Racer's Lounge - Need some advice - Tow company damaged my Camaro :(

Not sure if this is the right place to post this... but here goes.

I just moved to a new place, a HUGE 4 bedroom upper that only came with ONE parking spot somehow. Well I have 2 cars, my daily driver 96 Roadmaster, and my 93 z28. I just finished the build on the Camaro... there is over 12k into this car.

So I parked the Camaro in the lot next to the Roadmaster for one night because I ran out of over night permissions to park on the street. I woke up the next day to go buy a parking permit, and my Camaro was GONE. When towing a rear wheel drive car, they are supposed to lift the back of the car and put it on the truck.

They DRUG my car in park 30 feet across the parking lot by the front end, leaving skid marks from the tires the whole way. There are actually marks in the cement from the car being drug so hard. They broke the air filter off the car (K&N CAI so the filter was near the bottom of the front bumper), and there were paint chips actually on the ground next to the tire marks that came off my body kit. Whatever they did made the car flex to the point where paint actually chipped off.

Both my front rims are also rashed up from where they pinched the front wheels to secure the car on the truck. I JUST bought a brand new set of black/polished C5 rims and put like 50 miles on them :( .

Now the good part. I call the company and confront them about it, and the guy FREAKS out and calls me every name in the book cursing for at least a minute straight before he hangs up on me. So I called back and actually recorded him cursing me out for no reason. I took pictures of everything, took video, and got 3 witnesses to come look at the marks and the car. The tow company won't accept responsibility.

What the hell can I do? What would you do? I am so upset about this I have stuck every cent I have into finishing this car, which is absolutely show quality, and this happens. Where do I go from here?

File a complaint with the BBB and sue them in small claims court. Get a few estimates from body shops and take them with you.

small claims court. it might take some time but with all your evidence i could be an easy win. also who called the towing company? the complex of the person whos spot you took?

I live above a place called "The Serenity Club", its a meeting place for AA meetings and stuff like that. So they have a parking lot with about 15 spaces in it, 1 of which is assigned to me. I parked in that lot next to my other car. Oh and nobody EVER parks there, the lot is always empty.

So instead of calling me and telling me to move my car, they have it towed. And the best part is, the lot is technically "private property" so the tow cost 300 DOLLARS. Can you believe it....

Do you think with all the evidence and witnesses on my side it will be worth it taking them to court? I mean on top of all the damage they caused they did not tow my car properly. They are lucky the trans/rear end isn't damaged.

I would sue the fk out of that tow company, they make a mistake and they need to fix it.

I may be misunderstanding this law but the way I'm reading it, to tow the car they needed either your permission or a formal citation for illegal parking from a LEO. So if that's correct and you don't have a traffic citation I would file charges against them. Here's the towing laws, if I'm interpreting this wrong hopefully someone with more legal knowledge will chime in.
http://www.witow.org/trespass-pkg.htm


(a) No person who removes or stores a vehicle under subs. (3) to (4) or otherwise at the request of a law enforcement officer, and no person who removes or stores a disabled vehicle, accident debris or other object that obstructs the roadway of a freeway or expressway, as defined in s. 346.57 (1) (ag), may incur any civil liability for the act, except for civil liability for failure to exercise reasonable care in the performance of the act or for conduct that is willful, wanton or malicious.

Looks like you can make a pretty damn good case that they didn't exercise reasonable car and therefore are liable.

talk to a lawyer, and tell him everything, he wont charger u til u accept the case. Let see what he have to say.

Talk to the police department, see if there is anything they can do.

Also, if he was towed from a private lot, it is the property owner's right to tow any car illegally parked in his lot. I think the only thing they are required to do from a legal standpoint is to post a sign that says "NO PARKING WITHOUT PERMIT" and provide a number for the tow company on the sign so you can get your car back.

As for dick towing companies, this was several years ago I was helping my sister move into a new apartment. I was with my mom and her car got towed out of the apartment building's lot because it didn't have a "guest parking pass" in the window.

How many nights have you known you needed this parking pass? How and by who were you informed of this?

I know with us, if I need to tow a vehicle and there is no way to get a key (put it in neutral), it's towed on a flatbed. How the wrecker driver gets it up there is up to them. I just hope nothing gets damaged in the process.

If it's legitimate, unintentional damage, other than from the required effort to load the vehicle, their insurance should cover it. Good luck.

well were you parked illegally or not? i dont see it holding much water if you were required to have a permit and you didnt at that time, and this happened.

well were you parked illegally or not? i dont see it holding much water if you were required to have a permit and you didnt at that time, and this happened.

Its not the fact that he was towed, that was legit. Its that they jacked up his car doing so that is BS. Some tow companies are run by shady ass motherfuckers with a criminal record who will fight you because they don't see it as a legitimate business that needs to be run professionally. As long as they get paid they don't give a fuck about customer service, damaging people's cars, stealing shit out of towed cars, whatever.

