PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars!

gshanky · 30th December 2010, 06:58

Last week, I had the honor of transporting my car in a flat bed to a tire shop to fix some dents in the rim. I called AAA and they took the car details and sent a flatbed. When I asked the driver as to why did they send a flatbed, he was like for AWD cars, only use flatbed.

I did not ask him any further questions. But is AWD chassis the only reason to have a flatbed truck to move my bimmer?

More information would be helpful.

PPS · 31st December 2010, 20:38

No flatbed for this endeavour!

PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars!-p1240235.jpg

sajands · 2nd January 2011, 00:01

Another Merc on a flat bed truck, spotted this today around 9.00pm on M.G.Road. When asked the flat bed truck driver, he said the merc refused to start.....

throttleking · 3rd January 2011, 14:02

Other day saw Jeta being towed in a flatbed truck in Pune. Could not click any pics as I was ruching to office. Jeta was almost brand new, it was not an accident but breadown for sure.

n.devdath · 3rd January 2011, 14:08

I saw an auto (Bajaj RE) being transported on a flat bed in Delhi on Friday. It was in pretty good condition as well.

zaks · 3rd January 2011, 14:48

I have never seen any car being taken on a flatbed so far so where would I count in the statistics? One person seeing many or many people seeing one won't give you real estimates.

faithless_1984 · 3rd January 2011, 15:02

What about this one guys ?

A.R · 3rd January 2011, 18:18

After so many posts, do we have a list of such "Flat Bed Truck" service providers, importantly 24x4, anywhere there are commutable roads?

It would be very useful for many who may be stranded with their cars in the middle of no where. It happened to me, in a reliable Japanese car and Maruti Suzuki did NOTHING at all to help me. I wouldn't have minded the cost of such a service, whatever may it be at that time.

hellmet · 6th January 2011, 21:59

It could have been just me, but my Nissan Sentra was one of the worst life experiences for me.. Infact, I had to work part-time just because of it. It was towed several times and I spent several thousand dollars to get it running.. I swear I will never even touch another Nissan my life.. If anyone is interested, I have pictures and a video of the flat-bed towing.

Live To Jive · 6th January 2011, 22:19

I think is is wrong to single out German Cars. Any car (Korean & Japanese too) can land up on a flatbed. Or maybe only dealers of German Cars provide flatbed trucks. I've seen an Accord (normally an extremely reliable car) on a flatbed. BTW I own 2 German cars and never had to use a flatbed. In fact I went for a German brand as German products are reliable.

lamborghini · 6th January 2011, 23:58

@Live to Jive:
GTO created this thread to humorously showcase how German brands are not as reliable as they once were. While you may be lucky to have reliable German cars, it is a proven fact (going by global studies, not only local) that the more technologically German cars (European actually would be a better term, as one might argue that some companies - such as Skoda - are not German, even though they are owned and share parts with German automakers) are just not as reliable as they once were, and have monstrous maintainance costs if something goes wrong.
It seems as though each manufacturer is just trying to equip their cars with newer and better technology, which is more prone to failure.
The VW Polo and Vento, along with many Fords and Chevrolets can be excused from this, as they are not as technologically advanced (in comparison to the European cars a few segments higher) and as a result are more reliable.

Our W211 E Class has been problematic, as well as GTO's C Class, Sahil's C Classes and S350L-E240's Mercs, as well as other members who have faced problems with Audis, Skodas, BMWs, Mercedes, etc.

Sure, every manufacturer has the odd lemon, but if statistics are to be believed, European brands have higher chances of failure. While Japanese and Korean (and even Indian to an extent - See how Tata's quality has improved) car manufacturers have become more efficient and come out with more reliable products, it seems to be the other way around for European cars.

supremeBaleno · 7th January 2011, 13:55

Caught this NHC on a flatbed (MyTvs) in front of Hotel Ranjith, Nungambakkam yesterday.

PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars!-dsc02755.jpg

tanwaramit · 7th January 2011, 14:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPS

No flatbed for this endeavour!

Attachment 475154

I think the endy is getting transported via truck instead of being driven. The truck isnt a flatbed Or a truck used to towaway a car.

I used a similar truck to transport my car from Bangalore to Mumbai when I was shifting.

vharihar · 8th January 2011, 08:05

I am seeing this thread for the first time, interesting thread!

On a lighter note: German car owners should probably own a flatbed truck and tow it wherever they go. When their car breaks down, they can have their truck tow the car instead.

AMATMO · 8th January 2011, 15:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPS

No flatbed for this endeavour!

