35 replies to this topic

[zimmer]

As a few will know, I've been having problems with a misfire recently, so today bit the bullet to get it taken to the garage.
AA man turns up (very nice man), has a fiddle and as expected thinks I should send it to the garage.
He offers to tow me to my place of choice. Although he has some reservations over how thin the towing eye is, I assure him I've been towed with it before. He thinks it'll be okay so off we go.
1/2 mile down the road, I hear a horrible splintering noise and gently dab the brakes, aa man carries on, trailing the free towing assembly behind him.
Unfortunately as they use a semi-rigid beam not a rope, its bounced back up again and done some damage on the way.
The towing eye has clean snapped in half, leaving the screw in the crash box.
The free end has then gone through the number plate and the fibreglass behind.



Theres only damage as seen - splintered hole, couple of tiny cracks either side. It's all still stuck together, and there's no cracks at the side of the clam.

Ended up having to drive it onto the flatbed truck.
If I'd been winched onto a flatbed in the first place, I suspect it may have broken and sent my car rolling backwards into who knows what, so may not have been the solution in hindsight.

The AA guy has spoken to his area manager, who has told him that it's due to metal fatigue. He tells me I'm unlikely to get any money back for the damage as it's basically due to a design fault with the car....
He has given me his personal mobile number, and asked that I contact him before I contact the AA direct, and he would contribute to costs. I assume this is because he would have some severe penalties if I get compensation from the AA??

Obviously I'm gutted - those who met me at the recent north east meet will vouch for the quality of my paintwork. However, I dont want to let the guy lose out personally. I told him it would be okay to tow, and put the towing eye in myself, so I'm as much to blame.

Sure there'll be a few opinions on this one!!

So - anyone got any advice on repair or costs? - I dont think the crash box has been damaged as the screw snapped clean out
Do I contact the AA or take the hit myself?
I'm sure someone on here must work for the AA, or know someone who does

Lesson for all - don't let anybody tow you on the front towing eye! (unfortunately I only found this out after searching on here after the incident)



Rich

[fiveoclock]

When mine was recovered by The AA he wouldnt winch it up by the towing eye nor tow it by the towing eye. He said he'd done more than a few VX's before and knew what he was doing, he attached straps underneath, I dont know where but there was no damage whatsoever

[FLD]

When mine was recovered by The AA he wouldnt winch it up by the towing eye nor tow it by the towing eye. He said he'd done more than a few VX's before and knew what he was doing, he attached straps underneath, I dont know where but there was no damage whatsoever

Obviously this is known to the AA then and should be flagged up on each call. Its worth being cheeky and saying new clam 1600 plus paint. Let them 'contribute to that! Yes it could be repaired but why should you have a repair when you didn't have one before? Harsh I know but they should have known.

[MrSimba]

When mine was recovered by The AA he wouldnt winch it up by the towing eye nor tow it by the towing eye. He said he'd done more than a few VX's before and knew what he was doing, he attached straps underneath, I dont know where but there was no damage whatsoever

Except if they attach the straps to the wishbones they 'might' bend them pulling the car onto the truck...

They did that to mine resulting in a wait for the wishbone and a cost for that and a geo after it had come in

Would never be without one of these now...

>>> Clicky <<<

Could save you a whole lot of trouble!

[fiveoclock]

When mine was recovered by The AA he wouldnt winch it up by the towing eye nor tow it by the towing eye. He said he'd done more than a few VX's before and knew what he was doing, he attached straps underneath, I dont know where but there was no damage whatsoever

Except if they attach the straps to the wishbones they 'might' bend them pulling the car onto the truck...

They did that to mine resulting in a wait for the wishbone and a cost for that and a geo after it had come in

Would never be without one of these now...

>>> Clicky <<<

Could save you a whole lot of trouble!

I have one of these but I'm not too sure how strong the location is where it bolts to

[Yellow_or_black?]

Eek

[Boombang]

He has given me his personal mobile number, and asked that I contact him before I contact the AA direct, and he would contribute to costs. I assume this is because he would have some severe penalties if I get compensation from the AA??

I'd say this is more due to him shitting himself for smashing the front of your car up.

Report to AA ASAP IMHO - who cares if you put eye in, they have responsibilities not to damage your vehicle and if he didn't feel happy with the situation he should not have undertaken the recovery & called a flatbed in.

Only issue perhaps is the eye snapping. Does it look as if it was not screwed in fully, or as if the pull on it was at an angle rather than straight?

