A New Tow Question

[yomamma219]

So, I found out some bad news today...The apartment where my girlfriend lives is going to start towing non-resident cars in a week. So this got me thinking, how would a tow truck "safely" remove my (or any) vehicle from a parking space in the garage.

My two "safely" thoughts were:
1)How would removal occur without damaging other ("legally" parked) cars, and
2)How would removal occur without damaging my car.

Let me explain:
(To attempt to make make things clearer I included a diagram at the bottom which is in no way to scale but gives the general idea)

This is a private parking garage that is fairly cramped space wise. Where I usually park (indicated by the red circles on my masterpiece), it is a U shaped road way that is 1 way since it is quite narrow. It is narrow to the point I don't think two cars could fit in the lane side-by-side and my mustang barely fits perpendicular in the lane. The parking spots themselves are a bit on the narrow side to, though I have seen worse. What I am getting at is that I don't think a tow truck could fit directly in front of my car with its butt to me in order to drag me straight out of the spot.

1)This leads me to believe they would have to pull my car sideways at least somewhat leading to them hitting another parked car. The only way I could see around this would be by them using a "repo key" (or whatever the dumb unlock only keys are called) to *break* into my car and put it in neutral and roll it out of the spot first. I don't know if tow companies are allowed to use those keys so feel free to shine light on the matter if you have insight.

2)The damage to my car I am imagining would occur is if I had backed into a spot they had to drag my mustang out of a parking spot while I was in gear with the parking brake on (correct parking procedure for my 6-speed) thus dragging the rear locked up wheels. This thought doesn't really matter because I am under the belief that tow companies are NOT liable for damage they cause to a car they tow from an illegal spot but this is just my impression not backed up by any facts. This is all just a thought exercise so I am curious to see what people's thoughts are.

If anyone has extensive experience with towing laws please chime in with any insight. I know laws vary by state so if anyone cares I am in NC. Tow companies in my area are brutal. Almost everyone I know has been towed or has had a friend get towed from their apartment complex at sometime or another. Including my own girlfriend who was towed from the apartment complex she used to live at because her parking tag had fallen off her mirror and she forgot to put it back up.

Finally, I hope no one on M6G gets on a high horse about this topic, but for the person that does: I don't plan to risk getting towed so I won't be parking there anymore, so you can take your high horse, shove it in your A$$ and drink the embryonic Moscow Mule that comes out with the Hinny several months later.

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[jasonstang]

Pretty sure most tow trucks can articulate the tow fork allowing tighter turning radius. Your best bet is drive into the spots so they only need to lift the rear wheels trying to drag it out of the spot or just leave a note on the dash that you are with someone that live there and have them call you so you can move the car.

 

[GT Nate]

They have wheel dollies that clamp around the tire to move cars.

Similar to this

 

[yomamma219]

[MENTION=26841]DrGrabster[/MENTION] thanks for the mind blowing, insight but even easier would be just co-signing with her on the lease since her complex technically. That also carries less financial risk :love: Also there is not really a problem to solve. Like I said just a thought exercise. Worst case scenario I lose the ability to park in her semi-climate and access controlled garage and have to make her sleep at my place going forward.

[MENTION=19308]jasonstang[/MENTION] thanks for real insight. I wonder what their limitations are because I have seen the tow forks articulate a bit but it is a pretty tight garage, especially where I park.

[MENTION=22638]GT Nate[/MENTION] I was wondering about something exactly like this. I guess that's a bit discouraging for my odds of getting towed haha.


For anyone that may think I am a jerk for this thread, I will have you know that up until today it was not an issue with the apartment. People complained because parking has been more crowded lately so I guess they just ruined it for everyone. Also the official rule is 1 car per resident, but there are multiple jerks with multiple cars in the garage. The one guy who I would not say is a jerk has his DD pickup truck, then has a classic corvette sting ray, and a yellow '70 Mach 1 which is rotates parking in a storage unit with his 69 Camero. All of which he has restored himself. He is very nice and has valid reasons why he keeps the cars there. BUT THEN, there are the people I consider jerks for breaking the 1 car rule: The mid-late 20s guy who I can only figure is a trust fund baby. He has 1 reserved spot in the garage which has a constantly rotating selection of (nice) cars in it, some of which I have seen multiple times, and some only once. But thats not good enough for him, he also has at least 2 other cars parked not in his reserved spot, one of which is a viper that I watched him move (presumably) his SUV out of a "good" (next to handicap) unreserved spot about a week ago -whitest blocking the entire lane, as I was just arriving to park- just so he could put his viper there, which hasn't moved since. The only things I could figure are either A) his parents have a house farther away then he wants to drive to regularly, so he just brings whatever fancy cars he wants to his apartment from his parents house. Or B) He's a high end used cars salesman, which I doubt since I have seen many of the nice cars multiple times. I will admit my anger at this man comes partially out of jealousy, the cars I can remember seeing in the reserved spot: Convertible Red Mustang GT with various stick-ons (hood+side scoops, and rear spoiler, all I think the MMD ones), a Merc S600, a Red Viper, and a white New style corvette. I do hope if I ever meet him he is actually nice in person so I don't have to continue hating him.

