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View Full Version : How Pissed Would You Be??? (Pics)



BADBLOWN572
06-19-2006, 09:13 AM
Here is how the situation went down. My father inherited a mint condition 1959 Corvette from his father when he passed away. The car was a beautiful show car back before it was put into storage at the time of my grandfather's passing. We took the car out of storage on Saturday so we could start the father/son restoration on the car (just as it originally was). The car had been sitting in storage for the past 10 years under a cover. When we took it off, it was as clean as it was when it was put away. We figured that we had a terrific candidate for a resto. Yes, the suspension has to be gone through as well as the fuel & brake systems, but overall it was very nice. Paint is still flawless, all of the chrome sparkles, etc...
Here is where it gets interesting. We took the car out of storage to move it over to our shop so we could start on getting the car road worthy again. After 10 years, the suspension bushings are gone, brakes need to be re-done, motor freshened up, etc... Nothing major, but still a nice project. When we got to the place where it was stored, we called AAA to have them bring a tow truck out. When the driver showed up, he was obviously in a hurry. No care was taken in making sure that the car didn't get bumped, banged, etc... When we voiced our opinion, he said "we have insurance." That was sign #1 we should have called it off, but we didn't.
Finally we got the car loaded up on the tow truck and on the way to our shop. When we got to the shop, the guy wanted to drop it in the alley. We asked him to back it in (plenty of room), but the guy said he was late for a wedding. After giving him a water, he agreed to back it in. Once we get all of the straps undone, he put the bed into the shop and starts trying to lower the car. It wouldn't do it. It turns out that the front brakes locked up some how. He tried "jerking" it off of the truck. My father had an emergency and sent me by myself to get the car off the truck. After about 15 minutes, the tow truck driver basically said "f*ck this" and started twisting on the car. The pictures below show what he was doing. I kept saying "stop," "wait," "hold on," etc... He just kept saying "I am late for a wedding."
First he took a floor Jack and started jacking from the front body panel! I told him to stop immediately because it would screw up the car. I said my father is about 10 minutes away and he will make the decision on how to get it down. The driver wouldn't listen.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/3216/1598IMG_1636.JPG
After that, he re-positioned the jack under the steering tie bar. I flat refused to let him lift off of that. So, he decided to lift the car off of the lower A-Arm.
Again I asked him to stop 2-3x and wait for my father. Also, notice the position of the tail ramp from the floor. He said it was the only way to fit the jack in.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/3216/1598IMG_1640.JPG
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/3216/1598IMG_1641.JPG
So, he starts lifting off of the passenger side A-Arm. Then he starts pulling on the car to get it off the ramp.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/3216/1598IMG_1638.JPG
The one tire started to slip off and look at the jack.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/3216/1598IMG_1645.JPG
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/3216/1598IMG_1637.JPG
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/3216/1598IMG_1639.JPG
At this point in insisted that he stop. He would not. I called the tow company that he works for and spoke to the supervisor and informed them how I have instructed their driver to stop. He said that "we are taking up too much of the driver's time and that the driver needs to proceed." At this point I am PISSED. I tell the driver to wait, and he said "I am doing it my way." I told him, if you don't stop, no matter what, you won't leave for 45 minutes. He said "how you going to stop me." So, I pull my truck in front of his so he cant leave. GET THIS, THE F*CKER THREATENS TO CALL THE COPS ON ME. I said, just stop! The jack is twisting, the car is ready to fall, etc...
So, what does he do, he breaks out the another jack.
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/3216/1598IMG_1648.JPG
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/3216/1598IMG_1644.JPG
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/3216/1598IMG_1647.JPG
At this point in time, I told him to leave our shop. I said that he is tresspassing and that he needs to leave. He exits our shop and called his supervisor. He informed him that he couldn't leave because of where my truck was parked and that I have kicked him out of our building. The supervisor finally said to wait until my father showed up. About 5 minutes later, he shows up and luckily he had furniture moving dollys in the back of his truck. One under each front tire and it moved just fine. After that, just pushed it into the shop and put it back up on the jackstands.
The only aparent damage to the car was a blown out tire. This came from him pulling on the car and since the tires, were old, it blew out the sidewall. We are not worried about that because new tires are allready on the way. I was just really pissed because 1) they wouldn't follow my directives, 2) the supervisor didn't care, 3) he obviously did not care about the car, 4) he told me that I was not allowed to photograph him or his truck even though they were in MY shop, and 5) because he threatened to call the cops on me. I called AAA and informed them of how poorly the tow company handled this mess, but I didn't get the warm fuzzy feeling from them that it would be handled. They did say that they would get back to me in a week, but won't be happy until it is resolved.
Sorry for the rant, but I am STILL pissed about this. It happened 2 days ago and every time I think about it I get all fired up again.

