My MP3 got towed!

BigBlue

Member
Contributor
Okay this has been without a doubt the most embarrassing day of my life! Normally I don't drive the MP3 to work, I prefer to take the bus so I can read or just catch a few more winks before I get to work. Today I did park at work tho. The parking lot I parked at had some spots that used to be Reserved for an Avis Car Rental place that had fairly recently moved so even tho the signage said it was reserved, it in fact wasn't anymore.

Today was supposed to be a fairly big day as some high-end guys were supposed to be coming from the US to check things out at my office of about 30 or so developers/analysts/testers etc....they were supposed to arrive at around 10:15.

So it's a little after ten and I'm working away when I casually look out the window. The reason I like that parking lot is that I can see my car parked from where I sit so I can look down and admire it. Well when I look down I see a tow truck pulling in there...and then I see it start positioning itself by MY car. So now I'm shitting myself and I quickly comment to a guy sitting near me that I think someone is towing my car!!(HUGE mistake to have said anything I found out later).

I haul ass down there and the tow truck guy was quick because he was already just starting to pull out. I explain to him that the spot isn't in fact reserved even tho the painted Reserved for Avis thing on the spot itself is still there. He says unfortunately that's not his problem. He says I can get the car down for 50 bux! Not like I have a choice right? So he pulls out onto the street so he doesn't block the parking lot and I walk up and pay the man....one cool thing is he comments how he really likes my car and the wheels/rims look great....yay MP3. He let's the car down and then hands over the additional parking ticket of 32 bux....so they are now into me for 85 bux(3 bux paid for the lot for parking all day as well).

See the part that gets embarrassing comes now. See when I mentioned it to the one guy when I was running down, it spread quickly and the entire floor watched the entire thing. Not only that, but WHILE everyone was watching, the bigwigs came in....and joined in on the spectacle of watching yours truly!! So I come back in the door after parking elsewhere and I knew I'd have a few people laugh at me, but instead the entire floor was all standing waiting for me including these other guys and they all clapped and laughed at me. I was told I turned a lovely shade of purple.

Oh and get this.....just in case it seems like a far fetched story....Winnipeg has this controllable internet camera as I've told before. Well one of the people zoomed in on the fiasco and snapped off a shot. The guy walking towards the tow truck would be me.

badday.jpg
 
i wonder who that sucker was that filmed it all....
kinda fun, but why did you pay those $50 -
if you have the right to park there i wouldn't pay the tow driver
or at least threaten to sue his a$$!
 
that's a classic bigblue, especially with that attached picture, glad you're willing to share the fun with everyone :D
 
I'd have to say it's tough to argue with a tow truck driver when the car's already on the hook. You are just praying he stops moving the truck and the ride doesn't get damaged. Been there, not with the MP3 though. Man does it suck.
Sorry bout your luck man.
Also, I'd go to the city and file a complaint to get your money back They have no right to tow your sh*t if it isn't illegal.
 
Oh my god, that is f#$%#ing hilarious. I would hate to be in your shoes at that time. The fact that there's even a picture....:)

Looking at the pic though, it seems they even used a normal tow truck, not a flat bed.....ASSHOLE. You just DON'T tow our cars like that.

Everyone is right though, get your money back. That tow truck drive just pocketed $50.00.
 
The guy who took the picture was a co-worker was just using a feature on the Winnipeg webcam to take an instant picture.

Basically once they have your car up on the truck you have to pay them to get it back or they just haul it away and you can pay at the impound simple as that.

It's not a city owned parking lot...but I did call them and complain and they will be refunding my money spent on the tow truck in addition to naturally dismissing the ticket. They told me tho not to park in those spots anymore as they haven't painted over the old Reserved parts.

If this had happened to someone other than me I woulda been laughing my ass off tho. :D
 
those bastards! the nerve of some people...however i did laugh my ass off at that picture being taken, comical s***...sorry though. could be worse.
 
The classic hilarity of this is that the tow truck driver didn't "book" the call. He just lined his pockets with the dough.

Wouldn't it be great if the city came back and told you that the money never existed? Then you could display the picture and several affidavits from your "embarassment coterie" and then the tow truck dude would be on the hot seat. :D
 
why didn't he say s*** about the other cars on the street? had to take the pretty mp3. good point about the picture though...send it to the city and tell them its bulls***.
 
Why is your car towed with its front down?
we are front wheel drive cars.... arnt we supposed to be towed with our car's butt on the ground?:confused:
 
IniTial,

That only applies to Auto trannies where the car would be in Park, causing the front wheels to be locked solid. Unless the owner of the car is present and is able to put the tranny in whatever gear he wanted. (this obviously not the case :rolleyes: )

In a manual tranny, the car is usually left in Neutral (leaving the front wheels free) and the emergency/hand brake is up, which locks the rear wheels. (also great for those pesky sharp turns at high speeds :D )

In this case, I'm assuming we're dealing with a 5-speed and the Tow truck driver noted this and towed it the only way he could without having a flatbed.

Correct me if I'm wrong... ;)
 
Id be pissed if it was me but thats too funny man, i have to say the picture topped that story all off...nicely done *claps*
 
This is exactly the case. I always put the car in neutral(unless I'm on a hill or something) with the e-brake engaged. In the case of my car as well, it was parked nose in against a wall so he had no choice but to tow it. I guess if I had left the darn thing in gear he wouldn't have been able to tow it at all. The parking lot was very tight and I was only able to get down there in time because he couldn't make it out right away because of the small lot.

After work tho I went down and looked and I really don't know why the parking lot guy had a problem with just my car. Everybody else had the same sorta thing and nobody else even got a ticket, let alone being towed! All worked out in the end tho so I was pretty good natured about it.

Inimical_01ES said:
IniTial,

That only applies to Auto trannies where the car would be in Park, causing the front wheels to be locked solid. Unless the owner of the car is present and is able to put the tranny in whatever gear he wanted. (this obviously not the case :rolleyes: )

In a manual tranny, the car is usually left in Neutral (leaving the front wheels free) and the emergency/hand brake is up, which locks the rear wheels. (also great for those pesky sharp turns at high speeds :D )

In this case, I'm assuming we're dealing with a 5-speed and the Tow truck driver noted this and towed it the only way he could without having a flatbed.

Correct me if I'm wrong... ;)
 
the reason why your car was towed bottom up is that if you tow a car with an aluminum oil pan
front end up the tow truck can rip thu your pan.
always get a flatbed.
was or is there any signs that say
"TOWED AT OWNER EXPENCE"
if not you can get your money back.
legal stuff sometimes works out for us, sometimes.
good story
 

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