That sucks. I'd file a police report for a stolen car and get an attorney involved...

 

Check the requirements when towed.All 4 wheels on the rack?

 

Excellent advice!

 

Sadly... NYC tow truck drivers do not adhere to modern AWD cars or hybrids towing requirements... looking at my tires, I could see they lifted the back end up, and towed on the front tires. Hence needing to break in, put into Neutral.

The front tires have been pulled through white muddy earth, while the back tires are clean.

 

Sorry to see that happened to you. Unfortunately the tow truck drivers could care less what happens to your property. Plus with this current administration being so anti car you probably won't get much sympathy or help from them. According to our mayor & DOT commissioner it's their opinion that if you live in the city you do not need a car.

Did you document everything with photos? I would get an estimate for the repairs and get an attorney to sue the city for damages. Even better if you find out if any of your neighbors that were parked on the street had similar issues and sue together. Another option would be to see if you can get any of the news channels to do a story on this like how Eyewitness News on channel 7 does their 7 on your side segment. A little bad press can do wonders.

 

I am certainly no attorney but wouldn't you be better off to find out who the tow company was and take them to small claims? Just a thought, based on the old saying you can't fight city Hall.

 

There is no chance of fighting this. The construction and tow company are hired by the city. To do a city job.
They did the tow per the standard procedure with locked cars - open the door with a slim-jim device and put the car in N. Since the RAV4 is not an AWD car, towing it with two wheels on ground and transmission in N does not damage the drivetrain.

Wanna sue the NYC? Good luck! They have enacted anti-constitutional regulations and got away with them, so that tells you how the system works. Probably the OP will end up being charged the towing fees too because he failed to see the signs. I watched enough "Parking Wars" to know that there are two sides of a story.

With the current situation of high taxation and everything, I don't get why people that have a job still choose to live there. Welfare depending people... sure I get it.

 

No plans to sue city hall. There were no signs that were failed to be seen... when I parked the car on Sunday, there was no signage. I will not be charged towing fees. City does this wonderful service, free of charge.
Yes, why do I continue to live here.. I keep asking myself. I run a business here, and make a very healthy income... so that's about the only main reason. I think the wife and I will be leaving within a few years...

Towing on 2 wheels is acceptable? I thought the user's manual advises flat bed towing only. Other postings on the forum also suggest the same. Flatbed towing only.

 

Turn the damage into your insurance company and let them go after the responsible party.

 

Here's a photo of the passenger and driver side doors.. the black plastic trim/door. You'll notice the driver's side is now no longer flush, as they yanked on the door during the "per standard procedure with locked cars'
I'll find out what the dealership says can be done to resolve this... it's not major damage, but this is a brand new vehicle (not even a oil change) and its the first brand new car I ever bought..

 

They use a wedge to open the top of the door wide enough to get a hook in to push the unlock button.

 

On related (or unrelated) note. Lived there temporarily, I don't understand folks who buy cars, new ones will ding up pretty fast, expensive parking, insurance probably too. I have family there who could afford a new car, but instead bought a very used 2007 Camry which they park in NJ and only take it out a few times a months which make sense. Until covid they heavily used public transportation and ride sharing.

 

My previous car (still have) is a 2005 Saab 92x that I purchased pre certified. NYC locals banged the hell out of it. Scratches, dings, dents, car doors scraping paint on vehicle, etc... I kept paying for paintless dent repair.. until I threw in the towel. Then I let it all ride.
I purchased a new 2020 XSE hybrid, because I plan on keeping it for 15+ years like my previous car, but I want to be the original owner.
We purchased a toyota vs BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, Volvo, etc... precisely because NYC has no respect for vehicles. I would probably flip out everytime a new ding/dent was imbued into my luxury vehicle.

 

My previous car (still have) is a 2005 Saab 92x that I purchased pre certified. NYC locals banged the hell out of it. Scratches, dings, dents, car doors scraping paint on vehicle, etc... I kept paying for paintless dent repair.. until I threw in the towel. Then I let it all ride.
I purchased a new 2020 XSE hybrid, because I plan on keeping it for 15+ years like my previous car, but I want to be the original owner.
We purchased a toyota vs BMW, Porsche, Mercedes, Volvo, etc... precisely because NYC has no respect for vehicles. I would probably flip out everytime a new ding/dent was imbued into my luxury vehicle.

I'm really sorry that happened to you and your Rav4. I'd be pretty pissed about it myself. But your last comment made me remember this old SNL spoof ad. It might cheer you up... at least just a bit ;-)

This is what you need in the big city

The Chameleon XLE Luxury Car

dp

 

Did you get a notification from the Toyota App that a door or window was open?

