Towing Damage

[69bronzeT5]

Has anybody had any damage done to their car during towing? My 69 was towed back to my house yesterday and I noticed the quick fix bondo on the right quarter panel cracked. I guess the tow truck driver didnt chain it down properly and it bounced and the tire kept hitting it and finally it cracked. Also, I am now short one right tailight ring. What bout you guys? What has happened to your cars while being towed with a tow truck or car trailer? Heres some pics of mine. The quarter panel isnt really a big deal because we plan on putting new quarters on it when it goes to the bodyshop (whenever the hell that is, i dont know ) but the tailight ring...figures I have a spare one but its for the left tailight and the right ring is gone. 

[TruckDriver]

I'd be a bit pissed off about that. I'd also do some bitching to the tow company.

[terrible one]

Definitely a bummer, but you got to think about the fact that your tires are sticking out to where they'll hit the quarter upon compression of the suspension. If he had tied it down to where the suspension was fully compressed, it would have forced the tire into the quarter and caused the same damage. If not, the car bounces around and causes the damage that it did. That doesn't seem to be the tow truck guy's fault to me. However, the rear taillight chrome definitely is, and I feel for you on that one.

[69charger2002]

i've had a taillight ring fall off one of my cars just going down the road. one bump was all it took.  over the years a lot of times the snaps holding those bezels on break and they can just fall off. i probably wouldn't even say anything if that happened. part of going on a bumpy ride.  that is a 70 taillight too by the way, so unless it was on a base model 70, someone "put" bezels on a 70 taillight

[Charger1973]

Sorry if I sound like an ass but I have to agree that I dont really see them as responsible either...  Your taillight ring falling off is not really their fault because it wasnt held on there tight.  If it was that loose it would have fallen off the first time you drove the car down the road anyway.  The wheel well thing is definately due to those tires sticking out too far.  That is why you should never run a tire that sticks out past the wheel wells.  I have seen alot of guys do that and just jack the back up with air shocks too, and what the dont realize is that if you break an air line or even just get a leak, the car is going to come down and the 1/4s will hit the wheels.  I would just be thankful you didnt already have the new panels on, take it as a lesson learned, and go get some wheels that fit.   

[69bronzeT5]

I was actually just gonna let it go. I wasnt really gonna do anything about it

[pettyfan43]

There is not really a way to keep the car from bouncing on a tow truck, If they had tied it down by the factory transport hooks, which are probably gone anyway, tying it down would have done the same damage, because the car would have lowered down. On tow trucks you usually have to strap them down by the suspension anyway, so they are gonna bounce up and down

Besides with rust right there, you need to stick patch panels on i anyway! 

Great Car Cody!

[pettyfan43]

ON those taillight rings, On a couple of the 69s I have had, I took the lights out, and used some JB Weld to tack them tightly in place, you can't see it when the taillight is in the car, but it will usually keep it from falling off.

[JR]

I notice a lot of 2nd gens have a singe dent in the lip of the trunk lid from being pulled on an old style tow truck. Mine picked up one that way after the ECU went out one day before the resto started.

[472 R/T SE]

Back to your original question.  Yes, my car's been damaged before on the hook.  My fault as I didn't pay attention to how he tied it down as he used one of the holes in the frame to hook his tie down to.  Big no no cause over time the bounce going down the road ripped both of them. 
Do you have air shocks cause it looks like if you did they didn't have any air in them?   

[71ChallengeHer]

rollback

[69bronzeT5]

Yea, mine was on a flatdeck rollback.

[Magnumcharger]

Nice car, by the way.

[69bronzeT5]

Thanks...heres a zoomed out pic of it on the rollback

[*]

Looks to me like you got rid of some nasty old bondo and now you can fix it right.

[69bronzeT5]

Yea, we do plan on putting new quarters on it.

[OttawaCharger]

Have you retraced the route of the tow truck to see if your tail light ring is in the ditch?

[69bronzeT5]

I actually didnt think of that lol...Im might go see tonight

[aifilaw]

I had a shipping company move mine from east texas to Tucson, AZ
he didn't tie it down properly and it bounced high hitting the bar overhead, put a softball size dent in the cab abiove the driverside. Like an idiot I believed him when he said he would pay for it out of his pocket and gave me his information. Pretty much ignored my phone calls and I got stuck with a dent and nothing I could do about it.
Lesson learned, write that in on the condition received and then sign it for arrival.....dent is still there, guess it'll get pulled whenever I have money to redo the paint.

[Old Moparz]

I bought a clean, non-running, 1970 GTX in the early 80's to replace a rot box Charger I had. My plan was to transplant the motor from the Charger to the GTX & drive it, but the car didn't make it home without damage from the moron who towed it. Since the car was pulled into a parking space, the driver backed up to it & hoisted it backwards onto his flatbed. That would have been fine, but the tow truck driver never shut & locked the driver's door on the GTX once he had it secured.

The door opened up while he was passing a tree & did what you see in the picture. It also damaged the hinge post, the hinges, & the fender. He denied doing it & said it was like that when he picked it up, but I knew he was full of shit. I had just been at the car's location & made arrangements with my friend's towing service to come get it. There was tree bark, pulp, & sap, all wedged up on the rear edge of the door. The lot where the car was parked was all asphalt & didn't have any trees.

I collected the insurance money from the towing outfit, held onto the car for almost 3 years, & gathered the parts it needed. I also found an air grabber hood for $100, but then found a Satellite convertible instead. I loved putting the top down more than having a non running, non A/C GTX, so I sold it. I paid $450 for the GTX, got the air grabber for $100, collected $650 in insurance, & finally sold it for $600 later on. I probably should have kept it since it would be an easy fix by today's standards, but back then these cars were all over for $500.




I always thought I'd get another GTX, but that never happened. I did look at a few before I bought my Road Runner, & ironically, one GTX had towing damage from a tow truck driver. The guy put the 4 tie down hooks into the holes of the subframe where they don't belong. He tore all 4 frame rails open, & this was on a rust free, all original sheet metal car.    I still have the Satellite convertible & don't plan on hunting for a GTX. I got a 1970 Road Runner to replace my GTX needs & it doesn't have any towing damages.