[TheRealVXed]

To be honest I think the AA has virtually no liability here. You screwed the eye in, you assured the unsure AA man it was fine. You pressed the brakes, probably exacerbating the situation. Call me a sceptic, but I don't think the AA would pay anything for your repair, however it is definitely worth a shot. Good luck Mine was pulled onto a flatbed by the lower wishbone. I'm pretty sure this wouldn't bend it it didn't bend mine.

[p4cks]

Exactly the same thing happened to me with my Tubby when the RAC towed it. They accepted fault, and paid for a full front end repair and respray at approx £1k.

[LittleLofty]

What a bummer,hope you get it sorted.Who does good bodywork on these cars up here? Why not try and go 50/50 with the cost,if you feel it was partly your fault due to the hook,but maybe partly the AA's fault for talking a chance when he wasn't 100% sure about towing it,and should have probably used a flatbed in the first place.

[Dangerous]

This has put me off towing full stop. Have you been able to confirm exactly why this happened and if it is a part failure?

[p4cks]

Have you been able to confirm exactly why this happened and if it is a part failure?

Have you seen the towing eye? Its a bolt with a ring tack welded on to it.

[theotherhalf]

Does nobody read their handbook? The front tow eye is only suitable for towing onto a flatbed, not car to car towing on the road. Sounds like you were lucky not to damage the crash box as well.... Hope you get it sorted quickly.

[zimmer]

The towing eye snapped clean in half (on the screw threaded part), so no issues with it not being in tight enough - the garage are going to have to get the end of the screw out of the front of the car...
In my opinion its the part failing rather than me not putting it in right. My car is pretty low, but I dont think that'd make such a difference to the towing angle to cause it to snap.

Regards my braking, I heard the crunch just before the van started slowing for a roundabout. Only then did I gently apply the brakes (as I believe you are meant to when the towing vehicle brakes) so it wasn't me braking that caused the eye to snap.
In fact the towing eye thread is bent - so IMO it's likely that it was the decelerative forces that have stressed it to breaking - I think it would be hard for a linear pull to break the eye - probably pulling it onto a flatbed would be much safer than towing where it takes stress the other way as well (imagine a piece of metal bending, as soon as it begins to bend, a compressing force will cause it to bend further and lose strength progressively)

I have read the manual - it makes no mention of not using the towing eye for the road. It advises not the lift the vehicle using it, and not to be towed using the suspension arms. It even tells you to avoid jerky driving when being towed to avoid damaging the car.

The rear towing kit will be my next purchase after the trouble I've had - only to be used for pulling it onto a flat bed though!

Cheers everyone - encouraging to hear of your experience packs - think it's at least worth a letter to the AA


Rich

[dw1]

Does anyone have any pics of where those eliseparts fit onto the rear - does the clam need modding, does it work with an aftermarket diffuser e.g. Jimsan?

[dw1]

Does anyone have any pics of where those eliseparts fit onto the rear - does the clam need modding, does it work with an aftermarket diffuser e.g. Jimsan?

[theotherhalf]

Does anyone have any pics of where those eliseparts fit onto the rear - does the clam need modding, does it work with an aftermarket diffuser e.g. Jimsan?

My RTE fitted to our Exige (VX is the same).

[fiveoclock]

Does nobody read their handbook? The front tow eye is only suitable for towing onto a flatbed, not car to car towing on the road. Sounds like you were lucky not to damage the crash box as well....

Hope you get it sorted quickly.

It doesnt say that in my July 2001 owners manual, it even gives instruction on how to be towed by another vehicle.

[2.2 NA]

Quote from my Vx220 owners manual: "Attatch the tow rope, or better still, a tow rod to the towing eye" It makes no mention of not being towed on the road, it even suggest closing your windows to stop exhaust fumes from the towing vehicle entering. In my opinion, if the towing eye was 'faulty' then you should only have to pay for a new towing eye. But the damage to the front clam, was NOT there previously, this is down to the AA, and their possible negligence. In my opinion, contact Trading Standards. They should give you good advice.

[smiley]

Does anyone have any pics of where those eliseparts fit onto the rear - does the clam need modding, does it work with an aftermarket diffuser e.g. Jimsan?

Any aftermarket diffuser with holes in the red lines area should fit the tow eye:



I think it's safe to say that 100% of them has it, as these 2 actually bolt your diffuser to your car.
All the other are just to connect the diffuser to the middle plate, and the clam.