In this case, Sam was going out of his way to buy cars that were offered up for sale where the owners did not have to fix the things that need fixing after 75k of neglected driving.
I warned him of this exactly. I think he just wanted a video challenge.

 

I had a meeting two hours from my house this morning. I got home from there about 2:00 and called Triple A at 2:08. The guy showed up with the flatbed at 3:50. I'm glad I wasn't sitting on the side of the road waiting. He looked at the car for a few minutes and told me that he could get it up onto the flatbed, but the front bumper was going to drag and scratch up the paint. I told him that wasn't acceptable. There has to be a way to pull the car up onto the flatbed without damaging the car. He said it would require dollies on the front wheels and he didn't have dollies.

He called Triple A and I called Triple A and they said they would get a different towing company to come out. AAA is kinda cool because they send you a link to a map that shows where the tow truck is. The second driver called me when he was halfway here. He barely spoke English. AAA told him what the first tow truck guy said. He told me that his truck would probably scratch the paint, too, but "it's OK because it's on the bottom of the bumper. No one can see it". I told him if he scratches up the paint he's going to pay to get it repaired. He hung up on me.

A few minutes later the AAA lady called back and said he had refused the job so they were looking for someone else. About 6:30 I called back and told them to skip it for tonight. It's too late.

Is there some secret to towing these cars? It's not really that low.

 

I was NOT looking for a fixer-upper, but I know the reputation, so I figured an issue or two would pop up. But I've been surprised by the number of issues.

I thought I was going to do videos on changing the oil, changing the spark plugs, unclogging the AC drain. I didn't realize that the AC drain was impossible to get to in a supercharged car. :-(

 

You get 2 4 foot long 2"x8" piece of wood and bridge the distance from the ground to the tilted flat bed and they can pull the car up without scraping the nose.

 

The first driver was talking about boards. I didn't know what he was talking about. I still don't. I just want the professional tow truck driver to pull my car up onto his truck without scraping up the paint.

 

Come on, oil change ans spark plug videos? Where is the old Reverend Sam spirit and ingenuity?

 

Guys who know their business no how to load these cars without damaging the under body. Having a tow ring in the nose of these cars makes it easy to load them with the wench. Guys around here use 2 metal plates instead of wood and they can load these low riders without scraping the nose. Sound like the guys that came to you were just accident chasers where loading doesn't make a difference to the wreck.

 

I can't even see the serpentine belt. I'd like to make a video that shows how I fixed my coolant leak, but I can't even see the belt!

 

Here is the service manual for starters: http://jagrepair.com/images/AutoRepa...XKworkshop.pdf

 

My tow driver used plastic skid plates to raise up the front end instead of dollies. They looked like wheel chocks. I guess I should have taken photos, who knew! You only need them till the front wheels are on the flatbed.

 

I was pretty impressed with the flatbed that picked my '10 XKR up when a hose popped off after some rapid acceleration. The bed came right off the back of the truck so I was able to drive straight on to it.

The number plate on the truck was very appropriate too!

 

Wow, what a great tow truck set-up! Why can't we have something like that here in the US?!
I agree that it appears that the vast majority of tow crews here are in the accident chaser clan.

 

I guess I should explain that the car is in the garage. The tow truck driver is going to have to pull it out backwards.

 

Unless your garage is at the bottom of a hill, can you not put the car in neutral and push it out to better accommodate smooth access to the tow truck? My Supra is a lot lower than my XK and I park it nose-in in my garage, also. When it needed a tow, we pushed it out of its home, used some 2x6s as a ramp and pulled it up onto the bed of the truck.

 

Jeez, somebody must have one, same principle as a roll off dumpster. See lots of roll-on flatbed tow trucks, but I don’t think the bed fully detaches like that.

 

For some reason all tow trucks in Russia use a crane??

This too. weird??

 

Well... I finally got the car towed to the dealer. The tow truck driver didn't have a problem loading it. I have no idea why the first guy made such a big deal about it.

The dealership experience was INCREDIBLE. They were super-nice and helpful. Makes me want to go buy a new Jag or Land Rover from them.

 

Strawberry vaseline or cappuccinos?
I hope the first video is not going to be x-rated.

 

If the service adviser kisses you on the cheek it shouldn't be to bad but if he kisses you on the lips , well good luck.

 

A good service advisor/team can make or break a car ownership experience. I have been luck at my local Jaguar dealer and glad you seem to have a good crew too.

Best!