PatHenry

That's a good point about lack of competition. I wonder what the barriers to entry are for a competing company. Scale? Profitability?

What state is the towing and recovery business in recently? Is towing and recovery profitable and if so how does it compare to related things like service or sales? Locally I know there are a few places that do towing, but they also do service and have contracts with their respective towns for police related towing, so is the towing a worthwhile pursuit or is it sort of a side operation that requires some other revenue stream to do business?

Obviously AAA uses local operators to actually do the towing, do they have corporate locations (sort of like there are franchised McDonalds but also corporate owned locations)?

Bugout4x4

Towing sucks... There is good money in it but it is one of the biggest pain in the rear businesses there is. There are several old school company owners like myself here and everyone of them would probably agree. lol

To compete would be simple, Subcontract to vendors like AAA does but not get too greedy and practice fair business policies. Take care of your vendors and customers with respect. If someone was to truly do this and charge a substantially reduced rate from what AAA and the others charge they would ALL be shut out in two years.

Tell you what... If I had some funding to back me I would start a "nonprofit" road service right now to get public recognition and support just to poke a stick in their eye. Wouldn't be much different than contracting with triple A, That is also a nonprofit venture too. lol

cruiser54

I'm thinking you were already driving it without fluid. That's why they explode.....

Bugout4x4

And here's one now... A very experienced old school tow company owner who has picked up countless vehicles that exploded transfer cases and transmissions because they were already dry.

PatHenry

I'm thinking I need to look into my insurance company's road-side assistance and see what they can do for me so I can cancel my AAA. It's b.s. that they don't pay their bills - if nothing else I'll call and let them know I don't appreciate them playing games.
The tow guys I've met have always been decent guys just doing their jobs.

If ever I drive with an empty transfer case and need a tow I want the bills paid. I don't work for free, my tow company shouldn't have to.

Bugout4x4

Now that was what made me mad about that call I went on and was the final straw. They did bill this guy and he refused to pay it because he was right and should have been covered. But because they didn't get any payment from him they decided not to pay me for my time and costs.

It doesn't work this way, the customer didn't call me out, THEY did and still owed me for the call no matter what happened with their customer. They legally breeched contract with me. In almost all states payment "for services rendered" is absolute and not even debatable or questioned in court.

They still owed me for the call whether they got paid or not. If they can't handle their business right it is their own problem. To make me eat the loss is outright fraud and just like writing a bad check. They gave me a purchase order number and the customer signed the ticket. This is a legal agreement and contract to pay for services rendered without argument.

But you don't have to quit because of what I shared, Sooner or later they will screw you too. It is inevitable, they always do...

awg

lol Victim...(previously known as)


one way to get back...I recently came across this Wikipedia entry on Mazda BT50 4wd ute.

Clearly, a customer had a very unsatisfactory experience..the Wiki entry lasted at least 2 weeks after I noticed it, and uploaded the link to another site...where someone pasted the text up for eternity...Wiki has been "fixed" now...gave me a laugh anyway


************************************************** ******
The Mazda BT-50 (model code J97M) is a compact/mid-sized pickup truck produced by the Japanese manufacturer Mazda since 2006. It is a larger version of the predecessor B-Series pickup. Until 2011, Ford had also sold a version of the first-generation BT-50 as the Ford Ranger and as the SUV Ford Everest. From 2011 the second-generation Ranger has been designed by Ford Australia, with a Mazda derivative sold as the BT-50. It was withdrawn from sale in the Japanese and North American markets after safety and reliability issues with melting parts resulted in the unfortunate monicker “Thermo”.

The BT50 continues to be sold to unsuspecting buyers in . Serious and terminal reliability issues continue to develop in the transmission, diesel engine, brakes, cooling system, fuel injection, emission control, electronic engine control, steering, seatbelts, towing system, dashboard instrumentation, windscreen washers and headlights. At its nadir in 2017, no BT50 could drive more than 100 metres without at least one door falling off. The sight of a hapless driver clinging desperately to the steering wheel of a (barely) moving vehicle with one hand while trying to reattach the driver’s door with the other, while passengers run behind picking up ejected engine parts, has become common.

In October 2017, Mazda made the strategic decision to wash its hands of the model. While still continuing to sell new vehicles, all pretense of customer service and repair responsibility was discarded. Dealers were directed to treat victims (previously known as customers) with scorn and derision, milking them for as much cash as possible while pretending to make repairs using rusty old parts scrounged from lawn mowers, vacuum cleaners and abandoned farm equipment. This required no change for the dealers, who had been using these techniques since mid 2009.



###############################################

Bugout4x4

Well done. lol They threatened to sue me for liable several years back because of all the true experiences I shared in some very high profile Internet venues. "Fine... let's go. We have all the records to prove this, and we will request your own records, and we will show up with at least a dozen vendors who will testify to the same with their own additional records. The counter is going to be pretty ugly for you if it happens to hit the news."

No more contact, they went silent on me.

I still have those records...

awg

In Australia, a Corporation cannot sue an individual for defamation

There is a push to change this law!

If you want some entertainment, checkout Youtube John Cadogan

he is an Engineer and auto journalist, now has a business, he will beat the dealer down lower than you can, get you a lower price

he is utterly merciless the way he attacks the auto makers

WARNING, he is unbelievably politically incorrect, vile language, a sexual deviant (but funny & informative)

he appears to have many US followers. I do not believe he would be able to have such a channel in USA, land of free speech