Good Deed for the Day

Well done MC...you're a good boy scout! ;) Here in Nova Scotia we normally get a lot of snow and is common practice for guys in the club to assist those that go off the road... We have done it enough that the tow truck companies have contacted the club and asked if we pull over to help someone to please ask if a tow truck has been dispatched, if so, we've been asked to leave it for the tow truck or at least have the customer call and cancel to save the driver from coming out for nothing...I think this is a fair deal as these guys are out there to make their living... I do agree though...if I see someone in the ditch, the reason I pull over is to help and save the person from inflated tow costs...

Jeff

I don't know if "inflated tow costs" is exactly fair, although I too hate paying them. Ever price a tow rig or the insurance to operate one?

Earle

dispatched,

nothing...I

Ever had an unloaded tandem dump truck towed?

$250.00 to tow 7 miles.

Spdloader

Well done! Well done indeed! This kind of Karma comes right-back-atcha too usually at a time when you really need it.

KJK Kate

I had a charge for a 3 mile tow (hook not flatbed) about 10 years ago that was $75 on a Friday evening (5-6 PM). The garage charged be $65 diagnostic and $235 for repairs of which $120 was parts.

I have no qualms with the diagnostic charge as I had no clue what the problem was.

On Monday evening when I picked up my car I stopped at the local Auto Parts store to get some oil and a filter and while I was there I chatted with the counterman about the repairs that had been made. (I had lived in the neighborhood several years prior and was a regular in his shop)

He commented that the repair was fairly common and straightforward for a mechanic (which I am not) but one of the involved components was not in existence when I took auto-shop decades before.

Anyway.......... I asked about the cost of the parts replaced and was told the retail on the parts was about $25. I commented that perhaps he went to the dealership for my T-Bird parts but was told that the parts came from that parts house and the repair shop received a discount.

I was somewhat taken aback as while I had never used this particular shop before and therefore they did not know me. I had always heard that they had a good reputation in the neighborhood at what I assumed were reasonable rates.(remember I used to live two streets away)

I remember laughing at the markup and was the reminded that the shop did not pay retail, they got a commercial discount. I was now doubly taken aback.

Misc comments....... You will recall I mentioned I used to live a couple streets over....... I was in the area picking up my kidlettes. I had moved a few miles north of the river and now had license plates from an adjoining state.

Lets delineate: Tow charge of $75: My next tow was 12 miles for my daughter's Cougar (had a suspension failure) was $35 this tow was $40 more for 1/3 the distance Diagnostic Charge of $65: I have no complaint with this as I was paying for the mechanics knowledge and experience. Parts Charge of $120: Adding a markup of $95 to $20 worth of parts (and remember he did not actually pay that much) seems excessive Labor Charge of $115: Counter man estimated actual repair time of 15-20 minutes after diagnosis

I have absolutely no problem with someone making an honest profit, you can't operate a business at cost or a loss but obscene profits is another matter.

Billy Ray,

If it weren't for obscene profits charged by Gates & Co., I would still be working, or I would have had to come up with my own scam. ;^)

All seriousness aside, at least part of the blame for this sort of thing has to be placed at the doorstep of the uninformed consumer, who refuses to become educated, even to the extent of being able to comparison shop intelligently.

Earle

Although, to be fair, it is a little hard to comparison shop while your ride is being dragged by a hook.

Earle Hort> Billy Ray,

We pay AAA once a year, got the "A number one, you best good buddy, tow you one hundred miles and kiss your butt" program for $145 a year, both rigs or anything we are riding in.... a total of 8 tows a year..... we don't leave home without it. They have cheaper plans that are still worht the money without a doubt.

We used the living daylights out of it too when the girls were at home and their little cars would break, or get wrecked. When the transfer case went out in BFE Nebraska they paid for the tow and our room for three days while we had it fixed. They even towed my Cobra 80 miles to the nearest SVT dealership last winter when a security module went out on it and it wouldn't start.

Yup.. I like my AAA....

