Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  10/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  On October 17, 2023, I hit a 4" deep pothole at ********************************************** (West of **** on ************* road) causing my run flat tire to blow out on my 2022 *** 530i. *** roadside assistance contacted Montero Bro Towing to tow my car to **************** in *******, ** on their case #*******. I contacted friend *********************** ************** to see if we could air up tire. My car was driveable and wheel was straight as shown in attached photo but would not hold air. I was sent a video from **************** the next day indicating my ************* was bent. I contact a luxury car mechanic I know named ********************* ************** and showed him the video. He asked to meet me at dealership to inspect car where he showed the shop manager ***************************** that the damage they thought was caused by pot hole was impossible to have been made by pothole. The sway bar located below the ************* was not dented. ************ was not deep enough to have bumped the ************* and there were strap marks visible from the back of ************* indicating somebody had strapped it to ************* and snugged it up to sway bar bending it. My wheel was now bent or toed in and the car was no longer driveable. *********************** witnessed my backing up car and pulling it further off the road after the blow out the day before. The dealership contacted ******* Bro Towing and they are denying they caused the damage. Had the ************* or even the sway bar hit the bottom of ************, there would have been plow marks made in ************ and the car would have abruptly left the roadway due to lost steering ability and bent in wheel. That was not the case. I want the Towing Company to file against their insurance for the damage they caused to my vehicle immediately.

  Business response

  11/15/2023

  Hola ********** escuchar que all tenido este problema con el auto, le comento en la noche del 17 recogemos el auto en la direccin que nos enviaron como hemos hecho siempre con ************************* Y *** casi todos los das estamos moviendo autos con nuestras gras pueden chequear las cmaras para confirmarlo, no llamaron del concesionario de la *** en la tarde y ese mismo da fuimos a verificar lo que haba sucedido tomamos fotos de vehculo por abajo y vimos los daos que es un echo que estn ah,,, a la maana siguiente me reun con el chfer que se encarg de llevar ese auto, verificamos todas las fotos que tomo el chofer a la hora de recoger el auto junto con la descripcin del trabajo, que recibimos, en la maana siguiente fuimos al concesionario de la *** y no reunimos con el jefe de taller y le mostramos las fotos, el auto se carg siempre de frente, nunca por detrs el golpe que tiene es un golpe frontal hacia atrs, no existe forma que lo pudiramos hacerle ese dao al auto con nuestras gras, en la foto se ve un brillo atrs de la cremallera en el chasis como si algo hubiese golpeado *** parte y sigui para atrs, el lado izquierdo est intacto solo tiene daos la parte derecha donde fue el impacto que provoc que el auto fuera remolcado, en la descripcin del trabajo deca que haba una persona con el auto y nunca hubo nadie nos entregara el auto para mostrarnos que solo **** el dao de la llanta, en las fotos adjuntas se puede ver la llanta del auto doblada antes de recoger el auto, en las fotos se ve la parte de abajo por donde remolcamos siempre los autos,,,, una ves ms ********** que alla pasado este problema  a su auto y esperamos que se solucione el problema ,, somos una compaa pequea con una buena reputacin en el rea y creemos que si algo paso con su auto mientras el dueo lo conduca su seguro debera cubrir perfectamente los daos.....

  Customer response

  11/15/2023

  Complaint: 20774420
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  I can not read Spanish.  Please send in English.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************************

  Customer response

  11/15/2023

  Complaint: 20774420
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  your information is not accurate and I have pictures and witnesses to testify to such.  The car was towed on the evening of the 17th and videoed by the dealership the next morning.  When I was sent a video of the damage underneath, I went in the afternoon of the 18th AFTER anybody at the dealership initially inspected the car with a third party luxury car mechanic named ********************* **************.  He reviewed the damaged to the rack & pinion with the shop manager who saw where it had been strapped to the tow bar.  It is impossible to damage the rack & pinion which is mounted Higher above the ground than the tow bar by a 4" pot hole.  It could only be damaged by the tow strap attached to the front of the car.  *********************** will testify that the wheel was straight when I left the car, as per the picture of it I submitted previously.  Her phone number is (432)  ********.  Both ***** and ***** will provide signed affadavits to my attorney.  While it is true ************ blew out the front drivers side tire, it did not damage a piece of suspension mounted about a foot off the ground.  The hole wasn't even deep enough to touch that and the shop manager ***************************** at **************** agreed as well as his shop *******.  My insurance company, Allstate, will be seeking reimbursement from Moreno Bro Towing.  The only thing their photo shows while car was on the side of the road prior to pick up is that I steered it further to the right to get off the road more.  The next day, the tire was tilted in and the car would "hop" when driven.  *********************** witnessed me back it up and move it further off the road and it was driving fine at that time.  I agree car was loaded from the front - you could see perfectly the next afternoon where the tow straps where wrapped around the drivers side front rack & pinion and when the strap was cinched up around rack & pinion and the sway bar, it bowed the parts.  It is impossible to bend something mounted above the sway bar and NOT damage the sway bar in the instance of hitting a pot hole.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************************

