I have a segregated parking spot at my apartment complex because of the size of my pickup. It won't fit under the car ports, and there are a few parallel curb spots in our parking area for this reason.
Recently, our parking areas were "seal coated." Some of the curbside parking spots indicator lines were not repainted afterward because the seal coating wasn't dry enough at the time. Three months later, after promising to have it done, management still hasn't gotten them repainted.
We have a very congested parking area. Even if all that were parked here were small and mid-sized vehicles, I can fully understand agitation of those residents which may not be so adept at parking in tight spots.
Anyway, I've been parking in this same spot since I bought the new truck in May this year. And this started before the parking lot was seal coated. One resident complained about having trouble parking because of where I was parking, and we were able to resolve the issue without apparent lingering problem.
On Thanksgiving day, expecting to leave for Thanksgiving dinner at friends but having a terrible headache, I got dressed early to leave the house for some headache medicine. When I opened my front door I nearly had a heart attack to see that my pickup had been turned fully 180 degrees around from the way I park it, and was also several feet from the curb. Maybe five feet. My brain and heart were racing so bad about this that my headache turned into a severe migraine type headache as I tried to imagine what could have happened.
Without going into a much longer story, I started to talk to neighbors who saw a tow truck hooking up to the back end of my 4x4 Silverado and tow it away, then later bring it back and leave it where I found it. I have not found out the reasons for any of this yet, but one neighbor suggested they took the wrong pickup and hadn't realized it right away. I cannot adequately describe the feelings I had about all this. It was pouring down rain, as it has been doing for several days here, and I could not get underneath it to check if there were any damage to the new dual exhaust I'd just put on it, and I was so sick because of it all, I missed Thanksgiving dinner too. Not to mention being afraid to even drive it.
I took pictures of the position of the truck. It's front wheels were turned to about 30 degrees. They would have been straight when I parked it. It was also left in auto four wheel drive by me, as I'd been driving it in that range due to the street water collection here. It was still in that range when I drove it to the store to get medicine for my headache. I did not hear or feel any noticable difference when I drove that short distance, and thats all I've driven it.
My concern is that with todays astounding incompetence levels that some $8 and hour tow truck driver may have really damaged this vehicle by towing it improperly. Wouldn't they have had to disconnect the transfer case at least, if leaving the front wheels on the ground and towing from the rear? Wouldn't they have had to get inside the vehicle to take it out of gear? It was still locked when I went to use it. Would they have used an air bag to pry open the door far enough to get inside?
I called the tow truck company apparently under contract with our apartment management, not knowing what arrangement they might have, and they denied towing it. I semi-bluffed them and told them that three residents told me they saw them tow it away. That got me a very nervous towing manager who would not shut up long enough to answer my questions, but promised to call me back yesterday after he talked to the driver on duty at 5pm. He did not call back.
I don't know where to go from here. My instinct tells me to take it to an auto body expert or frame and axel expert to get checked out, and send the bill to either my apartment management or the towing company, OR go see a lawyer first. What do you think? What possible damage could have occured to the front or rear end of this truck?
This was a very stressful event. I would be hard pressed myself to imagine what someone would have gone through if they had told me what they felt like. This is a $35,000 truck and I worked very hard to get it. I have not had a new vehicle for 30 years until now.
Thanks for reading.
Dennis