Alright, I have a horror story and am looking for some advice.

My Mini was towed (long story). The problem was they grabbed it from the rear and pulled it almost 2 miles with the manual transmission in 1st gear and the hand brake engaged. I was able to locate the towing company and while the reason for it being towed had been cleared up, they could not release it until the paperwork went through. However, they did say that they would stop the truck if I would bring them the key. When I got to the location where they pulled over, my car was on the truck nose down. I freaked. They turned the car around but I think the damage had already been done.

When I went to pick up the car, about 2 hours later, it would not start. We tried to jump it to no avail. I had it towed to the BMW dealer and his report is that the piston has been shot through the block and there was a hole in my oil pan. My car had run fine up until this point.

Would pulling the car backwards this way have done this type of damage?

What type of damage would pulling the car backwards against the gear do?

Any suggestions on how to proceed against the tow company?

I would appreciate any information anyone can provide.

Thank you

Was the car towed for mechanical reasons (i.e. a breakdown) or for legal reasons (like parking illegally)? Basically, was there anything wrong with the car prior to the tow?

The handbrake being set isn't a big deal, as the handbrake only engages the rear wheels, and the rear wheels were off the ground.

Towing it with the drive wheels on the ground and the transmission in gear is a BIG mistake, though. I can't imagine any tow truck driver that would tow a front-wheel drive car with the front wheels on the ground for more than a very short distance, even with the transmission in neutral. Doing it with the transmission in gear leads to the kind of catastrophic damage you've seen.

Basically, your engine overreved and grenaded itself. Think of how fast you can go in first gear without redlining the engine. (25 MPH? 30 MPH?). Do you think that the tow truck driver kept it under 30 MPH while towing your car? Probably not.

So, the front wheels riding on the ground caused the transmission/engine to spin, and because you were in 1st gear, the resulting engine speed damaged the engine. I don't know if there was any additional damage done because the car was being towed backwards while in first gear, but the damage would have been done even if had been towed forward in first gear with the front wheels on the ground.

Unless the tow company jumps right up and offers to replace the engine and transmission, sue the bastards. They 100%, without a doubt, undeniably screwed up your car.

i agree with the above statement..

how stupid are they ??

time for a lawyer

I'm so glad you're a NAMer, ScottRiqui, and can help the rest of us out.

Here's where I can see you might run into sticky points, trxtr...Can you PROVE the tow truck driver had it in first grear the whole way? Did you snap some photos of it when you caught up to them? If not, it might be harder to prove if you DO go to sue them (and I strongly suggest you do so, or at least start to threaten litigation and see how the company reacts.) Do you know how much the damage will ultimately cost you?

You should check with your insurance company and see if they will take care of this for you. If so, then they will pay you for your damage and they will go after the towing place to recover your loss.

The main reason the engine blew, assuming it was in first gear, is that it was towed backwards in a forward gear. This makes the engine run backwards. Running the engine backwards runs the oil pump in reverse, therefore pumping no oil to the engine. I have seen engines ruined in no more than 100 yards of towing, also ruined at very low speeds. As stated before, if the car was towed at highway speeds in first gear, the very high rpm of the engine in conjunction with no oil did the nasty deed. But the main factor is 'no oil'.

The two truck owner owes you a new engine. They have insurance for this sort of thing, so make them pay up.

So sorry for your loss

YD

The way I read this it looks like the tow noob pulled the MINI on all 4 wheels back wards BEFORE getting it on the truck and nose down then towed in 1st gear to the yard. None of this is a surprise to Chicago locals, why towing is a big risk and parking is always something you do carefully.

I'd think the rear brakes are done, what ever they "hooked" up to under the rear, maybe control arm, is bent. And ditto what others have said about the motor.

Take lot's of pics and write down everything, call the INS company and get some legal advise. Then get ready to fight. If they can say you were parked in such a way that led to the tow you are going to have a hard time to the tow company to pay up.

Side note, there's a used R50 down the street for sale, it was towed and the owner can not afford to fix it, so it sits and sits.

Around here they have this trolly thing they can slip under the drive wheels so that they can tow your car from the other end.


It is time to litigate.

If your facts are accurate - nose down tow in gear - then they most definitely killed your motor, the problem as others say, is proving it.

I agree with the poster who suggested you call your ins co, but they may decline to get invovled as it was not anything covered by comp or collision that did the damage - but they have all the high dollar lawyers already on staff so it's worth a try.

If you don't get any relief from your ins company, you might try talking to the owner of the tow company and find out what his stance is first - could be they'll man up and take care of it - just insist they use an authorized MINI service center for the repairs. Depending on the age and mileage on your car, they may offer to put in a used engine, which would not be unreasonable. In the eyes of the law, they are only required to make you "whole", as in put you back where you were before they damaged your car - they're not required to buy you a new engine.

As a final respite, you always have Judge Judy!

If you file a small claims case, one of those Judge shows will contact you and offer to have your case heard on their show - if you agree - you win automatically cause that's how those shows work - they pay the awards no matter who wins and you have no court costs.

Before you go to court or the lawyer route, be sure you have your ducks in a row, you need to prove that the engine wasn't like that before they picked it up; it could be as simple as a gas receipt from filling up that morning, or a pic of where it was parked showing that there isn't a big oil slick there, indicating the engine was whole when you parked it.

You also need to establish your damages, so you need a quote of at least the labor to replace the engine, plus you need someone to look at the rest of the car to see if there's other damage, like to the rear where they hooked it, or to the transmission.

