A friend of mine saw a tow truck tow away my S2K. They didn't use a flat-bed either so my front lip scraped along the ground all the way to the yard. I would call it a minor damage, but none the less it would cost a couple hundred dollars to repaint my bottom lip and blend.

I already took the car and it is at my house. This all happened last night. It was too dark to see anything while I was there, but when I got it home and shined sufficient light on it I saw the damage.

What are my chances of getting the towing company to pay for this?
Is it worth my time/money to pursue this?

 

This is exactly what happened to me a few years ago in college. My car (a Ford Probe at the time) was towed from a friends apartment complex. The car was lowered an inch and had been repainted recently. When I got the car back from the yard there were long deep scratches on the roof (from those magnetic brake lights they stick on) and the front bumper was heavily scratched. Local body shops estimated damage at about $800.

The towing company denied all responsibility for damages. I sued. They never showed up for court. I ended up going into court 4 or 5 times. Finally got a bench warrant for the owners arrest and then filed a seizure of property against him. a few weeks later I got a check for about $1400. the amount of my judgment plus all of my expenses for the last year (it took that long).

They may have every right to tow your car, but zero right to damage it. Get some estimates, give the owner a chance to pay, then file the papers if they don't. BTW, if you were illegally parked, you can not recover the amount they charged to tow you, just the damages.

 

So why was your car towed btw?

 

My work has a parking problem, there aren't enough spaces. There are corporate buildings everywhere around so if I parked anywhere else it is technically a "tow zone." I had to park somewhere and go to work! I opted not to park on a fire lane, so I parked my car at the office next door. Mind you that I was the only car parked in that section of their parking lot. It's not like I was denying their employees a parking space. Anyway, and hour or 2 later I found that my car was towed.

 

They towed my S when I accidentally parked in the wrong space at my buddy's condo. They didn't flatbed, and dragged the car out of the space with chains to lift it up by the rear end. They denied this but there were drag marks on the ground and rust on my front bumper from the chains. They damaged the bottom of the bumper and denied any responsibility. I told them they told it incorrectly and he said "Whatever dude, you don't know what the F you're talking about. We tow Porsches and shit. We know how to tow your little car and you don't need a flatbed."

After 20 calls to various departments including the tow truck licensing administration with the city and the company itself, I got nowhere. I couldn't waste anymore time in my work days pursuing them and had to let it go. Absolute garbage.

Good luck pursuing your assholes.

 

I'm almost positive the towing company will deny it. I just hope I don't end up wasting time and maybe money and get nowhere with it.

I'm having a very difficult time finding what Texas laws are with towing. I looked on the legislature's website and found all sorts of traffic and vehicle laws, but nothing about towing. Anyone know where I can find Texas towing laws?

 

Good luck with getting them to pay. Most of the time in this situation, you will have to do what Craigers did. But for a couple hundred dollars in damage, is it really worth the trouble and hassle for yourself? Confront them first about the damages and from there you can usually tell what kind of people your dealing with. Make your decision then.

 

Yea, that's what I'm thinkin.

 

As far as towing laws in general, I believe if parked somewhere illegaly and there are warnings signs, they have the right. Thats their business, tow cars illegaly parked. Not trying to bust your bubble, but I'm pretty sure there is no difference for a specific state. I guess one thing to check is if there were warning signs....which, most likely there were. Good luck.

 

I think he's more looking for info about whether they are held liable for any damage.