Jordy
06-19-2006, 09:18 AM
That guy looks like a real rocket scientist from those pics. Very cool car though!!! :D :D :D

MR HARLEY
06-19-2006, 09:22 AM
I cant tell you how bad I feel just seeing those photos of that GEM being treated in that way, I am sorry you had to go through that. I want to rant now........... Dam I am pissed :mad:
Be back when I calm down :D

riverbound
06-19-2006, 09:23 AM
Shoulda called me... I would have gone down there and helped you "persuade" him to do it your way ;)
Bitchen car.....my mom is looking for one.

Kachina26
06-19-2006, 09:26 AM
Jack handle across the knee caps would have been appropriate. (ok, so you woulda been posting this from your jail cell) Totally unreal man, glad to hear there was no real damage.

Flyinbowtie
06-19-2006, 09:31 AM
Danny,
Many years ago, before the roll-offs came around, we had a guy move our '40 Ford Sedan from the chicken coop it was in in San Pedro to LBC.
The grill was perfect, until the driver scewed up lowering the boom in front of our house and shoved the boom right through the grill. :mad:
I still remember thinking I was going to have to pull my dad off the guy.
I'd send a registered letter to the Regional Office or whatever HQ AAA has in the area that certifies Tow Services to handle the AAA contract, and request a review of this companies' contract to do bizz with AAA.
I'd cc a copy of the letter to the tow company owner, and suggest he re-evaluate his driver training program in the area of customer relations and critical tow skills.
AAA pays these outfits a flat-rate to handle a tow, and anything beyond that time/truck/mileage the tow company has to eat or try to get from the customer. That is where the hurry comes from.
At the point where they were notified you were moving a very valuable classic car, they either should have re-negotiated an adjusted rate with you, or sent their very best guy out to handle the job. Obviously, they did neither.

JetBoatRich
06-19-2006, 09:31 AM
I think you handled it a lot better than I would have :mad:

acatitude
06-19-2006, 09:36 AM
man a nice ride like that , I would have gotten my own car trailer and never let some jerk off tow it

phebus
06-19-2006, 09:41 AM
I would be posting from jail :mad:

BADBLOWN572
06-19-2006, 10:04 AM
man a nice ride like that , I would have gotten my own car trailer and never let some jerk off tow it
I have actually used AAA numerous times in the past with great success. I think it depends on the drivers. Most drivers are happy that they are not towing old POS cars and actually like doing the tow. If that is the case, they treat the cars great. They take extra caution to make sure never to bump the cars, tie them down great, etc... This guy was just a piece of work / shit!!! We have a car hauler that we use for long hauls, but it was only 4 miles away. Much more convenient to call AAA and have them pick up & deliver.
I would still use AAA on these cars again. I just think that it was the tow company & driver who were piles of shit.

little rowe boat
06-19-2006, 10:10 AM
I would be posting from jail :mad:
Me too, I would have physically stopped him if I had to. :boxingguy

Seadog
06-19-2006, 10:12 AM
I had an employee who was really into Harleys. About 20+ years ago, they brought out a Special Edition that they only allocated two per dealer. The dealer kept one and the other was bought by my employee. He brought it to work so he could polish it up before making his annual run to Sturgis. We had a delivery truck bringing in a load, and leaving the idiot driver ran over the front end of the Harley. The driver tried to drive away, but Joe made three leaps to cover 50 yards, jumped on the running board and was dragging the guy out through the window, with the truck still moving.
We finally dragged him off the driver. If we had known what was going to happen, we would not have. Harley refused to sell the Special Edition replacement parts because they did not want people building duplicates. The insurance company refused to recognize any special value to the Special Edition and only paid for stock part replacements. And for the first time since he had been going, he did not have a ride to Sturgis.

