Somebody broke my car engine

Hanya · 02-10-2007, 01:57 PM

So my car got towed Thursday night, early Friday morning from my boyfriend's apartment complex; I had to be at work at 5am and the car was gone at 4:15am. Yes it was my fault because I was parked in someone else's space, which must have been recently purchased b/c it's been vacant about 7 months now.

The problem is that my car didn't start up at all at the tow yard, it just made a big click. So we tried jumping it and that didn't work, and Jon took out the old starter and it was apparently bad so we got a new one and he put that in yesterday afternoon - still just a big click.

My Dad called AAA to come pick it up this morning and I followed the tow truck over to the AAA garage to let them know what it was doing and to give them the key. I thought maybe the battery was completely dead or some of the wires were bad. So I leave and the guy calls me back about an hour and a half later and asked for the full story. I tell him all of the above, and he tells me that the motor is completely seized up.

This means the towing company did a VERY poor job in towing my car and they seized the engine. I have a 1992 Mazda Protege which is a manual and front wheel drive. The only way they could have gotten it out of the parking deck was from the back, so if they did what I think they did by just letting the front wheels ride the ground all the way to the yard with the car in gear and with the parking brake up - they ran the engine with no oil pressure and that seized the engine.

So now I have to call "Ace Towing" on Monday and tell them yes I know you were legally allowed to tow my car, but you did a horrible job and you broke my engine. Fan-f-ing-tastic. By the way a new motor for teh car is over $4k and the car is worth maybe $700-800.

Any legal advice or leverage for when I have to call the towing place Monday? Nice way to phrase things? Just any help, I'm pretty upset and I don't even know what to say; I don't want to be a total bitch but I do want them to know I am serious about them offering compensation of some sort for improperly towing my car and consequently rendering it useless. Ok thanks, /rant

ericridebike · 02-10-2007, 02:09 PM

Sorry to hear that Hanya. I don't know if this is any help, but I did a quick search & found some info from Columbus County NC, from a county ordinance about towing companies. It kind of sounds like they may be responsible for damages incurred during their posession. Don't know about the laws where you live, but maybe they're similar since it's at least the same state. I'll try to include a link. The interseting part is page 2, item #5.

Good Luck,
Eric

http://www.columbusco.org/pdfs/Colum...2003-28-06.pdf

JBaz · 02-10-2007, 05:45 PM

I'd sue the towing company for negligence in civil court. If they have a brain and realize that its a fwd car, then they should have propped the front of the car and put it on a set of dolly's. Same shit they use to drag/tow awd cars with. Sue them for the price of a new engine and installation and try to settle out of court for half.

red_devil1469 · 02-10-2007, 10:08 PM

Sorry to hear that, but all I can say is good luck getting anything from a towing company.

toyotafj40s · 02-11-2007, 12:02 AM

a new motor should not be 4k. well from the dealer. finding a used one would be around 5-700 then 500-700 for someone to install sorry to hear none the less. if they towed it like that ur tranny is prob roasted as well

unkleslapnutz · 02-11-2007, 12:14 AM

If she wasn't responsible for it...Why should she have to put a used one it?

toyotafj40s · 02-11-2007, 12:14 AM

^im just saying it's going to be almost impossible to prove.

JBaz · 02-11-2007, 03:09 PM

kyle, your an idiot... shut up. It's not impossible to prove.

Hanya · 02-11-2007, 03:35 PM

Thanks for reading guys - I am beyond the point of thinking of possible repairs except for the cost to propose that number to the tow company versus them buying the car off of me. I am going to have to appeal to the tow company that they are responsible and it is covered by what is known as "on hook insurance coverage" that all tow companies must have - it ensures that while a car is in their possession ON THE TRUCK they are responsible for the car up to $100k or something depending on their coverage. Since I am sure they won't want to make their insurance rates go up, it would be an easy $1k settlement without lawyers or their insurance company.

I asked the garage mechanic for a HIGH estimate of putting in a new motor - that includes labor etc.

If they would have taken 30 seconds to get out of the truck and see that it was both a manual and in gear, they could have prevented the whole situation. Negligence. 100% negligence of towing a car sometime between 10pm and 4am.

I am going to the garage tomorrow to get a written statement of the damages and I am going to contact student legal services for basic advice on how to talk to the towing company. It's not impossible to prove b/c the car has had absolutely zero mechanical problems for over 3 or even 4 years now.

wrparrish · 02-11-2007, 07:01 PM

Call me crazy, but the oil pump on your car should be directly driven off the crank. If they tow it with it in gear, itll be just like turning an engine over by hand, albeit faster, and it should spray oil.

Your oil pump is in no way shape or form electric, its mechanical, and forced to operate in unison with the rotation of the crank.

I'd definitely say that the problem probably arised from the manner in which it was towed, but it'd call shenanigans on them being able to seize a motor while doing that. You can bust driveshafts and a variety of other exciting stuff, but unless your oil pump failed from general wear or circumstances caused by the tow, Bearing failure shouldnt have happened.

Look at your tires, do they look excessively worn , especially in one particular location ?

If your motor seizes while the car is being towed by the driven wheels, your tires wouldnt be able to spin, they would be dragged across the pavement, they could rotate if your axles broke from the stress of trying to turn a seized motor, But then your axles would clearly be damaged, cracked or broken at the flanges or on the shaft. You'd also likely have serious transmission damage as well, or at the very least your clutch should be gone, As the driven wheels spin, axles spin, input shaft on transmission spins, but your clutch is sliding against a flywheel that refuses to turn.

Sorry it happened to you, towing in general is always a very negative situation. If they end up not covering the repairs, I and i'm sure others around here are well versed in engine removal and installation.

Hopefuly you can get it covered on their dime, but the origin of your problem is confusing at best.

TRaGiK · 02-11-2007, 07:11 PM

Nevermind. You edited your post, and I mostly agree with you now.

Haz-Matt · 02-11-2007, 07:14 PM

Yes they are stupid. Yes they must have towed it front on the ground. Yest they are legally responsible for all damages while in transport and in their possesion.

wrparrish · 02-11-2007, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRaGiK

Nevermind. You edited your post, and I mostly agree with you now.

yeah yeah ya big bully

my reading comprehension skills suck, had to re-think my ideas

wrparrish · 02-11-2007, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YZFNoob

Yes they are stupid. Yes they must have towed it front on the ground. Yest they are legally responsible for all damages while in transport and in their possesion.

You know whats crazy though, towing company can claim it was inoperable before they towed it. The beauty, and shitty side of it depending on your side, is that you cant prove when this happened. Neither can they though.

Being that the towing company are probably some sadistic scum of the earth bastards, that rival the people running around johnston county... they will probably try to get out of paying for it.

Like i said, just a flat out shitty situation.

toyotafj40s · 02-11-2007, 08:18 PM

Quote:

kyle, your an idiot... shut up. It's not impossible to prove.

no you're a tool, i'm just playin the pov from the tow truck company. they tow shit all the time. sometimes the shit is broken already. there is no proof that the car was running or in good mechanical condition when they towed it. all they have to do is deny fucking it up. they are not going to volunteer to replace it. it sucks i know.