Attachment 475154

looking at the picture it looks endeavour is just being transported from one place to other and it might be in working condition

flat bed trucks are just substitutes for towing trucks , generally used for broken down cars, or in some cases if there is no ramp available to load the car in a normal truck, if a suitable ramp is available people just use normal trucks to transport their vehicles from one city to another ,i doubt flatbed trucks do the job of transporting vehicles from one state to the other,mostly flatbeds only take cars to repair shops or they carry sportcars/supercars to the race tracks

30th December 2010, 06:58	#151
gshanky BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Coimbatore / Bangalore / New York Posts: 717 Thanked: 13 Times	Re: PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars! Last week, I had the honor of transporting my car in a flat bed to a tire shop to fix some dents in the rim. I called AAA and they took the car details and sent a flatbed. When I asked the driver as to why did they send a flatbed, he was like for AWD cars, only use flatbed. I did not ask him any further questions. But is AWD chassis the only reason to have a flatbed truck to move my bimmer? More information would be helpful.
	() Thanks

31st December 2010, 20:38	#152
PPS Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: mumbai Posts: 2,467 Thanked: 3,717 Times	Re: PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars! No flatbed for this endeavour!
	(1) Thanks

2nd January 2011, 00:01	#153
sajands BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 941 Thanked: 347 Times View My Garage	Re: PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars! Another Merc on a flat bed truck, spotted this today around 9.00pm on M.G.Road. When asked the flat bed truck driver, he said the merc refused to start..... Attached Thumbnails
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3rd January 2011, 14:02	#154
throttleking BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 804 Thanked: 447 Times	Re: PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars! Other day saw Jeta being towed in a flatbed truck in Pune. Could not click any pics as I was ruching to office. Jeta was almost brand new, it was not an accident but breadown for sure.
	() Thanks

3rd January 2011, 14:08	#155
n.devdath BANNED Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,287 Thanked: 2,811 Times	Re: PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars! I saw an auto (Bajaj RE) being transported on a flat bed in Delhi on Friday. It was in pretty good condition as well.
	(1) Thanks

3rd January 2011, 14:48	#156
zaks BANNED Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 952 Thanked: 181 Times View My Garage	Re: PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars! I have never seen any car being taken on a flatbed so far so where would I count in the statistics? One person seeing many or many people seeing one won't give you real estimates.
	() Thanks

3rd January 2011, 15:02	#157
faithless_1984 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Delhi Posts: 1,575 Thanked: 324 Times View My Garage	ANHC on a flatbed truck. What about this one guys ? Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

3rd January 2011, 18:18	#158
A.R BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 151 Thanked: 11 Times	Re: PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars! After so many posts, do we have a list of such "Flat Bed Truck" service providers, importantly 24x4, anywhere there are commutable roads? It would be very useful for many who may be stranded with their cars in the middle of no where. It happened to me, in a reliable Japanese car and Maruti Suzuki did NOTHING at all to help me. I wouldn't have minded the cost of such a service, whatever may it be at that time.
	(1) Thanks

6th January 2011, 21:59	#159
hellmet BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: GTA \| GHMC Posts: 886 Thanked: 1,025 Times	Re: PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars! It could have been just me, but my Nissan Sentra was one of the worst life experiences for me.. Infact, I had to work part-time just because of it. It was towed several times and I spent several thousand dollars to get it running.. I swear I will never even touch another Nissan my life.. If anyone is interested, I have pictures and a video of the flat-bed towing.
	() Thanks

6th January 2011, 22:19	#160
Live To Jive BANNED Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Swindon, UK Posts: 698 Thanked: 89 Times	Re: PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars! I think is is wrong to single out German Cars. Any car (Korean & Japanese too) can land up on a flatbed. Or maybe only dealers of German Cars provide flatbed trucks. I've seen an Accord (normally an extremely reliable car) on a flatbed. BTW I own 2 German cars and never had to use a flatbed. In fact I went for a German brand as German products are reliable.
	() Thanks

6th January 2011, 23:58	#161
lamborghini Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 6,112 Thanked: 5,760 Times View My Garage	Re: PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars! @Live to Jive: GTO created this thread to humorously showcase how German brands are not as reliable as they once were. While you may be lucky to have reliable German cars, it is a proven fact (going by global studies, not only local) that the more technologically German cars (European actually would be a better term, as one might argue that some companies - such as Skoda - are not German, even though they are owned and share parts with German automakers) are just not as reliable as they once were, and have monstrous maintainance costs if something goes wrong. It seems as though each manufacturer is just trying to equip their cars with newer and better technology, which is more prone to failure. The VW Polo and Vento, along with many Fords and Chevrolets can be excused from this, as they are not as technologically advanced (in comparison to the European cars a few segments higher) and as a result are more reliable. Our W211 E Class has been problematic, as well as GTO's C Class, Sahil's C Classes and S350L-E240's Mercs, as well as other members who have faced problems with Audis, Skodas, BMWs, Mercedes, etc. Sure, every manufacturer has the odd lemon, but if statistics are to be believed, European brands have higher chances of failure. While Japanese and Korean (and even Indian to an extent - See how Tata's quality has improved) car manufacturers have become more efficient and come out with more reliable products, it seems to be the other way around for European cars.
	() Thanks

7th January 2011, 13:55	#162
supremeBaleno Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chennai / Kochi Posts: 5,546 Thanked: 2,697 Times View My Garage	Epitome of reliability on a flatbed Caught this NHC on a flatbed (MyTvs) in front of Hotel Ranjith, Nungambakkam yesterday.
	() Thanks

8th January 2011, 08:05	#164
vharihar BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 946 Thanked: 1,523 Times	Re: PICS : How flatbed tow trucks would run out of business without German cars! I am seeing this thread for the first time, interesting thread! On a lighter note: German car owners should probably own a flatbed truck and tow it wherever they go. When their car breaks down, they can have their truck tow the car instead.
	() Thanks