Rexone
06-19-2006, 10:13 AM
Man that sucks. What tow company is it? I want to make sure I NEVER use them.

NOTALENT
06-19-2006, 10:30 AM
Damn that guy is just a focking idiot....I dont think he knew what the car is worth...fockin moron! That is way unprofessional...I would report it to the BBB as well. Definatley uncalled for. Sorry it happend and thankfully not much damage occured.

Drift
06-19-2006, 10:49 AM
I would have hit him with a bat. That would have slowed him down a bit. Complaint in writing to AAA, BBB and contracted towing Co.
Then talk to the towing co on the phone as if you were thinking about using them to tow a vehicle. Ask them who their insurance carrier is, if they tell you I would then contact them about their business practices followed with pics and detailed description of events.

RiverDave
06-19-2006, 10:54 AM
man a nice ride like that , I would have gotten my own car trailer and never let some jerk off tow it
No shit?? It's not like he doesn't know somebody with a car hauler that would've been on the road in a matter of minutes after getting the call?
Mine is in AZ right now, but had I known he needed to move something like that, I'd go get it no problemo.
RD

John.
06-19-2006, 10:56 AM
That sucks. It had to almost feel like an out of body experience to see that happening. I would have been livid.
Nice car!

BADBLOWN572
06-19-2006, 10:58 AM
No shit?? It's not like he doesn't know somebody with a car hauler that would've been on the road in a matter of minutes after getting the call?
RD
I actually have one too. I just didn't want to have to unload all of the steel that is on the trailer just to tow a car. Like I said, in the past it was never a problem. Didn't really find out how big of a problem it was going to be until we started unloading it. At that point in time, it was too late. It was coming off of their truck no matter what.

Cole Trickle
06-19-2006, 11:01 AM
Wow....Thats a beautiful car
I would have been a little pissed while that was happening. :mad: :cry:
Glad to hear it made it off relatively unhurt.
I have always had good luck using AAA.I have had more than a couple lowered vehicles towed and they usually put them on dollies and then roll them onto the truck.

BADBLOWN572
06-19-2006, 11:20 AM
Don't use these guys!!!!
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/3216/1598Expertow.JPG

Hardly Satisfied
06-19-2006, 11:25 AM
Danny,
Many years ago, before the roll-offs came around, we had a guy move our '40 Ford Sedan from the chicken coop it was in in San Pedro to LBC.
The grill was perfect, until the driver scewed up lowering the boom in front of our house and shoved the boom right through the grill. :mad:
I still remember thinking I was going to have to pull my dad off the guy.
I'd send a registered letter to the Regional Office or whatever HQ AAA has in the area that certifies Tow Services to handle the AAA contract, and request a review of this companies' contract to do bizz with AAA.
I'd cc a copy of the letter to the tow company owner, and suggest he re-evaluate his driver training program in the area of customer relations and critical tow skills.
AAA pays these outfits a flat-rate to handle a tow, and anything beyond that time/truck/mileage the tow company has to eat or try to get from the customer. That is where the hurry comes from.
At the point where they were notified you were moving a very valuable classic car, they either should have re-negotiated an adjusted rate with you, or sent their very best guy out to handle the job. Obviously, they did neither.
everything above is right. I worked for my buddys tow co. for years. we would advise AAA of what we run to they would give extra time to the tow co. the driver was wrong telling that he was in a hurry .We have used a floor jack to help get the car off when the wheels are turned but we are being careful when doing this. tow trucks sometimes carry gojacks that they put under the wheels so they will roll down . if there is any damage get with AAA if there is any damage any they will get with that tow co. hope this helps and good luck

Dave C
06-19-2006, 12:58 PM
"expert towing"... thats ironic. :rollside:
Tow scum are the lowest form of life ;) Your complaints probably won't do any good cuz some of those guys just don't give a shiat.
Good to hear you got it through OK.

godfather
06-19-2006, 01:40 PM
you have more patience than me that would have been that mother#%*ker's azz. getting fired up just reading this. :220v:

OCMerrill
06-19-2006, 01:51 PM
Shouldn't he of had wheel dollies on his truck? They are basic tow truck items I would think. A car can always be winched on but it has to roll off. If an axle is locked then dollies need to be under the tires to get the car down (as your father did). What an ass.
He shoud have asked another driver to bring them and saved the drama.
Obviously no idea to that cars actual worth. If you haden't of blocked him he would have pulled the car back on and drove off to the yard.
My father is restoring two Blue 53 Vetts right now. They should go for $100k plus at Barrett Jackson next year. These are not even that popular as far as Vetts go.