Fortunately I was so mad when I saw they had my car on the truck nose down I took a couple pics with my phone. It's a pretty good phone so the pictures are good.

On the down side, the towing company guys were pissed when I told them they were towing my car wrong. When I went to pick it up my windshield had been cracked on the drivers side. There was still a palm print where he hit it with hand, right at the crack. I have pictures of the palm print but in the pictures I snapped at the scene, because of the reflection you can't see the windshield well enough. So you just know they are going to fight it.

The problem is that they have insurance and lawyers and my insurance won't cover it, I asked. The engine alone, according to BMW dealership, is $8317. They said that is the starting point and will check the transmission once the engine is replaced.

What a nightmare. I don't have the money to hire a lawyer and this is bigger than small claims court already. No telling whether there is further damage.

On the plus side, I use this car for my business and it is branded. I have customers that I had seen that morning who will give me a statement saying that the car was in working order minutes before the tow. So if I can ever get them into court, I think I have a strong case.

Anyone know any lawyers in DFW area? It's ok to admit that you have lawyer friends, so don't be shy. hehe.

Thanks for the responses.

If you absolutely cannot find an attorney to help you, gather the evidence and represent yourself. This seems like it may be a slam dunk anyway. I would not delay in filing suit if they are denying liability. Line up a reputable mechanic to examine the engine and comment on possible causes. I bet it will be obvious to a trained eye that the damages occurred in the manner you allege (know) that they did.

Have the tranny torn apart as well. I would wager you're going to find problems in there as well.

Unfortunately, most lawyers will not take a property damage only claim, even if there is clear liability. Nearly all states have the same laws in effect in cases like this. You are only able to collect for the amount of the damaged property, not one penny more. Pain and suffering is for human pain and suffering; you suffered no pain as a result of this.

However, you say that you use the car for business and it's branded. I assume that means that your business name is on the car. If this is true, you may be able to claim a loss in business and therefore, money. A lawyer will be interested in that part of the suit.

Oh, yes, sue.

Many lawyers, reputable and other wise, will do an initial consult for free or minimal charge.

It's time to lawyer up my friend.

This Sucks! Driver should be MINI-hauled with chains...... And what the heck is up with the damage to the windshield ? I would have immediately contacted the local PD and filed a Malicious Destruction Property report, here that would have been a felony. Additionally would have gotten the tow company off the dispatchers roster for future calls.....That makes a huge dent in their wallets too.

1) Who authorized the tow ? Even an illegally parked vehicle cannot be towed in my state w/o the approval of a Sergeant or higher ranking officer on the force, or the Chief of Police Designee. State Law, must be same in other states ?

2) Heck with the lawyers. Doubt they have one even on retainer so no worries........Just get the name of the shops insurance company and file a proper claim of damages. Most garages would rather take care of these issues w/o a claim for fear of a rise in their monthly premiums.....You have practically all the cards in your hands, and my reading of what your wrote is that you are holding a straight flush....

Get the claim in, and damages should include the cost of your company rental/insurance, loss of business ect.....

You might try posting on Metroplex MINI, http://www.metroplexmini.org/

Since you are in Dallas go for that lawyer just off 75 near SMU that has the big shark on the top of his building. Gotta love truth in advertising.

Thanks for all the great replies. I have been informed that an "investigation" has been started.

Not sure what that entails. I would really just like them to do the right thing but I ain't holding my breath.

I will update this thread as I had problems finding similar issues out on the net. Hopefully if someone else finds themselves in a similar situation, they will at least see this thread and know how one person handled it.

Thanks

Just for future readers, I thought I would add an explanation from a mechanic of 20 years who now runs a machine shop making custom parts.

Here it is:

I reread your message and saw that you already told me what gear is was in - 1st gear. Since then, I gave it some more thought and realized that the engine would be turning in the reverse direction of its intended rotation. This is not a good thing for several reasons.

1st - there is a chain that drives the camshaft which is powered by the crankshaft. There is some slack in the chain which is taken up by a tensioner; problem is, the tensioner only works when the crank is turned in its normal direction. When rotation is reversed, there is no way to take up the tension in the camshaft chain and the cam timing will be off as a result. I'm not sure about the Mini but believe that this will cause the valves to hit the tops of the piston since the timing is out of whack.

2ndly, the oil pump in the engine will also turn backwards due to the reversed rotation. This is especially bad. The oil pump will now "suck" the oil out of the engine's lubrication passages which will result in catastrophic engine failure. Normally, the pump not only provides oil but supplies it under pressure; this pressure is critical to the engine's operation since the oil pressure lifts the crankshaft and connecting rods off of the crankshaft surfaces. The crank and rods literally ride on this pressurized oil and it is the only thing preventing the two metal surfaces from coming into direct contact for any significant period of time. Needless to say, when metal parts come together under large forces for a significant period of time the two parts grind one another to bits.

If there's enough grinding - as in your case - it results in large clearances between the parts (there's normally only a few thousandths of an inch between the crank, rods and bearings). Once the clearances open up enough, the parts slam back and forth due to the inertia as a result of their rotation. This slamming beats the parts against one another and the result can be failure - catastrophic in your case. The rods are large pieces of steel as is the crank. When they hammer against one another with enough force and enough time, they will fail (they were not designed to be hammers - just to keep all the whirly bits from becoming disconnected from one another).

Sorry for the long message but wanted you to know why it would fail.

Hope no one else ever needs this information but if so, there it is.