligned, at high speeds on the highway or when I go over a bump on the road the car seems to lose control, the steering wheel seems to loosen and the car feels like it is hydroplaning from side to side. My question is could this last operator have damaged something in my car by pulling car onto flatbed by one side only? You response would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
The issue of using "one chain only" to secure the vehicle on the flatbed (that is most likely what they used) tow truck, is more of a lack of training and lack of following federal laws, along with being lazy than anything else.

Could the driver of hooked onto something in the suspension area and damaged the vehicle, yes that is possible and from what you say that might of happened. Its hard to really say though as if it was really bent then it would be noticeable at even slow speeds or even sitting still.
Then there is the chance that something such as a shock absorber is loose or going bad which might affect it the way you describe.

High speed driving where you get the problems then it makes me think that something else might of happened. Unfortunately things do happen when vehicles get towed and if something was going wrong mechanically, it might be more evident now if they did a poor hook up.

I hope you have had the car looked at by a mechanic so that you have an idea what is wrong and what caused it. Towing damage is at times easy to find, but with some things its harder to find.
A good mechanic will be able to tell you what happened, but do it smartly and carefully. Do not tell the mechanic you are looking for tow damage, let them tell you what is wrong and if it was tow damage they should be able to show you what was done wrong. No point "LEADING" them into discovering things...

If there is damage from towing, then talk to the tow company about the issue, keep good notes, be calm and you should get it handled fairly quick.


Good luck