When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Thought I'd share below though some of the lessons I learned during the experience yesterday to try and help others who unfortunately might go through a similar experience. Some of these might be common knowledge but until I went through it all yesterday they weren't fresh in my mind as I hadn't had to call for a rollback before . . . and hopefully never will again!
1) most importantly, be sure to quickly first assess your situation for safety (i.e., vehicle location relative to road, approaching traffic, speed levels, visibility, etc.) to ensure you make the right decision from a safety standpoint. Fortunately ours happened in a safe spot but had it not I was prepared to get my son and I away from the car as quickly as possible.
2) relative to 1), if you do have to get away from the vehicle make sure your Road Assistance phone numbers are pre-programmed in your phone. Mine were written on a note pad in the glove box but they are programmed in now! Fortunately I was able to stay with the car and use the On Star button and communicate with them but remember, if you have that service and need to get away from the vehicle you will need their phone number.
3) make sure you have a tow hook in your glove box. I didn't but wish I did . . . ironically I ordered one last week just after getting my car on July 30th and it will arrive this week but in hindsight I should have used my year wait to get one and have it from day 1 when I picked up the car. You will also want to make sure you have some type of tool to remove the cover … once I get my car back from the dealer I will definitely be practicing this as I hadn't even thought about it during my first week of ownership.
4) if you don't have a tow hook make sure you have the manual handy or a picture on your phone to show the rollback driver where the hook points are behind the front wheels. These cars are so new and scarce that it's a good bet your tow driver will not have seen one yet and wouldn't expect to have to look behind the wheels. The picture can be found in the manual on page 283 for MY2021 and page 273 for MY2020.
5) in case the tow driver does have to connect using the hook points behind the front wheels consider carrying a rag or foam pad that can go between the winch cable and your splitter. Fortunately my tow driver had a rag yesterday that he put there to protect it … I wouldn't have thought of it if I hadn't seen him do it. I was very appreciative of his attention to detail as it clearly would have rubbed.
6) if your car is running and you have the front end lift don't forget to use it … those extra inches of height are critical. My car was dead so it wouldn't lift and it was way too close for comfort watching her be pulled up.
7) tendency is to focus on the front end when it is going up onto the bed but don't forget to keep an eye on the rear. Mine cleared from scraping by less than an inch.
8) if your car is in Park / Gear and won't roll, be sure to ask the towing company if their rollback has dollies. If not, be prepared to call Roadside Assistance back and find one that does. My tow driver said yesterday he would bet most rollbacks don't carry them.
9) if you are going on a long road trip, consider throwing in a fully charged external battery for your phone just in case. We had to wait 2 1/2 hours yesterday for the tow driver to arrive and with all the time I spent on the phone trying to arrange things I nervously kept an eye on my phones battery level as I knew the car's charger wasn't available to me given my particular situation.
10) if your car is in Neutral and you need to roll it be prepared to put some serious muscle into it … these cars are heavy and I had difficulty getting it starting to roll.
11) if you are away from your home dealer, get the name of the dealer the tow company is instructed to tow the vehicle to and assuming they are open, call their service dept and ask what their familiarity level is with working on C8's.
12) if you aren't comfortable with what you hear in 11) and assuming you aren't several states away from home, give serious thought to getting your car to a dealer closer to your home even if you will have to pay some towing out of pocket. Don't forget to consider all towing coverages you might have (i.e., GM Road Side Assistance, AAA, auto insurance policy, etc.)
13) if you are far from home and you are going to get towed to a dealer local to your breakdown don't forget to consider transportation needs. For example, not just getting home but then also getting back to pick-up your car once ready. When I talked to the dealer where GMRA wanted my car to go they told me they had no loaners and the rental agencies in town were already closed so the only option my son and I would have to get home would be an Uber and that cost was going to be several hundred $$$ so that factored into my decision to have the car towed 113 miles to my local dealer I purchased from.
14) if you are in the right frame of mind, don't forget to snap a picture as it will most likely be a memorable event. I've attached one below of my son and I and even though it didn't turn out to be the day of driving we thought it would be it will definitely be a day we'll remember.
15) Don't forget to get a clear, legible copy of the towing receipt before the driver leaves. In the frenzy of my activity once we got the car to the dealer and got it off the bed the tow driver gave me a copy (on the traditional yellow paper) and he pointed out the total, which is what I focused on, but it wasn't until I got home and realized the top portion and the individual line items were not legible so now I have to call the towing company and track down a clear copy (which hopefully they can just scan / snap a pic and email to me).
As more comes back to my mind I'll update but overall don't forget to stay calm and not panic. I kept reminding myself that my new car was covered by warranty and it was a first world problem to have to work through the logistics of getting my car back to dealer.
