Not the best thing to return to from vacation

"CompactLuxuryFan" (compactluxury) 07/10/2018 at 18:03 • Filed to: None

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Came home from a 4th of July trip up to Seattle to find unexpected construction set up in front of my house and a backhoe parked where my car used to be . It had been towed away a bout 50 minutes earlier , leaving me with a whopping $650 hole in my pocket (above plus a ~$80 parking ticket) . I live on a block with street sweeping only every two weeks and a complete disregard for the 72 hour rule San Francisco has, so it was really incredibly unlucky that I happened to leave my car within the half a block that got dug up right after a holiday.

This was my first time ever having a car towed, so I thought I was in for a nightmarish DMV-like experience recovering it, but was pleasantly surprised. The tow yard is actually conveniently located and the entire recovery process took like 15 minutes. Where that massive administrative fee goes, I can’t say. The guy at the lot was very sympathetic and said I should try contesting it. I figure I might as well try, and I have 30 days to send in a written account or set up a hearing.

Since this is also my first post to Oppositelock as an author, I should probably mention what the offending vehicle was:

As you can see, it’s a B7 A4 Avant. Specifically, a 2005.5 with the 2.0T, quattro, close to 100K miles, and this:

Chuckles > CompactLuxuryFan 07/10/2018 at 18:37

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Well it's not the happiest first post but welcome aboard!

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > CompactLuxuryFan 07/10/2018 at 18:51

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Welcome! I wanted to wish you luck in contesting this, regardless of actual  faul—

*sees shift lever pic*

Mah boiiiiiii!!!!! Give ‘em a piece of your mind.

Mercedes Streeter > CompactLuxuryFan 07/10/2018 at 19:00

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I thought you aren’t supposed to dolly tow RWD or AWD vehicles??

Oof. I recently lost $700 getting my vehicle impounded. Hopefully the courts will be nicer to you than they were to me.

Welcome aboard! I see you have a sweet vehicle t spoil us with! 

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Mercedes Streeter 07/10/2018 at 19:02

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Dolly tow is okay for  short distances. When I worked for AAA we would occasionally use dollies to get cars off the highway if it was going to take a while for a flatbed to get there. We didn’t go any further than five miles with them though.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > CompactLuxuryFan 07/10/2018 at 19:16

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Typically construction in SF requires notification. If you were legitimately not notified within the statute time frame or had no way of being notified you should be able to recoup the impound and tow fee. You could also just bitch to SFDPW and keep sending them the bill. They might actually pay it.

CompactLuxuryFan > Mercedes Streeter 07/10/2018 at 19:53

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I think the dolly tow in this occasion actually refers to dollies on the rear wheels, which is why it’s an extra charge. M y car was on a pretty steep block, meaning the front wheels were cranked all the way towards the curb and the parking brake was set (very common in SF) . It was still just like that when I picked it up, except somewhere else, so I figure it’s actually better than a flatbed, since they didn’t even have to drag it up onto the bed .

CompactLuxuryFan > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 07/10/2018 at 19:59

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I was out of town for far longer than the 72 hour notification period, which is the same amount of time you’re technically allowed to leave your car street parked so I have no case there (unless they did actually notify late, which I have no way of knowing) . However, my roommate was home a day before me and said the construction was marked but not all the way down to where my car was, so I’m gonna argue that. It seems very feasible that they only expanded it morning of, since the construction is only happening on the other end of the block. T hey went ahead and closed the whole block because it’s a divided street so there wouldn’t be any access to the part I was parked on anyway. In any case, it’s actually on the construction company to prove that they properly marked in front of my car a full 72 hours before. Fingers crossed!

Longtime Lurker > CompactLuxuryFan 07/10/2018 at 20:02

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Look at the bright side they could have towed it only two wheels up then you would have been coming back from vacation to a broken car.

Also I like your car.

CompactLuxuryFan > Longtime Lurker 07/10/2018 at 20:52

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Thanks! Hope to be posting more about it! It’s also only one of three vehicles in my household, so stay tuned!

fefe_s2k > CompactLuxuryFan 07/10/2018 at 21:41

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Beautiful Avant! Glad the tow operator had the sense to use a dolly - I once saw a Forester being dragged with it’ s rear wheels on the ground.

Best of luck contesting the citation. Is that the Parkmerced area?

CompactLuxuryFan > fefe_s2k 07/11/2018 at 00:05

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They seem pretty good about that here, if only because there are so many hills so setting the parking brake and leaving the wheel cranked all the way to the side is very common. I’m guessing that saves many an AWD car. 

CompactLuxuryFan > fefe_s2k 07/11/2018 at 00:05

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And yes, the side picture was taken in Park Merced.