Also, if he was towed from a private lot, it is the property owner's right to tow any car illegally parked in his lot. I think the only thing they are required to do from a legal standpoint is to post a sign that says "NO PARKING WITHOUT PERMIT" and provide a number for the tow company on the sign so you can get your car back.

Wisconsin Trespass Parking Laws

346.55(3) and (4) TRESPASS PARKING

(3) No person may leave or park any motor vehicle on private property without the consent of the owner or lessee of the property.

(4) Owners or lessees of public or private property may permit parking by certain persons and limit, restrict or prohibit parking as to other persons if the owner or lessee posts a sign on the property indicating for whom parking is permitted, limited, restricted or prohibited. No person may leave or park any motor vehicle on public or private property contrary to a sign posted thereon.

346.56(1m) PENALTIES - TRESPASS PARKING

(1m) Any person violating s.346.52 to 346.54 or 346.55(3) or (4) may be required to forfeit not less than $20 nor more than $40 for the first offense and not less than $50 nor more than $100 for the second or subsequent conviction within a year.

349.13(3m) REMOVAL - TRESPASS PARKING

(3m) No vehicle involved in trespass parking on a private parking lot or facility shall be removed without the permission of the vehicle owner, except upon the issuance of a repossession judgment or upon formal complaint and a citation for illegal parking issued by a traffic or police officer.

Wow so according to the Wisconsin Trespass laws they illegally towed my car... I was not informed, no officer came, and the car definitely was not being repossessed.

I was in the wrong for parking the car there. It was for one night and I figured I would get away with it since the building owners know me and it was the first time. I was wrong. I wasn't going to dispute the issue that the car was towed, but according to those laws it looks like they had no right without consent.

Yeah the owner of this tow company owns a bunch of night clubs in the Milwaukee area.... towing is just his side thing I guess, and customer service is non-existent.

i would sue his ass he should have insurance to cover it and with the evidence you have and the fact that he is not legaly permitted to touch your vehicle i would call the police and tell them he stole the damn thing technically thats what he did im sure the guy is just hoping you'll just want your car back so you pay the bill and not say anything. i say set his ass ablaze with everything you could throw at him, i mean he Illegally towed your car to his place of business (theft of a motor vehicle) then he fucked it up on top of that (destruction of personal property) hes liable to fix your car for free and you should have nothing owed to him since what he did is illegal.

i say call a police officer out their and show him your evidence i wold also put his tow company on blast for doing illegal shit and tearing your car up and improperly towing it.

im sorry but if that mother fucker took my car under the same conditions id walk right onto the lot and take my car back and if he says something tell him to speak into the barrel of my 45 cause i cant understand the words coming outta his mouth......

I would be talking to an attorney if I were you.

Let them call the guy and explain to him either they return your car and pay for the damages on insurance or you will be suing.


Of course knowing where your car is, it is likely to get messed with if he is as shady as you say.

Yeah this guy and this business is as shady as it gets. I live in a nice town in a decent neighbourhood, and for whatever reason the company that came took my car all the way to the south side of Milwaukee (ghetto as fuck).

The whole thing is like a bad nightmare. I'm going to call up a lawyer asap. Thanks for all your help/advice guys. Nobody fucks with my baby.

File charges of theft just for the lols. Also I'm sure there's probably a separate charge for stealing someones property and demanding payment for it's return, find out what that one is and tack it on for more lols.

Was there a posted sign?we had a car abandoned(in texas) at my business and the tow guy wouldn't tow it unless signs had been posted before us asking. He was going to make us sit with the car on our lot for a day or two(can't remember exactly) before he would tow. Said it was illegal or something.

record everything (date, time, issue ect..) : calling police, calling tow company, calling property owner, calling lawyer, going to body shop, time spend looking into issues, ect...

these things will add to your professionalism and case when you go to court.

also make sure its not illegal in your state to record someone over the phone without their consent, you might be breaking the law doing that.

Wait... You parked your car somewhere that you KNEW it wasn't supposed to be and are now thinking of filing suit because of damages to the car from towing (neglegent or not)?

well were you parked illegally or not? i dont see it holding much water if you were required to have a permit and you didnt at that time, and this happened.
Wait... You parked your car somewhere that you KNEW it wasn't supposed to be and are now thinking of filing suit because of damages to the car from towing (neglegent or not)?


That's like saying it is okay to smash someone's windshield who illegally parked in the handicap spot. Should they be able to tow it? Sure. Should they be allowed to trash it in the process? I'm going with no on that one.

have you even seen the car since it was "damaged" before you go around calling the police and filing suit because you parked illegally and were towed for it?

That's like saying it is okay to smash someone's windshield who illegally parked in the handicap spot. Should they be able to tow it? Sure. Should they be allowed to trash it in the process? I'm going with no on that one.

