AAA Totaled My Truck

I was at a friends house working on my front brakes got everything back together. We were trying to bleed the air out but couldn’t get the pedal to hold finally I noticed brake fluid leaking off the rear axle

Being a true New England truck one of the tubes in the rear corroded and let go so I decided to AAA it to my house BIG MISTAKE

When the driver loaded my truck on the flatbed I questioned this and said ,”I don’t think you should hook the winch to my lower control arm” By the time I saw it it was already loaded
I followed the truck to my house it took an hour to make the half hour trip couldn’t even begin to figure out what or where the driver was doing

So we finally make it to the house I park my van in the field beside my house and the flatbed pulled up in front where I thought he would unload my truck I ran into the house to see if my wife had any cash I was going to tip the driver

Wasn’t even in the house 30 seconds when I came out I hear the backup alarm and see the flatbed moving backwards I’m thinking what the F is this guy doing just then he stops and pulls forward. So I head toward the street thinking he’s going to stop and unload my truck
I didn’t even get off the front steps (3) and I hear the backup alarm again by the time I got around my wife’s car in the driveway and looked up all I could do was scream as the dumbass backed my truck right into the tree while still on the flatbed



I’ll get a couple more pics in light after work today

 

That blows, looks like it's just the tail gate and bumper. Easy fix and AAA should pay for it. I don't see why it'd be totalled or even have insurance involved.

 

Probably over reacting but I’ve seen some trucks on here with what appeared to be minor damage that ended up being very costly

 

Yikes. Yeah there are notches in the frame for that specific purpose. Hooking up to the suspension is a big no no

 

Yea I know what you mean. I'm no lawyer, but if you can find a new tail gate and bumper and have a shop paint match it, then have AAA foot the bill then no one is the wiser. Good luck getting it sorted!

 

I don't think that will be totaled, having just gone through a rear ender total, that appears to be a tail gate and bumper cover. The fact that the cover is dented but not angled leads me to believe the frame is likely still straight.

Quick estimate with paint and labor, this is probably a 5-6k job. Totaling it varies by state, looks like you're in Massachusetts, so they use a TLF, total loss formula. Basically the cost of the repair + the salvage value of the truck must be greater than the actual cash value (market value). Market values are a bit high right now, so that wont help if you want it totaled. It will help if they do total it though.

I suppose if you have high mileage it might be possible to total it out, but its still not highly likely. Get more pictures up, especially from the bottom side.

 

Just going to be easier to go through insurance and give them the pictures, this is pretty obvious and really a no contest. Insurance will bill AAA.

 

Incompetent tow truck operator

 

That just sucks. Hopefully it's a easy repair.

 

Did you still tip the driver?

 

Boot tip

 

That sucks. There are some really great tow operators out there, most are competent, and a few.... When I was on the Fire District, we went on a lot of wrecks. I always was joyed to see this one company. They had all Great operators. Then there was that other company. I saw more than a few simple 'pull it out of ditch' that totaled the car.

 

Sorry to hear this Mike. Hopefully you get this resolved quickly.

 

That sucks. Sorry to hear that OP. And to think you wanted to tip the driver....

 

As a current adjuster your truck is repairable. Sucks that it happened but they have insurance to cover the damages and you should get a rental as well. Good luck!

 

Read my mind......

 

Suxs for sure. Looks fixable. Stupid tow truck driver.

 

My trust in AAA has plummeted over the years... from the time they cross poled my battery, to the time they tried to pull my car from a broken control arm, to the one that beat, probably on the alternator, when my starter died... I questioned his methods and ended up getting my keys locked in the cab while trying start my bricked Tundra... Then was shocked I asked him to tow me to my house 1 mile away instead of a shop. I asked him to gap the curb so I could pull the wheel which ended with my truck pressed firmly on the curb... Had to get creative on pushing and pulling a whale off the curb so I could remove the passenger side front wheel.. I recently rejoined AAA since I left back in 2011, registration services are more lenient.... Atleast the few people who I've chose to do business with, cuz others, Jesus... I'll leave it at that...

 

I think one important thing need to be clarified here: AAA does not own the tow company, the trucks, or any physical asset used to tow/road service. They are merely a membership service that brokers bulk purchases of services and contractual services. If you have an issue with a particular tow company, while they should be the first stop, contact AAA and seek their help in resolving issues with the contracted provider. And if you feel the provider is bad, let AAA know as well.

 

Not to add insult to injury, but the tire tread in that second pic looks toasted with heavy inner wear. Kinda hard to tell cause entire tire isn’t in pic. Looks heavily worn compared to middle of tire.

You may need an alignment & tires too. Or, if outer edge has same heavy wear, may not be alignment but you may be running them under inflated.

 

Truck and uniform says AAA, if they don't own them who does?

Sorry to hear about your misfortune Mike.

 

Man, this makes my stomach flip. I can deal with it if I mess up and damage my stuff, but when somebody else does it in such an avoidable way.... I really really hope that your truck can be made whole again.

 

Not true my friend this is a AAA owned tow truck

 

I stand corrected. I had never run into an "OWNED" tow wagon. Though many had as large a AAA sign as that one. Usually they have a "contracted operator" below it.

From an article
Then there's AAA, probably the most famous provider of roadside assistance. AAA is a group of more than 50 independently operated motor clubs with a total membership of 52 million. Each motor club works with local towing companies to provide roadside assistance with its members, and has a reciprocal agreement with every other motor club. Some AAA clubs cover metro areas with their own tow trucks and use private towing companies to cover the rest of the area they handle.

 

Didn’t get any pics under

Ya I suggested a new occupation

The freakin guy wasn’t going to show me his ID until I threatened to call the cops
I kept asking him what the hell was he trying to do he wouldn’t say a word

 

Notify your insurance about them pulling it on by the suspension if that's damaged that can and maybe part of your claim..

 

Oh it’s in the report with pictures

 

I thought the same as you, never seen a AAA owned truck. This is what they look like in my area.