Oh No, AAA killed Opti's car

[Opti]

What do you do when your AAA tow damages your car before it makes it to the car appointment you planned?

I know I will probably have to negotiate with the assigned vendor, because the vendor is a subcontractor to AAA .

[bean29]

I would think it would be AAA.  Your agreement might even specify what happens.  

When I drop my car off for service at the Toyota Dealer, they take an I-pad and take pictures of the car.  I don't think insurance claims are unheard of.

[Pink Cashmere]

Apr 20, 2023 13:42:42 GMT -5 bean29 said:

I would think it would be AAA.  Your agreement might even specify what happens.  

When I drop my car off for service at the Toyota Dealer, they take an I-pad and take pictures of the car.  I don't think insurance claims are unheard of.

When my cousin lived in Atlanta, somebody pulled into the parking lot of her apartments because their van was on fire. The fire got so big it damaged the paint on my cousin’s new car.

She dropped her car off at the dealer for repairs, on her way out of town on a business trip. When she got back a few days later, and called the dealer to tell them she was coming to get her car, they told her they couldn’t find it. And kept saying that until she showed up.

It turned out that one of their employees had wrecked her car. Not just bumped into something, wrecked it, with real damage. She’d just bought the car from them, brand new, a couple months prior. They fixed it, but I think I would’ve tried to get a new car, because now my brand new car is worth even less because it’s been wrecked by one of your employees.

[Opti]

Apr 20, 2023 13:42:42 GMT -5 bean29 said:

I would think it would be AAA.  Your agreement might even specify what happens.  

When I drop my car off for service at the Toyota Dealer, they take an I-pad and take pictures of the car.  I don't think insurance claims are unheard of.

It will be a umm negotiation between the two but yes, I probably should pull my renewal paperwork out and see what it says. The subcontractor is totally at fault, but AAA is ultimately responsible for its subcontractors. That why I went with a AAA certified body shop and thankfully it is very close to where I live.

[Opti]

Apr 20, 2023 14:07:42 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Apr 20, 2023 13:42:42 GMT -5 bean29 said:

I would think it would be AAA.  Your agreement might even specify what happens.  

When I drop my car off for service at the Toyota Dealer, they take an I-pad and take pictures of the car.  I don't think insurance claims are unheard of.

When my cousin lived in Atlanta, somebody pulled into the parking lot of her apartments because their van was on fire. The fire got so big it damaged the paint on my cousin’s new car.

She dropped her car off at the dealer for repairs, on her way out of town on a business trip. When she got back a few days later, and called the dealer to tell them she was coming to get her car, they told her they couldn’t find it. And kept saying that until she showed up.

It turned out that one of their employees had wrecked her car. Not just bumped into something, wrecked it, with real damage. She’d just bought the car from them, brand new, a couple months prior. They fixed it, but I think I would’ve tried to get a new car, because now my brand new car is worth even less because it’s been wrecked by one of your employees.

OM 

Yes, that happens and its why I am fairly loyal to wherever my car goes to. 
I wish I had an iPad. I didn't realize how inadequate my pics were until I tried to find ones to send to work. None of them really show it well, but blown up and the lighting adjusted, it might be OK. I even did a phone video postmortem after I finally got home. I am still learning my phone so I don't even know how to Zoom in and discovered there is an app called Clip that would work better for short videos.

[Opti]

I called the body shop, turns out I need to open a claim with AAA first, before anything proceeds.

[jerseygirl]

Sorry you have so much trouble with your car

[Deleted]

I'm glad the body shop at least told you where to start - sorry this happened to you

[Opti]

Apr 20, 2023 15:46:30 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Sorry you have so much trouble with your car

This time the trouble was with AAA. I would have been fine and would have had a vehicle if AAA hadn't disabled the 3 series on me. Now I am stranded at home living on the kindness of people who want to help me out and am emotionally devastated.

This is probably at a least 3 week no car situation. 

[minnesotapaintlady]

What kind of damage is it?  If it's just cosmetic I think I'd just pocket any money they offered and not get it fixed. 

[Opti]

Apr 20, 2023 16:53:54 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

What kind of damage is it?  If it's just cosmetic I think I'd just pocket any money they offered and not get it fixed. 

TBD. If I could have popped it on a lift, I would have known more. All I know is there is significant fluid leaked out and abuse to the under carriage. It is not just cosmetic but remains to be seen what it is. Alternator symbol was amber on the display, service engine light on and some more red car symbol indicator stuff on the right.

[jerseygirl]

Will AAA give you a rental (paid) car while yours is out of commission? I would insist since AAA caused the problem

[Opti]

Apr 20, 2023 19:55:18 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Will AAA give you a rental (paid) car while yours is out of commission? I would insist since AAA caused the problem

Yes that is exactly what I will ask for. Not sure if my policy covers it, but I always get the Plus because of towing distances.