Something like this is why I paid for the yearly subscription, get both text and email alerts when something is opened. It will also show the location of your car.

 

Unfortunately, no notification. Doesn't one have to be within range for the Toyota App to update/notify? We have 1 year subscription to many of the Toyota app services that came with the vehicle, but we are not within BlueTooth range of the vehicle. Makes me think purchasing the Verizon WiFi/Cellular plan would have worked... vs the BlueTooth connectivity. Am I wrong?

 

The notifications are sent via a cellular connection. Not a Cell connection that you can make calls with or use to send personal data, its a dedicated connection that works with the Toyota App for Safety Connect (like on-star), remote connect, etc. You pay for this Cell connection in your yearly fee. For example, I can locate my car, start my car, get notified if a door, window is open while my car is in NY and I am in another state. I have the alerts vibrate my phone in addition to the email tone.

The Toyota App takes a little trial and error to get it to work but its worth the effort for issues such as you experienced.

 

Honestly document everything, get a quote, and take it to small claims court. (Like Lowcountry Rav said). It’s really easy and cheap to file (~70$) and you don’t need a lawyer in my state. In fact, sometimes the defendant is not allowed to have a lawyer represent them as well. That’s what it’s meant for

 

So who do you propose to name in the claim?

IMO that would be extra $70 that he will lose. That piece of trim is like $100.

 

If it were me I’d go after the towing company (assuming it’s more than what you stated to repair it, it’s a waste of time if it’s only $100)
- they caused the damages.
You can almost always get the filing expenses back, and most of the time the company will settle outside of court because it costs them $$ to send somebody or just not show up at all

I’m not much of a gambling man, but if it’s a few hundred dollars then that’s what small claims court is for

 

If an auto repair company of any sort touches a car its going to be far more than $100.

 

So he he would have to start with an estimate of the repair cost from dealer...

 

Well yes, but assuming it’s worth it to him to have it fixed he’d have to do it anyways.
If it were my car I’d probably just look at it, roll my eyes, and forget about it (like I did when someone carved “it was dave” into my hood recently).
Just saying it’s a viable option!

 

Had this exact same thing happen to me in San Jose, CA. Vehicle was parked outside of a signed area but when I returned it was gone. Contacted San Jose police, said vehicle had been towed. Had to pay towing cost as it had been towed to the towing company's impound. Fortunately no damage to vehicle. Complained to police, said I had to file a complaint with the the city management - a lot of bureaucracy. Also complained that towing company arbitrarily towed vehicle without notice to me. File complaint with photo and diagram evidence to back up my claim. Got notice that my claim had been denied. Thought about going to small claims court but between the filing fee and having to take time off work to go to court decided that it wasn't worth pursuing. City bureaucracies nearly always win because of these hurdles.

 

My advice = Move far away from NYC

 

I'm pretty upset.

I live in Manhattan and parked my XSE on sunday in my neighborhood. Early this am (tuesday) the city apparently wanted to work on the street, so they towed all the cars that were parked on this street. There were no signs on sunday, and we didn't go inspect the street on monday for last minute signage.

Anycase, wife goes to use the car tuesday am... and no car. Construction crew says it's been moved further down the street with all the other cars.
Foreman says 2 tow trucks moved my car. Lie. Turns out, the must have slim jim'd the car, as our driver's door is now slightly bent by the window and we have scratches in the black plastic trim near the window. Car was in Neutral. The plastic cover above the shifter (shift lock cover) was removed and left in charging tray.

Road paving company says NYC city hired them, and the tow truck company, take it up with NYC.
1. no flat bed truck was moved
2. driver's door window trim is no longer flush
3. black plastic trim around window is now scratched up

I could use some advice or thoughts. We have a generic gmail address for the NYC liason and the road paving company. We're planning on sending them an email, but I'm not sure what kind of satisfaction or resolve we'll get. NYC offering any compensation or help in matters like this is pretty much like trying to scale Mt. Everest blindfolded and with broken legs.

Sigh. 2020 just keeps getting better.

I've seen several court cases involving towing companies on shows like People's Court. You may need to file a small claims court case, so take photos and document every step of the process. If you can legally do it, secretly record you conversation with the tow company. The tow company is the defendant in this case. They legally towed you, but damaged your car in the process so they should be liable. I think you'll also want to go ahead and get estimates on repair. Document everything. If they tow company tells you they won't pay, then let them know you'll have no choice but to file in small claims court. You once you file, you can submit your case to Hot Bench, People's Court, etc. You have a pretty good chance of winning. Most of the time, from what I hear, the tow company usually wins in court, but that's because they document everything.