  Business response

  11/17/2023

  Me perece bien dgale a su ********** que se comunique con nosotros  estanos

  Customer response

  11/17/2023

  Complaint: 20774420
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  I should not have to file on my insurance and pay a deductible for damage done by the towing company.  The towing company should be filing on their insurance.  **************** will be contacting you to meet me so we can inspect the car together next week and you can then file it on your insurance.  The car has not been repaired yet.  Mechanic and I can show you why this damage was not and could not be done by ************ including the fact that the pictures I previously sent of pot hole show that nothing from the car made a **** in the 4" pothole.  You would need a 12" or deeper hole to even reach the rack & pinion.  I can take a picture of another 530i with the wheel turned to the right and it will look like the picture you submitted.  That does not prove rack & pinion was bent by pothole.  The fact that it did not swerve off the road after hitting the pothole but it is now undriveable shows that the steering was damaged by the way tow strap was applied to the car.  Also, there was no gravel ****s on the bottom of the rack & pinion but there are strap ****s above it.  How can a pothole put ****s on "top" of the rack & pinion?  They were clearly strap ****s.  It is easier to see these things in person being explained by a professional mechanic.

  Regards,
  

  
  *********************************

  Business response

  11/17/2023

  Hola me parece bien estoy de acuerdo con usted , estoy hablando con ************************; de la *** para agendar una cita y reuniros todos y ver cul es la va para reparar su auto lo antes posible, que es el objetivo ***,,  tenga usted un bonito da, Moreno Bro

  Customer response

  11/27/2023

  Complaint: 20774420
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  On November 22, 2023, a representative from Moreno Bro Towing met with myself, my mechanic ********************* **************, Assistant to ****** ***** General Manager ***********************, **************** Shop Manager ***************************** along with their shop ******* and an Allstate Claims agent via facetime call.  ********************* demonstrated how it was impossible for a 4" deep pothole to reach the rack & pinion and that had the hold been deep enough to do that, it would have also damaged the sway bar which is located below the rack & pinion.  He demonstrated with a rope how the strap was placed around the rack & pinion and sway bar, bending the rack & pinion and you could see strap marks above the rack & pinion and there were no marks below rack & pinion that you would have seen had it impacted with something on the ground.  **************** staff and the Allstate claims agent all agreed that there was no way a pot hole could have caused that damage.  Moreno Bro Towing offered to pay my $750 insurance deductible.  I declined because it should be filed on Moreno Bro Towing insurance, I should not have to have claim negatively impact my personal insurance.  Moreno Bro Towing claims their insurance does not cover this type of damage.  They only cover damage such as a totaled vehicle.  (Which makes no sense to me.)  It was discussed that this was a major claim costing approximately $11,500.  I was corrected by **************** that since my initial estimate, it was determined that the sway bar which had originally been included did not need replacement after all so the claim was more like $8,500.  Moreno Bro Towing asked if they could get a further reduction and **************** said that was as low as they could go.  That was the rates agreed upon by the insurance company.  Moreno Bro Towing said they would pay it.  Then it was discussed how they normally load a vehicle that is locked and not in neutral onto a truck and the fact that if this procedure was not done, the transmission would also need replacing.  Moreno Bro Towing said they would not pay for that because their procedure is to load it in a manner that wouldn't hurt the transmission.  We can't tell if the transmission is damaged because the car is currently not driveable.  Since they didn't strap to places their usual procedure uses causing the rack & pinion damage, I am not confident to sign off on them only paying for rack & pinion damage until the transmission can be evaluated as well.  Since negotiations stalled on this point, Allstate said they would continue with a claim and would be going after Moreno Bro Towing and their insurance for reimbursement so I could get my car repaired since it has been over a month since this happened.  *********** Roadside hired the towing company that damaged my vehicle, **************** will cover my $750 deductible even though *** Roadside Assistance is a completely separate business entity from ****************.  Allstate will be suing Moreno Bro Towing for the total amount of repairs which will include that deductible and hopefully, there is no transmission damage.  **************** will alert *** Roadside Assistance of the outcome so they may terminate their contract with Moreno Bro Towing since they are unwilling to accept responsibility for the full extent of damage that would have been caused by their tow truck driver and they don't have appropriate insurance.  While the car was still on the rack, it was asked where Moreno Bro Towing would normally strap do and they indicated an area where T-straps go in.  The cars dirty under carriage did not show any indication this area was used.

  If Moreno Bro Towing agrees to pay for what hopefully is only around $8,500 in damage, I will close my complaint as satisfied at that time.  If the transmission was also damaged and they do not pay for that, I will not consider it satisfactorily completed.

  
  Regards,
  
  *********************************

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