The worse offender though is someone who has had a chevy pickup, and a honda CRZ parked for literally months next to each other. Neither has moved which is easily noticeable by the layer of dust that has accumulated on them.

/rant

 

[IsolatedSnail]

The dollies are one solution, but often aren't necessary. If you get bored one day, go search youtube for "towing cars in tight spaces". Tow truck drivers are often *very* good at what they do. They can work magic with those forks. If they can't get it with the fork, they'll just dolly it out then fork it.

As for a real solution has she reached out to the complex to ask about temporary guest or additional vehicles? I can't imagine it's a hard, fast rule. Most complexes will work with you, she might be able to pay a little bit extra each month to have a second vehicle registered. This also might be how other people get away with it. I did this while living off campus when my fiance in college still lived on campus. I just gave her money to buy a second parking pass under her name instead of mine so that it included rights to park in the housing parking lots.

*Edit* Also... to be fair. The people with the pickup and honda may be an older couple who just don't drive often. 1 car per resident. No rules broken. I try to be an optimist with these situations, but all in all, this is why I bought a house. The whole letting other people make random rules about my residence always drove me crazy.

 

[crs2879]

Funny, I just got back from visiting my sister in San Francisco last week. Parking there is like a Seinfeld episode.........find a good spot and never move your car again.

 

[sbrenskell]

Yes they can articulate the towing device(don't know what its called) any direction they need to. Most can unless they have an old time tow truck. So yes back in your mustang it'll make it harder. I always back in whenever I can. Since I hit someone backing out of a parking spot.

 

[sbrenskell]

The dollies are one solution, but often aren't necessary. If you get bored one day, go search youtube for "towing cars in tight spaces". Tow truck drivers are often *very* good at what they do. They can work magic with those forks. If they can't get it with the fork, they'll just dolly it out then fork it.

As for a real solution has she reached out to the complex to ask about temporary guest or additional vehicles? I can't imagine it's a hard, fast rule. Most complexes will work with you, she might be able to pay a little bit extra each month to have a second vehicle registered. This also might be how other people get away with it. I did this while living off campus when my fiance in college still lived on campus. I just gave her money to buy a second parking pass under her name instead of mine so that it included rights to park in the housing parking lots.

*Edit* Also... to be fair. The people with the pickup and honda may be an older couple who just don't drive often. 1 car per resident. No rules broken. I try to be an optimist with these situations, but all in all, this is why I bought a house. The whole letting other people make random rules about my residence always drove me crazy.

A good tow truck driver Youtube channel is 'Reponut.' I was into his videos a while ago then I got out of them. He's been doing it for 30+ years (I believe.)

 

[TexasRebel]

yep... go-jacks and tow dollies. No need to get inside.

Chances are good, though, that the expense & time of actually getting the truck out there to haul you off... and needing some place to move the vehicle to (nobody is going to impound your car for short term unauthorized parking unless they're recovering lost revenue from the parking spot) this is mostly talk. They'll likely only start towing if unauthorized vehicles stay/return for days at a time and complaints pile in... (think over-line parking, or a Crew Cab w/ 8' bed).

 

[Chameleon]

https://www.cjponyparts.com/ford-pe...MIoMWJ9Zzs1gIVC1mGCh3S2A-VEAQYASABEgI6zvD_BwE

 

[Swedish_Fries]

Finally, I hope no one on M6G gets on a high horse about this topic, but for the person that does: I don't plan to risk getting towed so I won't be parking there anymore, so you can take your high horse, shove it in your A$$ and drink the embryonic Moscow Mule that comes out with the Hinny several months later.

I just posted to bust your balls because this comment negates the entire need for the post right? :lol:

 

[NoVaGT]

Instead of a long, useless internal deliberation and post, how about you find a way to not get towed?

Talk to the building management, and ask if you can buy a parking sticker/space. Or get on the lease and get your space/sticker.

 

[yomamma219]

Haha I see some people didn't read the part about this just being a thought exercise *cough* [MENTION=26661]NoVaGT[/MENTION] *cough* [MENTION=24093]Swedish_Fries[/MENTION] *cough cough* ;)
Yes I did negate myself but I looked for other tow truck posts on M6G and didn't see any so I figured I'd throw the question out there to gather other's thoughts/experiences.

