I have a 2006 MCS w/ about 60,000 miles. Last night I parked illegally downtown (which I NEVER do for exactly this reason, but stupidly listened to friends who were sure it wouldn't be a problem), and had been towed. I've always been paranoid about getting towed because I thought that you were supposed to tow Minis only by the hook in the back, which I'm sure the towing company wouldn't know or care about. I picked the car up, and it seems to be driving fine, but do I need to take it in to be checked over for damage?

 

I might be wrong about this, but the hook in the back is a tie-down hook used during shipping.
Our cars are supposed to be either flat-bedded or cradled from the front.

 

I believe hegira is correct...towing from the rear means forcing the drive wheels to turn with resultant potential for major damage to the tranny and engine. I'd think you'd have noticed this already if it were a problem.

 

Have you ever seen a tow truck pull an illegally parked car?

There's a parking lot behind my building in Downtown St. Louis that charges an arm and a leg for parking during football games (it's about 1/2 block from the stadium) and on football Sundays the trucks are out there towing people who parked overnight early in the morning.

They hook up the cars and drag them onto a flatbed. And when I say drag, I mean DRAAAAAGGGGGG.

I'd have it checked out or at least call the dealer and ask them what they think.

 

It looks awful but it probably doesn't do any damage. Most of the damage occurs with the ham-fisted ways they attach.

If the car drives Okay, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Probably good to visually inspect the places they likely attached for body and chassis damage.

- Mark

 

Most of the tow truck drivers know and usually tow it correctly. They know they have to tow with the drive wheels off the ground. I'd just look it over real well and make sure none of the control arms are bent.

 

Yeah, I'd say it's probably okay. My apartment is literally right across the street from campus (at WKU) and I've seen many cars towed from here. They've always used these little roller things on the tires to get them up on the flat bed. It wouldn't hurt to give it a look over and as MiniGuru stated look over the control arms.

 

Thanks so much for the advice! I guess I will be making a trip to the dealership as I am far too ignorant about the entire underneath of the car to have a clue what a control arm might be :-)

 

Why don't you find out the name of the towing company, call them and ask them what their procedure is?

 

This is a really good idea.

 

I'm gonna second the need to have your control arms checked. Most of the tow companies I've seen don't have a clue how to tow a MINI without help from the owner......

 

Most tow companies know how to deal with a front wheel drive car ....

MINI ain't THAT unique ....

things happen BUT ....