It was also great to have my son with me as it helped to stay talking and keep my mind off our situation. Additionally, several people stopped to offer assistance which was a great reminder of how there are still plenty of nice people in the world. It was definitely a wake-up call for me to be sure to return the favor next time I see someone broken down.
VNAMVET - found it on ebay from someone who had a bunch of C7 parts for sale. Opening bid price was $35 and auction ended in 3 days but rather than risk losing it I bought it using the But It Now price of $60. Compared to what I'd seen on other sites at $99+ and knowing I was not going to leave it permanently attached to the front I grabbed it.
DEC8
Thanks for the Post of Lessons Learned. Most are Reasonable/Common Sense but:
1) some need to be done ahead of time - will do (been putting off the Tow Hook purchase - now doing it today)
2) it does help if you have read these previously if/when you find yourself in that situation and in the Urgency of the Moment
Still waiting another few months for my C8, but I found out with Geico that they gave me a free 20 mile tow. Anything over that I had to pay extra. I always thought they give a bigger distance so I just paid a few bucks extra since I was about 25 miles from home.
One thing I did was go out and buy a tow hook. 50 bux well spent to ease my anxiety about getting towed.
Where did you find the tow hook for $50?
I read the story about what happened to DEC8's car and it kind of scares me to death. What if this had happened on a four lane interstate in heavy 70mph traffic? Probably would be hard to get the car to coast safely out of danger especially if in the passing lanes.
Hope I'll be driving mine home from the Museum next month. It's a 500 mile drive and I'm sure I'll be thinking about this story all the way home.
DEC8, hope you get your car back soon and it's a simple fix.
Last edited by TOOMUCHSTUFF220; Aug 10, 2021 at 12:08 AM.
...
4) if you don't have a tow hook make sure you have the manual handy or a picture on your phone to show the rollback driver where the hook points are behind the front wheels. These cars are so new and scarce that it's a good bet your tow driver will not have seen one yet and wouldn't expect to have to look behind the wheels. The picture can be found in the manual on page 283....
That's page 273 not 283. But thanks for pointing out that the pic exists!
theclutch - I was confused by your page number reference so just went and checked the MY 2020 manual available on-line and for that year it is page 273, which must be what you have. For MY2021 it is page 283, which is what I have. Wouldn't have guessed there would have been that big of a difference in page numbering between the MY manuals. I'll update my original post to reflect the additional information.
Toomuchstuff220 - I found mine on ebay for $60 … it is a no frills version which is fine with me as it will only be used in emergency as I am not going to be leaving it permanently connected so it didn't need to be a fancy / pretty / light weight one like you can get for $100-$250.
All - added #15) to my original list as will now be dealing with that issue in trying to recover towing cost from the multiple sources.
Thought I'd share below though some of the lessons I learned during the experience yesterday to try and help others who unfortunately might go through a similar experience. Some of these might be common knowledge but until I went through it all yesterday they weren't fresh in my mind as I hadn't had to call for a rollback before . . . and hopefully never will again!
1) most importantly, be sure to quickly first assess your situation for safety (i.e., vehicle location relative to road, approaching traffic, speed levels, visibility, etc.) to ensure you make the right decision from a safety standpoint. Fortunately ours happened in a safe spot but had it not I was prepared to get my son and I away from the car as quickly as possible.
2) relative to 1), if you do have to get away from the vehicle make sure your Road Assistance phone numbers are pre-programmed in your phone. Mine were written on a note pad in the glove box but they are programmed in now! Fortunately I was able to stay with the car and use the On Star button and communicate with them but remember, if you have that service and need to get away from the vehicle you will need their phone number.
3) make sure you have a tow hook in your glove box. I didn't but wish I did . . . ironically I ordered one last week just after getting my car on July 30th and it will arrive this week but in hindsight I should have used my year wait to get one and have it from day 1 when I picked up the car. You will also want to make sure you have some type of tool to remove the cover … once I get my car back from the dealer I will definitely be practicing this as I hadn't even thought about it during my first week of ownership.
4) if you don't have a tow hook make sure you have the manual handy or a picture on your phone to show the rollback driver where the hook points are behind the front wheels. These cars are so new and scarce that it's a good bet your tow driver will not have seen one yet and wouldn't expect to have to look behind the wheels. The picture can be found in the manual on page 283 for MY2021 and page 273 for MY2020.
5) in case the tow driver does have to connect using the hook points behind the front wheels consider carrying a rag or foam pad that can go between the winch cable and your splitter. Fortunately my tow driver had a rag yesterday that he put there to protect it … I wouldn't have thought of it if I hadn't seen him do it. I was very appreciative of his attention to detail as it clearly would have rubbed.