While others didn't seem to read at all [MENTION=7648]Chameleon[/MENTION] (I need the opposite of a tow hook but thanks for the tip)

Thanks for all the concern for people suggesting I find a way to avoid getting towed. I already had a plan in mind which is basically what [MENTION=24508]IsolatedSnail[/MENTION] said: get girlfriend to try and register me for parking, otherwise I will just be having her spend more time at my place instead of me staying there all the time. Fortunately the complex doesn't require any physical passes they just have the residents tell management the make/model/tag# to put it on the "approved" list.

[MENTION=22579]TexasRebel[/MENTION] your post intrigued me most. Does it usually cost a business money to have a tow truck come out? I had thought they just paid a monthly rate (if anything) to have a truck come out whenever needed, then the vehicle owner paid to get the car back from in-pound ($100 around here I believe) which covered the cost of the tow.
It seems like an even smarter tow truck move would be to offer your services free to businesses so you can just dominate the market and make all your money on towing. opcorn:

[MENTION=26841]DrGrabster[/MENTION], I've been booted before elsewhere, it sucks, especially since they were very predatory about it and waiting in the lot, and going to tow my car if I didn't immediately pay the boot fee. They had at least 5 other people at the same time as me booted, and others were much more aggressive about it. But it only cost half as much as being towed to resolve. Was especially shitty since it was an over-sized lot for a few small stores (hoagie shop, mail store, pizza shop) and I had bought something from the mail store but had to run across the street for literally 5 mins for something else which is when I got clamped. All 3 stores lost my business after that and it had been one of my favorite pizza places prior. Not to mention I was a poor college student at the time and didn't have enough money to pay it so had to call my mom and ask her to. Aggravating on many fronts. :frusty:

I don't feel I have been "freeloading git" since there is more parking than residents, and in yesterday's message from the complex they started out by saying that parking had not been an issue until recently.

Also I am not opposed to marriage by any means and plan to get married some day, I am not ready to make the second biggest commitment a human can make IMO. :love:

 

[TexasRebel]

[MENTION=28999]yomamma219[/MENTION] It all depends on how much the lot owner is willing to spend to get cars gone. The towing company makes money on both ends.

The lot owner can keep the tow company on retainer like you suggest, but that makes absolutely no sense if inconveniently parked cars aren't costing the lot owner money (think cars in a car park that are abandoned, or small lots where paying customers turn away because the lot is full).

The other option is to pay per call, but there is time involved in that... First, dispatch has to answer, and then an idle truck that is proper for the tow has to be routed and travel.

Then at the end of all of this are the legal aspects of stealing a car (Towing is legalized theft, after all). Escalating a situation to physically removing a vehicle brings dangers. Take a poll on the board and you'd likely find that the reaction most people here would (want to) have upon finding somebody messing with their S550 is physical violence.

Could a habitual unauthorized car in apartment car park warrant this escalation? Sure, if residents feel threatened or otherwise violated and begin to move out, but the matter usually gets settled long before that happens.

You mentioned a couple of vehicles collecting dust... It's more likely the complex sees these vehicles as eyesores and has made requests for them to be cleaned up, or at least used. The apartments I've lived in always had clauses in the lease about abandoned & non-working vehicles... basically abandoned vehicles are not allowed and anything that doesn't work either had to be in storage, or you had to stay in nearly constant contact with management updating them on the repair status.

 

[yomamma219]

[MENTION=22579]TexasRebel[/MENTION] What you say makes tons of sense and you seem to be at the very least knowledgeable so let me pick your brain a bit more...

In the area I am at, it seems that there is somewhat of a third case outside the retainer or pay-per-call model. Many lots around the city (including my GF complex) have tow company signs on them (there is one major company that has a large amount of business here) and it is more-so my understanding that the company has "scouters" if you will that go around and check the lots for unauthorized cars. That is how I got booted once. There was a guy sitting in a 300C in the lot just waiting for people to leave the parking lot on foot in any direction that wasn't towards the 3 stores that the lot served. This is the model that truly aggravates me. Like if you aren't bothering anyone or costing people time/money, or disadvantaging others in any way. Why should someone arbitrarily be able to do that to you. Just seeing your thoughts on the matter.

Most (maybe all) places I have lived have had similar clauses in the lease. Its understandable to a degree, but can be an annoyance for people wanting project cars.

Honestly I think the complex just put out the notice because people have multiple guests over on weekends since the complex is in a prime bar district which causes extra congestion. Parking had not previously been an issue. It is a new building so I am sure they are still working on leasing out all the units. When my GF first moved in, the garage was often less than half full. The lot has been progressively filling up but most week nights (M-W) I'd say its at most 3/4 full, but now that more people live there and are partying (I'm guessing) it gets pretty full on the weekends.

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