Good luck!

 

Upper West Sider here. Every time I hear these stories, I thank my stars I can afford to put my cars in a garage. This very thing happened to my friend on the next block (we're just off CPW), and he's on the street where they fill the balloons before the Thanksgiving Day Parade, near the Museum of Natural History, and they put signs up warning not to park, and his car got moved to 74th street. Window got broken I think.

I don't know where the OP is, but this happens in Manhattan all the time. In his case, he went after the city, but didn't have a leg to stand on, but every case is different. Either way, it's going to be a looong road trying to resolve this one!

 

News Flash...tow truck drivers break into any car they want and they usually steal anything they can take with them. Move on and focus on how good your life is that you don't have to be a tow truck driver.

 

One problem with winning judgements in small claims court is that winning claimants report that they have difficulty collecting the money involved unless the court has a strong judgment enforcing system. In California, a winning claimant who is not able to collect their award can return to the court and file a complaint, which the court can use to shut down the loser's entire operation in the jurisdiction until the award is paid to the winning claimant.

 

Its state specific. In SC if you file the judgement correctly it puts a lien against all real property - which would include their tow truck and possibly building if they own it. It of course won't help until they attempt to trade or sell such assets - but it can also affect their ability to borrow money.

I was working in Minnesota long ago and some coworkers took me to a hole in the wall bar. While there the sheriff's department showed up to collect against the owner who apparently lost some case. The bartenders kept serving but they wouldn't take our money because there was no point in putting it in the till since it would get taken. The owner wasn't there so they didn't care. The sheriff's deputies were just doing there job so they didn't care. Good times to be had by all. It was quite jovial all around actually.

 

I'm pretty upset.

I live in Manhattan and parked my XSE on sunday in my neighborhood. Early this am (tuesday) the city apparently wanted to work on the street, so they towed all the cars that were parked on this street. There were no signs on sunday, and we didn't go inspect the street on monday for last minute signage.

Anycase, wife goes to use the car tuesday am... and no car. Construction crew says it's been moved further down the street with all the other cars.
Foreman says 2 tow trucks moved my car. Lie. Turns out, the must have slim jim'd the car, as our driver's door is now slightly bent by the window and we have scratches in the black plastic trim near the window. Car was in Neutral. The plastic cover above the shifter (shift lock cover) was removed and left in charging tray.

Road paving company says NYC city hired them, and the tow truck company, take it up with NYC.
1. no flat bed truck was moved
2. driver's door window trim is no longer flush
3. black plastic trim around window is now scratched up

I could use some advice or thoughts. We have a generic gmail address for the NYC liason and the road paving company. We're planning on sending them an email, but I'm not sure what kind of satisfaction or resolve we'll get. NYC offering any compensation or help in matters like this is pretty much like trying to scale Mt. Everest blindfolded and with broken legs.

Sigh. 2020 just keeps getting better.

I'm pretty upset.

I live in Manhattan and parked my XSE on sunday in my neighborhood. Early this am (tuesday) the city apparently wanted to work on the street, so they towed all the cars that were parked on this street. There were no signs on sunday, and we didn't go inspect the street on monday for last minute signage.

Anycase, wife goes to use the car tuesday am... and no car. Construction crew says it's been moved further down the street with all the other cars.
Foreman says 2 tow trucks moved my car. Lie. Turns out, the must have slim jim'd the car, as our driver's door is now slightly bent by the window and we have scratches in the black plastic trim near the window. Car was in Neutral. The plastic cover above the shifter (shift lock cover) was removed and left in charging tray.

Road paving company says NYC city hired them, and the tow truck company, take it up with NYC.
1. no flat bed truck was moved
2. driver's door window trim is no longer flush
3. black plastic trim around window is now scratched up

I could use some advice or thoughts. We have a generic gmail address for the NYC liason and the road paving company. We're planning on sending them an email, but I'm not sure what kind of satisfaction or resolve we'll get. NYC offering any compensation or help in matters like this is pretty much like trying to scale Mt. Everest blindfolded and with broken legs.

Sigh. 2020 just keeps getting better.

If it is a hybrid, and they did not use a flat bed, and pulled it along in neutral, check for drivetrain damage....From my 2020 RAV$ HV manual..........
When towing the vehicle
Be sure to transport the vehicle with all four wheels raised off the ground. If the vehicle is towed with the tires contacting the ground, the drivetrain or related parts may be damaged, the vehicle may fly off the truck, or eletricity generated by the operation of the motor may cause a fire to occur depending on the nature of the damage or malfunction.