I don't know if I like that analogy, because smashing the window wouldn't be a possible expected hazard of having the car towed from the handicap spot and being fined for taking close parking away from people that need it.

Better example is messing around with a random girl without protection and getting gonoherpasyphilaids and then having her call you 3 months later and say you're going to be a father of triplets.

In both cases ONE decision can prevent negative consequences. Just trying to promote responsibility here!:judge:

lawyer/cops/insurance company regardless they are responsible for the damage but it will be fight.

Yes I got the car back the other day, saw all the damage, told the guy, and he threw his hands up in the air and said his guys didn't do it. He's not taking care of it.

So I took more pictures of everything... the wheels, paint, scuffs, all that.

And yes, I parked the car in a spot where it shouldn't have been. But I have a parking spot IN that lot, and the owners know it was my car. The issue isn't the fact that they towed my car (which is still ridiculous given the circumstances) it's the damage that was incurred while doing so.

I'm just saying.... that's why I don't park my stuff where it could get towed. A lot of tow companies are complete hacks.

I feel bad for ya, but you have to admit if you did what you were supposed to this thread would not have been started...

I don't know if I like that analogy, because smashing the window wouldn't be a possible expected hazard of having the car towed from the handicap spot and being fined for taking close parking away from people that need it.

Better example is messing around with a random girl without protection and getting gonoherpasyphilaids and then having her call you 3 months later and say you're going to be a father of triplets.

In both cases ONE decision can prevent negative consequences. Just trying to promote responsibility here!:judge:

You are trying to justify negligence when negligence is a reason for lawsuits. I fail to see how my analogy doesn't fit.

Ok... Vandalism ≠ damaging a vehicle in the course of removing it from a place that it was parked ILLEGALLY, even if there was a negligent act that occurred during the towing.

Also, I have no idea where your faulty legal analysis comes from. Even the state law in Wisconsin agrees that a Plaintiff can be held partially responsible in cases like this (you admitted he was negligent in parking the car illegally when you said that it was ok for it to be towed, which I agree with). Wisconsin is a state which recognizes a contributory negligence theory of recovery with a 51% bar. Basically, if a suit is filed and the plaintiff is found to have been 51% or more at fault they cannot recover. If the plaintiff is found to be 50% or less at fault they can recover the percentage of damages attributes to the defendant. Who knows what a judge or jury would place those values at in real life... Litigation is nearly always a crapshoot as very few juries are sophisticated enough to understand the finer points of these sort of legal issues. (Note none of this is to be construed as legal advice).

All Im trying to say is maybe, had the OP parked where he should have, the problem would not have occurred.

I guess maybe im alone in that.


Also, not trying to pick a fight, just trying to educate ppl so we don't have more of these threads.

Is police brutality to be expected when you get arrested? Would the officers be totally off the hook for it simply because you did something to warrant getting arrested?

I've seen plenty of cars get towed without being damaged, mine included. He parked in an area he wasn't supposed to, he knew he was taking a risk and that he could be hit with fines and/or tow fees. That's expected. Having your car fucked up? not so much.

...I call the company and confront them about it, and the guy FREAKS out and calls me every name in the book cursing for at least a minute straight before he hangs up on me. So I called back and actually recorded him cursing me out for no reason...

Post that shit up. :D

Anything ever happen with this?

346.55(3) and (4) TRESPASS PARKING

(3) No person may leave or park any motor vehicle on private property without the consent of the owner or lessee of the property.

(4) Owners or lessees of public or private property may permit parking by certain persons and limit, restrict or prohibit parking as to other persons if the owner or lessee posts a sign on the property indicating for whom parking is permitted, limited, restricted or prohibited. No person may leave or park any motor vehicle on public or private property contrary to a sign posted thereon.

346.56(1m) PENALTIES - TRESPASS PARKING

(1m) Any person violating s.346.52 to 346.54 or 346.55(3) or (4) may be required to forfeit not less than $20 nor more than $40 for the first offense and not less than $50 nor more than $100 for the second or subsequent conviction within a year.

349.13(3m) REMOVAL - TRESPASS PARKING

(3m) No vehicle involved in trespass parking on a private parking lot or facility shall be removed without the permission of the vehicle owner, except upon the issuance of a repossession judgment or upon formal complaint and a citation for illegal parking issued by a traffic or police officer.

So some of the people commenting in this thread not read what sw07gt posted?

Update????

When I lived in new york my old beater 82 olds couldn't make it up the hill I worked at the bottom of one night so I left it in my works parking lot came in the next morning and the plow company plowed my car in crushed both quarters and one fender, busted the front end and buckled the hood, they fought me and I talked to a lawyer they gave me $2000 as a settlement I bought the car for $500 but paid $1100 to the lawyer but the principle is what mattered to me, same with this tow company fight this guys make them think twice before they tear someone elses shit up:hijack: