Npl9

Parked in a space at the office for a bit too long and came back out to see the car had been towed. Picked it up from the lot and had a nasty scrape, plus a bunch of scratches all over the car, so clearly not a carefully done tow job.

Now when driving, any acceleration sounds very harsh and "grindy." There have also been a few instances where it feels like there's some gear slippage (PDK). Also some strange "labored puttering" sounds at idle that weren't there before.

I took the car to the dealership, but they said they found no damage related to the tow. The only thing they came back with was a fault code for coolant temp sensor they attributed to rodent damage. While certainly possible, I don't think all of the noises/issues are in my head. Is there anything I should ask them to double check? Any damage you'd expect from a tow with car in park? I don't know the exact method they used for the tow (flatbed, etc.), and can't get the towing company to answer the phone or call back. Have tried Googling around for an answer, but haven't really been able to find anything definitive. Any help would be very much appreciated.

asellus

flatbed should cause no drivetrain damage. a c2 can be dragged but given how low the car is, the risk of bumper damage is pretty high. a c4 would have to be taken with a flatbed.

additional noises could very well just be you paying more attention and noticing them for the first time since your car had something unexpected happen to it. pretty common situation to experience as an owner.

as far as the cosmetic damage, if they aren't answering get a lawyer involved. most tow drivers have cameras on their trucks for this exact reason -- usually to prove they _didn't_ cause the damage. getting that footage will help. there's also the question of security footage from the place you parked at.

Npl9

Thanks, really appreciate the help. It's a c2, so sounds like drivetrain should be fine then. Guess maybe it is just all in my head. Already gave up on wasting my time with the towing company and going through my insurance.

vanlieremead

Sorry for your issues. Depends on what you want to spend in calories on this but go to the police and explain the issue. Perhaps there is video from nearby that recorded the event.

GT3 touring

TL;DR The towing companies are mostly like hardened criminals in legal experience; may be even more. Deal with them like they need to be dealt with.
long version:
I have 2 experiences, the one involving me personally is not that interesting
1. Been through this with a friend who had an off shore wedding and stayed with us on the last night before his flight. Nevertheless; after wasting his few hours before flight in frustration, lesson was learnt, hefty amount was paid by the poor guy for the illegal tow since he just wanted to leave.
later that company (same man who towed and lied to our faces about my friend not being in one of shops at that strip mall) was on judge Judy with a person whose car was towed from the same exact lot… exact same MO, the guy would just hide his truck around the corner and if you don’t go to shop exactly in front of you car, he towed the car; the lady whose car was towed even worked at the same place I did. I was jumping in joy when I saw the same a**h*** being ripped by judge on television (until I learnt everyone on that show is paid for like an actor &#128514
2. I had my new(ish) G20 3 series bimmer towed. It had x drive.
the independent worker who witnessed said they “just dragged all the cars”. The person who was responsible and at fault for not informing me at right time to move my car, swore by the fact that it was flat bedded. No video; the car drove fine and it was a short distance, so just forgot about it

Bud Taylor

Wow, im going to go after his business license and whatever else i can invent/think of. It would be years before I was done with that POS and everyone he knows. I literally would make messing up this guys existence my hobby.