SpeedyC2

Fair warning: This is a fairly long story, so feel free to move on if you'd like...

So a few weeks back while away from home my 993 would turn over, but not start. After spending some time checking, and ruling out, a few obvious issues like a good connection on the batter cable, a working DME, etc., Finally, I called AAA for a flatbed to have the car towed to a local indy shop.

The flatbed arrived and loaded the car seemingly without issue. About 15 minutes after the truck left I received a phone call from AAA stating the driver had noticed damage on the car, stopped to call in to report this issue and take a few pictures, and then continued on to deliver the car. The AAA representative stated they would look into things, but said they fully expected to cover the damage. I did happen to take a picture of the car on the flatbed as it drove off. When I looked at it later, I thought there may be some problems. What do you think?



Upon inspection of the car, the damage turned out to be considerable. Cosmetically, the bumper cover was split and a few trim pieces broken.



Underneath the cover is a whole 'nother story though. It seems enough force was put on the tow connection to pull the bumper shock away from the body of the car. Pretty dramatic stuff:



AAA sent a representative to the shop to look over the car and review the repair estimate which came to about $5,500. He agreed to everything and even asked if I'd like to have the check sent to me or directly to the shop. All is well so far.

The next day, however, the same AAA representative calls back to say the amount of the bill is enough to have to send it "up the chain" for review by their insurance company. I don't like how this sounds...

Sure enough, after further review, AAA's insurance company (AAA is self-insured), Federated Insurance, denies any responsibility for the damage and and states they will not pay any money for repairs. Their reasoning is the tow hook should have failed before enough force was put on the assembly to cause the damage which resulted.

I'm not a mechanical engineer, but a civil, so while I know just a bit about mechanical devices but I am certainly no expert. (And I'm hoping someone here is!) From looking at the assembly on how the tow hook itself threads into the aluminum bumper support, to how the bumper support is bolted to the front of the bumper shock, and then finally the back of the bumper shock is bolted to the body of the car, I don't see a shear connection. Am I missing something? I see no built-in failure mode, but I could be wrong.

Regardless of this answer, it boggles my mind there can be a claim of no responsibility here. I am not one to be overly combative, but I feel like I have really been wronged in this instance. If others here feel I have no standing I will drop this. If not, I feel I have no option other than to escalate.

As a side note, I have not yet involved my insurance company because until a day ago I was under the impression AAA would make this right. I had been told twice this would be the case, admittedly by two lower-level employees. I'm sure I owe it to my insurance to let them know what is going on. And I'm sure I'll owe more money, too. Sigh...

Thoughts?

CerberuskY

Sounds like BS... I would fight it!

Howdy993

Was the car in gear? E-brake on? Seems like that would be the only way that much force would be needed for the damage delivered.

Either way, they damaged your car and you need to be made whole.

knorrena

Frustrating indeed. What is the story from the driver? What does he say happened?

It almost seems as though the car rolled and met the end of the tow cable.

sand_man

I'm with you on this. I'd escalate. Was the car in gear as they dragged it onto the flatbed? Just can't comprehend how that happened without something being "forced"!?

BobbyT

Here is the link to AAA's own towing guide for Porsche. You may want to review it to see if the operator loaded the car correctly:

http://members.rennlist.org/jandreas...owingGuide.pdf

Why did the driver wait to stop and call in? This damage appears to have occurred from grossly excessive pulling force on the tow eye while he was loading the car, so why didn't he say something before he drove off?

Even if he left the car in gear and emergency brake on, he certainly must have been aware how hard the winch was pulling to cause such damage--the sound of the winch operation would have changed, and probably the tires were skidding.

Something very fishy here...

mr_bock

Is seems to me that the tow truck driver did this damage. Just looking at the first pix and how tight the strap is deforming the tire. I have to assume the front is similar. Also, I wonder just what his straps were attached to. The bumper strut is pulled sideways, bad attachment point as the struts are designed for front to rear impact, not side to side loading.

These insurance companies want your premiums, but don't want to pay the claim!!!!! Fight, fight, fight for your rights!!!!

JB 911

Gold

"Use only 4 wheel strap tie-downs to secure the vehicle to the car carrier. Either basket-style tie-downs or heavy nylon straps may be used. If straps are used, it is recommended to route the strap through the wheel rims as shown."

and

"Once the vehicle is secured on the carrier bed, release the winch tension to avoid undue stress on the eyebolt and the vehicle suspension, but do not disconnect the wire rope."

Cactus

Can anyone do anything right anymore?

AOW162435

Even with the car in gear and hand brake pulled with Herculean force, the tires would have merely skidded while the winch was pulling.

I'd say the car was strapped down tight via the wheel straps and then the tow truck driver decided to see if he could pull the entire front off the car using his winch.

What a crap situation. Personal responsibility is as good as dead.



Andreas

sand_man

That's a pretty good assessment!

SpeedyC2

I was with the car while it was loaded, and there was no problem at the time the flatbed drove off. The car was out of gear, and the key in the ignition so the steering was not locked.

Looking back on the picture I took as the flatbed drove off, you can see the basket-style tie-downs were used in this case. You can also see the rear tires are VERY tightly strapped down, to the point of cutting into the tire, while the front straps are not nearly as tight.

If you can zoom in on the front of the car, you can also see the tow chain appears to be tight. I did not notice this when the flatbed left, but I think it's pretty clear in the picture.

I think the way the car was strapped down allowed enough movement against the tight tow chain to pull the bumper shock away from the car. I really don't see any other way around it. 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? The indy shop owner also said the driver apologized several times for the damage upon dropping off the car.

The insurance company doesn't want to hear any of this.

goofballdeluxe

It's pretty clear the tow truck driver is the person who is responsible for the damage.

Personally, I wouldn't care if AAA doesn't wanna hear about it, they certainly would. From my attorney if need be. If they don't see the light, and soon, and you have a friend who is a lawyer, it might be worth a call in favor to see if you can get a letter sent certified mail to AAA with a law office letterhead gently explaining to them the wisdom of taking ownership of their negligence before this escalates any further.

Good luck to you. And welcome to America 2016. Good customer service and personal responsibility are dead

AOW162435

Of course not.



Andreas

_snowbird_

Your ability to diagnose the failure is separate from the problem. The car wasn't damaged before the tow, and it is now. Nuff said.

...unless they're claiming the bumper was already damaged before they loaded it up??