[Opti]

A "claim" has been opened, buts it is useless until a case manager is assigned to it and talks to you. I've been told case manager assignment and their reach out to me can happen in a 3-business day period. By 4/26?

AAA accredited shop even can't touch until then. I guess the peeps are preprogrammed for complaints, as I got aa supervisor as a recording when I asked to be escalated.

Yes I know that a "case" # is not a PO, I can't charge anything against, ir was wroth zero because its simply a interal AAA tracking number.  But apparently the disclaimer is the big thing I had to listen to, "of course I don't have to wait for my vehicle to be looked at and I can take it anywhere"


That must be a funded impatient rich people problem/choice thing. Which they should know, however brain can go to zero % when dealing is stressful situations and you hear what you don't want to hear. So my takeaway is no potential rental car in the near future.

[Opti]

Changing title from 

What do you do when your AAA tow damages your car

to something else.

Tired, exhausted, and sick of advanced hoop jumping.


My initial email from the AAA case manager contains a non-starter, no I am not attaching an estimate. AAA made my car undrivable. Its up to AAA to let the AAA accredited shop look at it.

Currently trying to remember the process of towing my car with a OEM tow hook. Don't remember seeing it from the back, if ever, but it would be nice if my brain didn't need charging right now just to function. 

[Cookies Galore]

Have you thought about letting your insurance company deal with AAA? Let someone who gets paid to deal with this shit do it.

[bean29]

Apr 25, 2023 10:12:47 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Have you thought about letting your insurance company deal with AAA? Let someone who gets paid to deal with this shit do it.

Yeah, I second this, if you are getting nowhere with AAA, contact your insurance company and have them handle the claim.  Assuming you have full coverage, part of what your policy covers is representing you in court.  So they can pay for the repairs, then they sue AAA to recover the cost of repairs.  The problem with doing it this way is you have to come up with your deductible.

[Opti]

Of course form itself chides me for not saving a copy first before adding stuff. 
I was trying to save another copy @!!!, how was I to know how it would work until I tried it?

[Opti]

Apr 25, 2023 10:51:21 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Apr 25, 2023 10:12:47 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Have you thought about letting your insurance company deal with AAA? Let someone who gets paid to deal with this shit do it.

Yeah, I second this, if you are getting nowhere with AAA, contact your insurance company and have them handle the claim.  Assuming you have full coverage, part of what your policy covers is representing you in court.  So they can pay for the repairs, then they sue AAA to recover the cost of repairs.  The problem with doing it this way is you have to come up with your deductible.

Know your insurance coverage. I was not in a car accident. My car insurance does not appluy.

My car was in a car accident.
I was using AAA for the tow. Luckily for AAA, the subcontract out all the actual towing, so they will be suing their own
vendor for part of the damages.

However, it has to be documented and proved. An insurance claims adjuster will need to approve the claim.
Even though they are 100% at fault, it is important to document what happened from my POV as the car owner
and compare that to the tow truck driver's account. While I should not have towed the car to my garage like usual, I did secure myself another witness to the condition of my car. The garage refused delivery of the car because it was a body shop issue and
leaking fluids. I really hoped someone in the garage could have given me an educated guess as to what fluids might be bleeding out from the car ...


but at this point no one knows. Until AAA OKs it going on the lift or the hand of God comes down to put it on the lift -
its real condition will remain unknown.

[Opti]

Putting in a reminder to myself to let the garage know the air bag in the steering wheel has not been replaced. Since its dry docked and going nowhere, I could probably get BMW to replace it now. And if the old steering wheel does not go back into place because the car is old and has been exposed to full sun ... well another feature

duct tape repair? 
Air bag failure can cause injury or death by shards of flying metal. Not that high probablity but it is for BMW and Hammawhowho, the manufacturer.

Can you tell I can't remember ?  

[Opti]

Apr 20, 2023 13:42:42 GMT -5 bean29 said:

I would think it would be AAA.  Your agreement might even specify what happens.  

When I drop my car off for service at the Toyota Dealer, they take an I-pad and take pictures of the car.  I don't think insurance claims are unheard of.

I looked I found nothing. I think this situation is rare enough it is not in any of the paperwork I have filed nor anywhere easy to find on the website.

[Opti]

Apr 25, 2023 10:51:21 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Apr 25, 2023 10:12:47 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Have you thought about letting your insurance company deal with AAA? Let someone who gets paid to deal with this shit do it.