KJK

: > Earle : >

: >> Jeff : >>

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: >> > Fortunately he had came to a stop opposite an access path over the : >> > ditch. I walked out through the snow (9-12 inches) to pick up his : >> > hook. The field had been plowed so the ridges created another : >> > obstacle. I hooked up to my front hooks and gave him the go signal. : >> > As he came to each ridge the resistance pulled my Jeep further across : >> > the access path. Eventually I had to back out onto the road (rural, : >> > lightly traveled) to have enough traction for him to pull through the : >> > drift created by the plows. All told it took about thirty minutes. : >> > Who knows how long it would have taken a tow truck to get there just to : >> > do the same thing. : >> >

: >> > He offered money but I passed. I mentioned that he got his money's : >> > worth out of the winch and he agreed. : >> >

: >> > This is only the second time I've ever assisted a recovery and the : >> > first time in snow. I doubt it would have been successful if his : >> > vehicle had weighed more than my Jeep. : >> >

: >> > mc : >> > 98 TJ Sport : >> >

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Wow! Eight tows a year! Obviously, this service pays off for you. I can't remember the last time I used a tow service, unless it was in '85, when my wife finally figured out that I wasn't kidding about the gas gauge in the van, or '96, when I bought that flat head six Rambler American station wagon, from a lady across town, to "restore". I attribute this lack of need for tow services, to constant attention to detail and a dash of good luck thrown in. Security modules and random electronic parts that go belly-up for no reason you can't do much about, but attention to belts, spark plugs, and the like goes a long way.

Earle

Olympic Peninsula. Sunday night, after dark.

17 mile tow into Port Townsend, truck dropped at the dealer. (mind you this was at least 10 years ago - before the Jeeps) $245 for just the tow. Thankfully I always have had towing and road hazard on my insurance!!!

Towing insurance(only) on my auto insurance was $6 per year. I got the "deluxe" package that will also cover the motel if out of town. It is $12 per year.

Oh heavens NO Earle, we rarely use more than two! When the kids were home we used it to the max.

Last year the pickup gave us one tow and the Mustang another, that was it. But either of those would have more than paid our dues for the year.

Now with the KJ I doubt I will be needing them myself for several years BUT if I lock myself out, get a flat, run out of gas, get in a wreck, get stuck not too far from the road, have a dead battery or any number of other unforseeables, I have it covered.

We live so far out of town that just calling them out would be expensive.

Kate

: > We used the living daylights out of it too when the girls were at home and : > their little cars would break, or get wrecked. When the transfer case went : > out in BFE Nebraska they paid for the tow and our room for three days : while : > we had it fixed. They even towed my Cobra 80 miles to the nearest SVT : > dealership last winter when a security module went out on it and it : wouldn't : > start. : >

: > Yup.. I like my AAA.... : >

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: > KJK : >

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: > : > Earle : > : >

: > : >> Jeff : > : >>

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: > : >>

: > : >>

: > : >> > Fortunately he had came to a stop opposite an access path over the : > : >> > ditch. I walked out through the snow (9-12 inches) to pick up his : > : >> > hook. The field had been plowed so the ridges created another : > : >> > obstacle. I hooked up to my front hooks and gave him the go : signal. : > : >> > As he came to each ridge the resistance pulled my Jeep further : across : > : >> > the access path. Eventually I had to back out onto the road : (rural, : > : >> > lightly traveled) to have enough traction for him to pull through : the : > : >> > drift created by the plows. All told it took about thirty minutes. : > : >> > Who knows how long it would have taken a tow truck to get there : just : > to : > : >> > do the same thing. : > : >> >

: > : >> > He offered money but I passed. I mentioned that he got his money's : > : >> > worth out of the winch and he agreed. : > : >> >

: > : >> > This is only the second time I've ever assisted a recovery and the : > : >> > first time in snow. I doubt it would have been successful if his : > : >> > vehicle had weighed more than my Jeep. : > : >> >

: > : >> > mc : > : >> > 98 TJ Sport : > : >> >

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AA here is $170 a year - 6 tows anywhere you like in Britain for your car plus caravan/trailer. Homestart is extra.

Dave Milne, Scotland '91 Grand Wagoneer, '99 TJ