ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
That towing angle seems like it may not be the best for the car. Am I right?
Makes sense to me. That wall of ice holding it in place on the drivers side would have destroyed the body panels on that side if they tried to pull it straight forward or backwards. It’s not like sliding it on an icy parking lot was that much drag to slide it sideways either. Looking at how they attached the tow straps they were attached at pretty much the same pressure point as the car would have sliding sideways while drive… the wheel hub.
Regardless though, it was a recovery job hired out by insurance so any damage that gets done will get fixed. Judging by the complete lack of damage to the sheet metal on the side that was completely covered in ice I’d say they made the right call. Even if they damaged a tie rod or some other suspension bit freeing it mechanical parts are way cheaper than getting into body work.
that towing angle was wierd, but JayS is correct. Those suspension parts are cheap. If that job was done wrong that car could have been totaled.
I wouldve used an excavator
I still really liked the torpedo heater idea in a tarp enclosure… idk.
I was going to use that one but the lake wasn’t frozen so I couldn’t drive it over there. Got a ticket on Rt 5 a couple years ago. Driving too slow.
I would have used a flame thrower.
The car still had a lot of ice on it even after sitting under 75 degree heat all night in the shop. I think they made the right call, especially considering it came out unscathed. The torpedo heater idea would need someone to sit there and monitor it the entire time with the liability of blasting a heater like that under such a temporary shelter. They way they did it took 15 minutes of work plus letting it sit unattended overnight.
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/weather/defrosted-ice-car-is-no-worse-for-the-wear-20160114
With what looks like almost a foot of ice on the car they did it the fastest way possible. The torpedo heater would have worked as you could easily get the area 80+ degrees and direct the heat right at the ice but it would still take a while and your’d have to chip the ice away to help it long. The point wouldn’t be to completely defrost the car but to get it to be able to be loaded on a trailer. If it was me I would have tried the heater as I have access to everything I would need including a trailer and it would have only cost me fuel and my time. I’m not even sure I would have thought of contacting my insurance company. This was a win win for the towing company as they will get paid and had free advertisement on the news.
When it first got on the news I was shocked a towing or collision company didn’t take the job for free just for the exposure. As the towing company that did the work showed it was less than an hour’s labor and they’ve now had their name plastered on every news outlet in WNY. Imagine what it would cost to run an ad for your company on every news station and paper in WNY.
I would have done it my self if it were my car. What a fun challenge!
Big risk too if they ripped the wheel off or something else haha.
Watched it and have seen stills from various outlets, and I couldn’t tell you who towed it out…
And I couldn’t tell you the companies I heard ads for on the radio on the way to work this morning. Doesn’t change the fact that companies pay mega bucks for exposure like this story has provided.
Ready for the… rain.
Yep, stopped driving the coupe last week so I don’t kill the studs
I think Blizzaks are made of Pla-Doh, I can almost see $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ in my rearview while driving on dry pavement.