Yeah, I second this, if you are getting nowhere with AAA, contact your insurance company and have them handle the claim.  Assuming you have full coverage, part of what your policy covers is representing you in court.  So they can pay for the repairs, then they sue AAA to recover the cost of repairs.  The problem with doing it this way is you have to come up with your deductible.

I am getting somewhere with AAA. It is just painful slow.
Like getting stuff done in the federal government or even NJ when the stars misalign.

[CCL]

So what actually happened to your car? Fell off the tow truck? They hit something with it? Were the leaking fluids ythe reason for towing in the first place?

[Opti]

So here's what I need to clean up and make more plain-

Answering the question - Describe the damage in your own words:

Have no idea because I can’t look underneath the vehicle where most of the damage occurred. What I do know is there was leaking fluid. From where, I do not know. Black plastic bits were all over the sidewalk and some sort of underbody cladding all came off. Visibly, the passenger side (bumper) took most of the hit into the curb, over the curb, into the retaining wall and back. The front bottom bumper cracked.

[Opti]

I will likely lock this thread or remove this post and the one above it, so please do not quote.
Continuing,


In your opinion, how did the damage occur?


I missed the beginning of the car being hooked up and departing down the tilted tow bed. Obviously to me somehow it became unattached to the top of the tilted tow bed and took an unassisted trip down the ramp. It proceeded through my parking spot, jumped the curb, over the sidewalk into a low retaining wall then reversed the process coming to rest much closer to my neighbor’s Prius than where I had it parked.

[Opti]

Have not sent form. Will try to rewrite into simpler sentences.

Did not see car hooked up.
Did not see "tow hook" give way.

Saw car come down the tilted tow bed head first. 
Saw it first when it was already in motion down the tow bed.

Did not reach car until all damage occurred and car had stopped.

etc.

[jerseygirl]

OMG opti!!
Terrible incompetence of tow truck driver
Did you actually contact your car insurance company? Seems this event should qualify
Agree you should call your insurance company and start a claim against towing company and AAA

[Opti]

Apr 25, 2023 16:32:17 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

OMG opti!!
Terrible incompetence of tow truck driver
Did you actually contact your car insurance company? Seems this event should qualify
Agree you should call your insurance company and start a claim against towing company and AAA

I did call them, but they said they would only get involved if I needed them to. Since I was not in the car, I was not in a car accident. True. Spoke to the shop manager of the body shop and he will call my case manager tomorrow. 

I did have my insurer note the date of the AAA tow causing my car to bleed out and probably be undriveable. I want to change offices, so I did not speak to the current owner of the office. Had it been the old owner of that agency, I would spoken to her.
Changing offices is on my to do list much like getting a dentist for my dental plan.

[Pink Cashmere]

A few years ago, one of my coworkers hit my car on the employee parking lot while I was inside the building working. I saw the damage when I got off work and walked to my car to go home. 

I didn’t know who did it, and I still had comprehensive coverage on my car, so I called my insurance company. The next day at work, I found out who did it and she gave me her insurance info. I called my insurance company back and told them that and they said I could handle the claim either way, through them, or directly with her insurance company. I chose to deal directly with her insurance company and mine told me to just call them back if I had any problems.

I was nowhere near my car when it got damaged, but I know for a fact that I could’ve used my own car insurance to get my car fixed. 

2 cars ago, I was hit by an uninsured driver. After he hit me and made my car move such that I had damage on the front and back of my car, he ran into a parked car, which finally stopped the car he was driving (an old Nova that belonged to his sister and he said the brakes went out), he went to jail because he didn’t have a DL or any kind of ID. Since I had coverage for uninsured drivers, my insurance paid to fix my car, paid for a rental car, and then sued the owner of the car that hit ran into my car. I had to go to court and testify. That was actually a car accident where I was driving, and different from your situation, but I thought about it because a prior poster said something about your insurer and going to court.

[Works4me]

That really sux! Why was your car being towed to mechanic?

Many years ago I spun my car out into the muddy median due to extremely heavy rains combined with low tire tread and excessive speed for the conditions. When the AAA tow truck driver pulled me out, they hooked on in the wrong place and screwed up something. Real idiot too because the car has special tow hooks for that kind of thing and they are really easy to spot. When AAA tried to refer me back to the tow truck company, I tried to reach them but was unable to. I then reminded AAA that my contract was with them and in fact, it was their logo on the door of the truck and the header on the paperwork. After surprisingly little back and forth, they inspected my car and wrote me a check in a very fair amount.

After my experience, I would expect them to do right by you. It might take a bit of time and a lot of patience but I know you can do it. I know it's hard when you're not feeling well but you've done tougher stuff in life.

Sending hugs of support and encouragement. (Proboards approved emoticons have never shown on this tablet)