BRAWNY
06-19-2006, 02:14 PM
beautiful car,hope everything goes well with the resto.
could of told the drive he wouldn't have to worry about being late to a wedding,if he damaged the car he would be headed to a funeral.some people just dont give a shit about other peoples property.

Jbb
06-19-2006, 02:50 PM
Glad he didnt do any major damage....I would have been hard pressed not to hurt him when he refused to stop.....
I did a complete restoration on a 62 Vette years ago for a guy in Palmdale....I get done and the owner makes arrangements to have it shipped from Atl to Palmdale......
This old goober shows up with one of those haulers you see carrying new cars ...except this one looked like he hauled it out of the junkyard....bald tires....smoking .....I called the owner ,told him this guy looks like a jackass..he told me to let him take it.....took him 2 weeks to get to Cali....when he gets there the front end and rear end of the car were squashed.....truck driver looks at the cars owner and says...shit happens.... :p
Took him 2 years to get the shipping co. to pay for the repairs...

Caribbean Jet
06-19-2006, 02:51 PM
Sorry to hear about your mess. I think that you handled it way better than most of us would. In a very bad situation, you did the right thing. Take this as far as you can with triple AAA until they drop this company.

Jbb
06-19-2006, 02:53 PM
Remember ...It could always have been worse.... :p
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/860102665.jpg

Family Jewell
06-19-2006, 03:09 PM
I give you a lot of credit for not going completely off on that guy. I think I might have. When I had to move a couple of cars to get to my vette I use Two Bit Tow. The guy was very patient ,he used a low car trailer and every thing went well. I hope you don't find any further damage. Nice looking car !!

vmjtc3
06-19-2006, 05:41 PM
I hope the wedding he was going to was not for anyone in his family.
Scarry as hell to think they might have offspring.

stompnstang
06-19-2006, 08:11 PM
i must say you handled that ALOT better then i would have
they would have needed the 3 jacked to get him in the bed at ICU because he would be 200 pounds heavy from me being tow footed in his ass knee deep!!!!!!!!!
hats off to you and hella nice ride

You Te
06-19-2006, 08:30 PM
You expect to much from a tow truck driver. Most of them are high school drop outs.

Riverkid
06-19-2006, 08:42 PM
Heck Danny,
I've got a real nice Big Tex bobtail deck 7K# car trailer out here... Use it whenever you need it. Otherwise, call Specialty Towing in Corona. They move everything for us and have never had a prob... :)

Sleek-Jet
06-19-2006, 08:55 PM
My brother worked for a tow outfit here in town when he got laid off. They worked his ass ragged, and any damage to the vehicles, the driver was financially responsible for. Sure, the tow companies insurance would cover any claim, but they (the tow company and the insurance company) would go after the driver for any damages.
Glad the 'vette made it off the roll-back relatively unscathed...

XtrmWakeborder
06-19-2006, 09:44 PM
I would have been way more impatient than you... that is a freakin dream car to me, and even more to you being your grandfathers. Give us some pics when its done.

Throttle
06-19-2006, 09:47 PM
:mad:

Red Horse
06-20-2006, 04:20 AM
"expert towing"... thats ironic. :rollside:
Tow scum are the lowest form of life ;) Your complaints probably won't do any good cuz some of those guys just don't give a shiat.
Good to hear you got it through OK.
I am not scum. I used to drive a roll back wrecker part time while I was in the military. Still am in the military. Not all wrecker drivers are scum. Great generalization. That guy is, but not all. Not high school drop out either.
Actually a good wrecker driver can make a fair amount of money. I used to make about 400 bucks a week part time. More when we had PD weeks. And this was a town of about 150000.
With a roll back that guy could have gotten that car off no problem. Level the bed, jack the car and put the dollies under it and then lower it with the winch or just take a little dawn dish soap, tilt the bed and work it back and forth. Would have had that car down in no time, no problems and no damage. Hell, it aint rocket science.
You can also get a car into or out of any area. Just talkes a little thinking.
Sorry you have trouble with that guy. :cool: