[Dhruv29]

Originally Posted by VineetG

And regarding that X5, whether it was a hydrolock or an electrical fault, it should not have happened.

Right on point. These are the exact moments where we need our vehicles the most. To keep us safe from the environment outside, and get us out from it as soon as possible. Not get stuck in the middle of water or some place remote and become an additional liability.

At the end of the day a machine is a machine and they can go wrong, Germans or Japanese/Korean. But as proved by this thread, most of the time it is the German cars on a flatbed.

[jmktm]

Just out of curiosity, how much does it generally cost to get an X5 /X3/3/5 back on road after such an incident ?

I am assuming that the car stops since the on board brains have decided that it's better to shutdown the vehicle to prevent more damage.

Or is it that the vehicle has stopped because the sensors are going kaput due to water ingress.

Or finally, heaven forbid, the engine has stopped due to serious damage because of water ingress into combustion chamber ? ( For that to happen the driver must have been seriously careless, I suppose)

I have seen a number of such incidents in Kerala during monsoon, but never really wondered what happens afterwards to the owner's bank balance.

Perhaps our more experienced friends could throw some light.

[ece2k2]

Originally Posted by jezza

The F15 X5 shown here has a maximum wading depth of 500mm. It is difficult to believe that it would break down here without any other factors.

While an X5 can wade 500mm water, it is supposed to happen under 5 Kmph speed. If the driver of the car was a little more adventurous with the speed or if there was another large vehicle nearby that could have created a “wave” effect, it could have damaged the X5’s engine. Also, we need to note that X5 seemed to have traveled on a lane farther from the median of the road which is always risky IMO - especially when we consider the effect created by other moving vehicles running closer to the median.

[sunilch]

Wonder what could be the reason here? Seems to belong to a local political thug (vernacular number plates).

I know it isn't a German but then we don't have a thread dedicated to Japanese cars on flatbeds

[swissknife]

I would think that with more cars with automatic gear boxes that are being preferred and sold as well, we would see a lot more flat beds on the road. Though I am not prejudiced against the origin of vehicles, I would think that it is not isolated to "German" vehicles. Since the number of automatics from German manufacturers were higher, they may have been more instances of them being on flat beds as against being towed away using ropes / chains etc. I for one, would prefer to have a broken-down vehicle transported on a flat bed rather than being towed away; Safety being the reason.

On the other hand, the question of why do the German cars break down more often, still remains. Would it be that people who bought them, found the money to buy them, but did not find the time / money / responsibility / passion, to maintain them? Even the case of excess money, so that if it breaks down, will dump it and buy another, attitude may exist as well. Considering most of these cars are driven by hired drivers, they may be the cause of neglect of maintenance as well.

[Aditya]

Thanks to the Team-BHP fan (he prefers to remain anonymous) who sent these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing them with other enthusiasts via this page!

Spotted in Mumbai on Thursday:


Spotted in J P Nagar, Bangalore a few days back:

[arun_josie]

Spotted this Lamborghini near Salem(TN). The tow truck was KL registered though. Maybe this came for servicing/repair work from KL to Bangalore?

[DaptChatterjee]

A Baleno on a tow truck! Times, they're changin'! Spotted this in front of Rohan Motors Service Centre (Maruti dealer) at Gurgaon. I was there for 2 years' service of my Dzire.

[A.G.]

Spotted this Defender on the Tow Truck - it was nice to see the body levelled while the suspension below was working on the flat bed

[callvvijay]

My 8yo son made a casual remark/question yesterday as we were driving around - "Appa (Dad), whenever I see a flatbed truck, it's always BMW or Merc in it. Never have I seen a Toyota or Honda being carried in a flatbed. Why is it?".

Wow!! I just got reminded of this thread and came here to post his question!

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by callvvijay

My 8yo son made a casual remark/question yesterday as we were driving around - "Appa (Dad), whenever I see a flatbed truck, it's always BMW or Merc in it. Never have I seen a Toyota or Honda being carried in a flatbed. Why is it?".

Wow!! I just got reminded of this thread and came here to post his question!

RWD + Automatic = Flatbed Towing only. You have to disconnect the drive shaft if you want to tow them with their front wheels off the ground.

I do not think any OEM recommends a vehicle being towed with just the front wheels off the ground, it is not good for the vehicle to be handled that way. The recommended method will always be a flatbed.

[tharian]

Not a German, but a Chinese.

My sisters MG ZS EV being loaded and taken to the service centre as it failed to engage drive. This was last year when it was less than a month old. It did one more such trip earlier this year too for the same reason and ended up getting couple of parts replaced.
On the positive side, the customer support and service centre support has been positive.

[ruzbehxyz]

Flat bed trucks can never go out of business because there are many vehicles which definitely need flat bed trucks like Full time 4WD and AWD vehicles with no choice of 2WD.

Other the other hand it can be any brand and not only German cars. Example - Toyota Fortuner Full time 4WD (Japanese), Ford Endeavour 4x4 AT (American).

[//M]

Saw this Porsche 911 Turbo S on a flatbed last week in New Delhi.

[GTO]

BMW. Spotted an S-Class today as well (W222) on a flatbed, but couldn't click as it was on the opposite side: