AAA employs special needs tow truck drivers.... pic/explanation inside

NYSpeed Automotive
1

So, the other day my Suburban got stuck in a horribly muddy backyard while attempting to position it to pull out someone else… at that point, we decided to call AAA to get our vehicles out… BAD IDEA right there. I was an idiot to get my truck stuck how I did, yes… but assuming AAA employs people that know what the f*@! they’re doing, we figured we were in good hands…

So, 2 hours and $100 later, the guy shows up, and pulls my buddies car out no problem. Then he moved on to mine, and used poor judgment to say the least… well, i’ll let the picture do the talking.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a263/mjsaurus/AAAdrawing.jpg

I told the guy beforehand… you’re not really planning on pulling my truck like that, are you? “YEAAA IT’LL BE FINE” he tells me. After me yelling at him for 10 minutes about how what he was about to do was fucking RETARDED, he decided to do it anyways. Now, just to make matters worse, keep in mind my front AND rear tires were dug down 10-12". I wasn’t sure what was going to happen first - the truck was gonna tip, or my wheels were gonna snap off under the truck. Fortunately, neither of the 2 happened to my surprise, but when I get back in my truck… the steering wheel is almost completely locked up…

KIA: gearbox, power steering pump

So, after a week of AAA doing their “investigation”, and the driver of the tow truck saying he had absolutely nothing to do with my truck breaking and it “must have just been broken before he got there”, the damage investigator actually did his job and realized this guy was a fucking moron and did, in fact, have 100% responsibility in what was now broken on my truck.

So, I take it to the shop and they pull my old gearbox, and we find out it is relatively new - it was barely even dirty and all the black paint was still visible. Guy at AAA calls me, said he found a “used” part, and at the time I didnt give a shit, I want my truck back. Well, he takes it to the shop and tells the guys to put it in… they call me immediately and tell me I better come take a look at it… so I go down there to find the “used” part this guy bought is a rusted out corroded POS from the boneyard.

It took me absolutely BLOWING my stack on this guy, AND my dad doing the same for him to understand thats not acceptable… and also a liability when the thing breaks in 2 weeks and I end up in the side of a brick building - or worse, killing someone else because my steering gave out mid-turn.

moral of the story - AAA will do anything from hiring SHITTY drivers and giving you dangerous parts to save a buck.

ugh… ok /rant.

2

same thing happened to me a couple years ago. Fuckin retard hooked my wheel, and pulled the car sideways out of a ditch, exactly like you picture. Fucked my tie rods BAD.

These people are tow truck drivers for a reason. Doesn’t take a whole lot.

3

well as long as shit gets straightened out itll be fine

4

so ur mad at him because he towed your truck out of the shitmess you got it into? should of called someone else i guess.

5

yea after our screaming match this morning, he ordered some nice new parts from napa and they should be installed in the next few hours… thank god

but a week without your only vehicle = teh suck

6

Wow, when I sheared a lower ball joint on “the ramp” at an ECC-S autocross the driver AAA sent was awesome. A Fiero isn’t real high off the ground to begin with, and when you tuck the drivers side front wheel up into the fender it basically rests on the frame. The driver looked at the situation for a while, jacked up the car, put some long 2x4’s under it and used some dish soap between the 2 2x4’s to make a nice slide to get the car up on the flatbed. Then when we got it home he helped me get my big wheeled floor jack under it so we could drop/roll it right into my garage.

I gave the guy a good tip because he clearly went above and beyond. Guess it all depends on the luck of who AAA sends out.

7

Wait, why did you use a Suburban in the first place??

Why not spend a couple hours on the street, make $100k, buy you’re own tow truck.

8

oh god let it go. because I dont do that stuff.

9

Magic 8 Ball Says: doubtful.

10

Could have called me :gotme:

11

wow, that blows.

12

I forgot what company AAA sent me last year but the driver they sent was top notch. Even Carnut said something along the lines of, “if I ever needed a car towed, I want that guy!” Guy hooked me up on the inside shoulder of the 90 to Hybrid when my tranny ate itself.

I’ve had Auto Rescue before too. They always go above and beyond.

13

I remember that happening. Everyone tried to push it out and I think it just sunk further? I do remember you eventually got it pushed out of the way. That was the event where it rained right in the middle for awhile?

14

I don’t remember the weather (probably because I was trying to figure out how to get it home) but it was pretty much the only event WNY SCCA has done at ECC-S in the last few years. They had a decent straight that crossed the road between the two lots, but the road was a good 6-8" ramp. A lot of people were lifting but since the Fiero wasn’t my DD I was just standing on it and almost getting air. Worked 3 times, then the 4th the lower ball joint sheared clean off. We pushed it off the course by using someone’s jack as a wheel. If I remember correctly I still trophied even with 3 runs. :lol:

15

I’ve used AAA prolly a dozen times since I was ~17. No real problems to speak of.

:gotme:

16

LOLZ!!! I was there for that…

17

would have if I had your # and knew better :frowning:

Ive used AAA to tow me out before as well and didn’t have a problem… they even towed one of my bikes before when the chain broke off in the middle of nowhere… but this guy was a fawking IDIOT. He’s still denying that what he did had anything to do with the broken parts :bloated: the investigation guy said himself theres no way I could have even ended up where i did if it was broken beforehand… still the guy thinks he did a good job.

supposed to get it back momentarily with parts that aren’t rotted to shit, so we’ll see…

18

my number is over here :slight_smile:

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19

AAA doesn’t hire anybody, they sub-contract. When you get your comment form in the mail, fill it out and make it clear that this was horrible service. Also, next time you need AAA, make sure to ask for a different towing company. I always request Ridgeway Sunoco here in Roc. You DID pay attention to the name on the side of the truck, right?

20

Wait wait… Let me get this straight…

Another vehicle was stuck in an extremely muddy area, and you go find the biggest, heaviest poor excuse for an SUV to try to pull it out?

Logic just SCREAMS that it would sink and get stuck as well.