Grapeape

Speedy this is the proper response and perfectly reflected by SeanR's avatar, give those rat bastards both barrels, GL.

JDHertz11

I would agree with a few others here. The car was strapped down pretty securely with the baskets straps. Then as a precautionary measure the driver cranked up the winch to put a bit of "just in case" tension on the line resulting in unintended damages. I used to own a tow company that only provided services to AAA and Motor Clubs. It was not worth being in business due to driver damages (cars falling off the bed, winch cables snares, ripped off bumpers, etc.). AAA has become a spineless shell of its former self... File a claim with your insurance company and let them figure it out.

earossi

I am a mechanical engineer. The most plausible argument for the noted damage is that posted by Andreas in an earlier posting. The car was securely fastened to the truck bed, and the driver, for unknown reasons, decided to "snug up" the winch. The pull force of that winch accounts for the failure of the body shock mounting.

With the car in gear, e-brake fully deployed, the total resistance to movement is the static friction exerted by the four small contact surfaces between the tires and the road surface. That can be calculated easily; however, I can tell you that that frictional force would be easily overcome when the vehicle was winched onto the truck. And, that the force exerted to do that would not approach the forces needed to yield the body shock structure.

You have several ways to fight the AAA position. I would do it on principle alone; but, it may cost you time and money. You may be able to settle this in small claims court; but, you need to be properly prepared

techman1

Waiting on a call back from AAA.
Want to confirm if damage by a tow truck driver would be covered. Maybe all of us who have AAA should call and bump this up the ladder. Sounds like a bunch of crap the way you are being treated. Could you shoot me a case number and I will quote it when asking about damage during towing? If AAA does not own up to their mistakes, I do not want/need their coverage.

JDHertz11

Keep in mind that most "AAA" service providers are subcontractors and are required to carry their own insurance. AAA is usually self insured but each state has its own AAA. It is not a giant nationwide organization but a bunch of individually run organizations.

k722070

the glass half full comment is you are lucky AAA denied the claim, 5500 might not have covered the damage. new bumper cover and misc trim, paint/finish, labor, shipping could be 3k. fixing the frame rail might be another 3k.
get a lawyer yesterday and take AAA and/or the tow truck company for the repair and your troubles.

on to AAA
NASA has a new rule about using a specific dyno brand so my car had to be moved 80 miles one way to a shop that had this dyno. front bumper has only 3.125" of ground clearance, after 30 minutes of effort we could not get the car on the flatbed. took me 20 minutes to pull the bumper cover and finally get the car on the truck.
AAA and the tow company were ok with the customer screwing up and making them wait.
AAA was ok having a customer using the emergency tow service for a non emergency.
I'd say you just drew the short stick with this driver and got some idiot at AAA that later denied the claim, bad draw all around.

take the normal route and get a lawyer.

bcameron59

This.

The crap about the "tow hook should break away" is total, utter, cosmically unbelievable umitigated BS. If possible, see if you can get that statement in writing from AAA. Your picture shows clearly that the winch tension was NOT released after the vehicle was loaded. End of story.

About time you got the lawyers involved. You should include in your claim damages in the amount of $1M to cover mental distress for having to deal with whoever made that crap up to defraud you to avoid paying damages that they, or their authorized representative, clearly and unequivocally did to your vehicle.

Good luck and I hope the eventual resolution costs them MUCH more than it would have if they just came clean and paid up in the first place.

JB 911

^ BobbyT gets the credit for posting the doc.

I'd go this route it seems a lot less stressful than hiring your own attorney. A comprehensive claim should not affect your premium.
You might try sending that doc Bob posted to AAA first to see if that changes their mind...

coltj

"And I think the driver either had to stop short, or hit a large bump, or something else occurred to make him realized damage had been done, or why else would he have stopped to look?"

Exactly!! Driver either saw or most likely heard something while he was en route.

I haven't had my car flat-bedded yet but I did print out the pdf from Post #6 and put it with the tow ring as someone suggested.

Best of luck resolving this in your favor.

SpeedyC2

Thanks all for the support, and to BobbyT in particular for posting the AAA Porsche towing guide. This could be some good backup information.

I have contacted my insurance company so those wheels are in motion. As promised, I have also contacted the BBB, State Attorney General, and our local TV news investigative reporter. (I have a connection there.)

We'll see how it all plays out. To say I'm disappointed in AAA is an understatement. I have my doubts they will learn from this, but I'm certainly going to try to teach them!

techman1

And from memory, doesn't the manual caution about using the tow eyelet for pulling only, not as a tiedown?

geolab

in my experience, it is maybe, operating the winch after blocking the car,
but most importantly, the guy who flatbed the car, pulled the car on the truck, in the worst manner (he must have been alone)
Because he was afraid the car would touch and scratch, he must have operated the winch in pulses
with the slight elasticity of the cable, the bumping method dismembered the front.
The guy who was flat bedding my car when it went to the paint booth, was trying to do the same, and I jumped on his neck.
He pushed the winch button, ON/OFF ON/OFF ON/OFF to load it inch by inch, he regretted it later.
The welds on the front are made enough to take a push shock, not a PULL
AND WHEN THE CAR IS ON THE STREET AND THE CABLE PULLING, IT IS ACTUALLY PULLING THE CAR UP AND FRONT
Saw a dismembered ferrari once, the same story
here is a pure example:

https://rennlist.com/forums/panamera...-panamera.html

OverBoosted28

The "Tow hook" is actually a recovery hook. The wheels (and/or stout susp. components) need to be secured, and the suspension still handles the body roll, as it's being towed. 200% the tow driver, company, and AAA's liability!!!! No if, ands, or buts! As noted above, my probability of being incarcerated if it was my car, would be pretty high.

Cemoto

Sorry for your pain, that really sucks and then to go through the BS afterwards sucks even more.

I think I'd hire an attorney right away and have him deal with the funds recovery BS as these firms do not have a good track record of assistance for the little guy.

Also, due to the unitized body construction, repair to the frame's front bumper shock mount area would be deemed as "structural" damage on a Carfax would it not?

.

pp000830

At first glance the outer bumper cover is cracked, it wasn't before, they are in for a new bumper cover.
Looking at the bumper shock it looks like it may have been replaced earlier as the head of the mounting bolts are painted and the shock has no paint on it. The open metal in the bodywork seems to have developed some corrosion as it may have been exposed from previous damage.
It seems to me the lion's share of the repair cost is the new cover for $1200 and the cost to paint it and transfer the lighting hardware to it. Bending the shock mounting point back in position and resealing it is just a small fraction of the cost and involves no parts. For this reason it seems illogical that they are not working with you to solve the issue.

Ultimately you can repair it on your nickel and file a claim for $20 in the small claims court in your home town where a resident friendly adjudicator will end this nonsense with an enforceable judgement against the towing company.

Just some thoughts,
ANdy

Andy