2X2KOB Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 So, this weekend we went down to the ball game and I parked someplace I should not have parked, and they towed my car about 40 miles away and are holding it hostage until I get down there this morning with $275 ransom money. I have no idea if they towed it with all four wheels off the ground, or with just the front wheels up. I don't imagine they'll tell me, either. My question is, how can I tell if the transmission had been damaged? What sort of damage should I be looking for? And if they did damage the transmission, do you think I might have any kind of recourse against the towing company? This was parked on a private property parking lot, and towed by a private towing company, no cops were involved (no ticket) and as far as I know no laws were broken. They do this all the time, several of us had cars towed at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 Well you could take it out for a drive and see how it shifts and handles. Especially check for any torque bind. If it was towed with any wheels on the ground for that distance on an AT there is almost certainly damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 they don't give a crap about your transmission, i would suspect they towed it with two wheels up, two wheels down, but like you said they won't offer any proof. i dont know anything about tow trucks but there might be a way to tell if they towed it on a flat bed - like markings on the underside anchor points, etc. i would try to find out in a round-a-bout fashion, without mentioning anything about 4WD or subaru or anything, try to find out for a BENIGN reason so they talk. then go from there...but get it in writing or tape record or somethign because they'll lie as soon as they find out why you're really doing that. maybe you can find out who towed it and what truck that person drives. usually a particular person drives a particular truck, but they can really do it however they want. check with local places close to where you parked and see if they have any security camera footage of that evening, but check soon if that's possible because they'll over-write that footage soon. the problem is that your transmission will work perfectly fine now with no problems. i've personally been involved with and seen subaru's towed improperly for hundreds of miles with two wheels down. even on those, any problems that may have incurred from the incident will happen down the road....in a year, 50,000 miles...something like that. immediate damage is rare, particularly with only 40 miles towing. problem is, without a lawyer and proof it will be hard for them to give a crap, they know they're getting away with it and making theyre $275. they're going to be big "insert inappropriate phrase here". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 there's a god chance that they towed more than one car at a time, especially if they were going 40 miles. one car on top and one car with 2 wheels up and 2 wheels down. my son's car got towed at college and the tow company was very up front about how it was towed and they were very awear of the special needs of subarus. but they didn't want to lose the college contract so it was in their best interrest to be careful. find out what kind of tow trucks they have and how many. ask to sewe the tow slip. or suggest that it was best towed with 2 wheels down, and see what they say. auto trans have had tow issues for a lot of years the question is whether or not they knew it was AWD and whether or not they cared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 Carefully look into where you parked, and demand a reason. Contact the owner of the site where you were. Sometimes these things can be huge scams. Also contact any consumer protection agency and DEMAND proof that you were illegally parked. Check the tranny fluid for color and smell. I'll bet you they used a hook and not a flatbed. It takes too long to get a car on a flatbed in these situations. Drive the car in figure 8's forward and reverse and check to see how it feels. I would also do a drain and fill (as insurance). I wouldnt do a flush unless something didnt feel right. If you smell anything funny you may want to talk to the police about filing a stolen car report. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 The next Ball game it might be worth hanging around the area to watch it (this tow away scam) unfold. If nothing else, it will likely be the same towing company that removed your car. If there was not a Do Not Park Sign on this property I would guess you'd have a pretty good case against them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2X2KOB Posted July 30, 2007 Author Share Posted July 30, 2007 It was my fault, the property was posted. Very small sign, though. So I paid them off this morning, got the car back, seems to work fine. The boss there said that they always tow AWD cars with two wheels on a dolly and two wheels in the air, and he said that's the way they did mine. I looked underneath it and it doesn't look any different than it did last week. I think it'll be all right. Thanks for all the responses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 It was my fault, the property was posted. Very small sign, though. So I paid them off this morning, got the car back, seems to work fine. The boss there said that they always tow AWD cars with two wheels on a dolly and two wheels in the air, and he said that's the way they did mine. I looked underneath it and it doesn't look any different than it did last week. I think it'll be all right. Thanks for all the responses. bad bad person for parking wrong. Here we had the pitchfoks and tourches all ready. Well i'll give them points for towing the car the way they did. Technically all the wheels were off the ground. Oddly i have yet to see it in person. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86BRATMAN Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I've seen weirder at the Bristol Dragway in TN. They had a big Pinks event there last weekend. Some kid got drunk and left his(more likely his mom's) 98-99 legacy parked where the auto-x was scheduled to be the next day. When Sunday came it hadn't been moved. track officials called a tow company to remove it, when they got their they realized it is an awd car. They didn't have a roll back operational. They brought another traditional two wheel tow truck out, hooked one to each end and moved it into the lower parking lot for safe keeping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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