6) if your car is running and you have the front end lift don't forget to use it … those extra inches of height are critical. My car was dead so it wouldn't lift and it was way too close for comfort watching her be pulled up.
7) tendency is to focus on the front end when it is going up onto the bed but don't forget to keep an eye on the rear. Mine cleared from scraping by less than an inch.
8) if your car is in Park / Gear and won't roll, be sure to ask the towing company if their rollback has dollies. If not, be prepared to call Roadside Assistance back and find one that does. My tow driver said yesterday he would bet most rollbacks don't carry them.
9) if you are going on a long road trip, consider throwing in a fully charged external battery for your phone just in case. We had to wait 2 1/2 hours yesterday for the tow driver to arrive and with all the time I spent on the phone trying to arrange things I nervously kept an eye on my phones battery level as I knew the car's charger wasn't available to me given my particular situation.
10) if your car is in Neutral and you need to roll it be prepared to put some serious muscle into it … these cars are heavy and I had difficulty getting it starting to roll.
11) if you are away from your home dealer, get the name of the dealer the tow company is instructed to tow the vehicle to and assuming they are open, call their service dept and ask what their familiarity level is with working on C8's.
12) if you aren't comfortable with what you hear in 11) and assuming you aren't several states away from home, give serious thought to getting your car to a dealer closer to your home even if you will have to pay some towing out of pocket. Don't forget to consider all towing coverages you might have (i.e., GM Road Side Assistance, AAA, auto insurance policy, etc.)
13) if you are far from home and you are going to get towed to a dealer local to your breakdown don't forget to consider transportation needs. For example, not just getting home but then also getting back to pick-up your car once ready. When I talked to the dealer where GMRA wanted my car to go they told me they had no loaners and the rental agencies in town were already closed so the only option my son and I would have to get home would be an Uber and that cost was going to be several hundred $$$ so that factored into my decision to have the car towed 113 miles to my local dealer I purchased from.
14) if you are in the right frame of mind, don't forget to snap a picture as it will most likely be a memorable event. I've attached one below of my son and I and even though it didn't turn out to be the day of driving we thought it would be it will definitely be a day we'll remember.
15) Don't forget to get a clear, legible copy of the towing receipt before the driver leaves. In the frenzy of my activity once we got the car to the dealer and got it off the bed the tow driver gave me a copy (on the traditional yellow paper) and he pointed out the total, which is what I focused on, but it wasn't until I got home and realized the top portion and the individual line items were not legible so now I have to call the towing company and track down a clear copy (which hopefully they can just scan / snap a pic and email to me).
As more comes back to my mind I'll update but overall don't forget to stay calm and not panic. I kept reminding myself that my new car was covered by warranty and it was a first world problem to have to work through the logistics of getting my car back to dealer.
It was also great to have my son with me as it helped to stay talking and keep my mind off our situation. Additionally, several people stopped to offer assistance which was a great reminder of how there are still plenty of nice people in the world. It was definitely a wake-up call for me to be sure to return the favor next time I see someone broken down.
Hope the list above is helpful!
To DEC8---This was good post. I also have the C8 HTC. I have a tow hook question. After 3 month wait I was able to obtain the GM tow hook which I hopefully will never use. My question relates to the tow hook cover plate and the so called "special tool" to remove it. I understand that the fitting is somewhat fragile and can be easily damaged. I called my dealer and he spoke about couple of snap tabs that hold the plate in place; however I read somewhere that these can easily be broken. If I use a thin knife I am concerned about damaging the paint and (or) the plate. Any ideas or suggestions as to what type of tool can be used? There is nothing in the manual about this. As for the y harness and the attachment points behind the front wheels I can't rely on the average tow operator either knowing about this or having the equipment. Thank you for this post.
Nobull - glad you found my post helpful. Tough experience to have but hopefully good comes out of it for others while I await the return of my car. I bought an 11 piece Auto Trim removal kit from Amazon for like $14 and below is a pic of one of the tools from it that I'll be leaving in my glovebox with the tow hook. I watched some YT videos and it appears easy to slip the narrow thin edge into the crack along the edge of the cover and gently pry it off. Once my car comes down from the lift I am going to test this before hitting the road to head home, just to be safe.
DEC8--Thank you for the quick reply and the photo. Very helpful, and I have placed an order with Amazon. Folks like you make this forum very helpful and informative, and I and many others appreciate it. Many on this forum make smart *** comments, but folks like you make it all worth it. Your experience with your car was unfortunate, but I think that you will agree that it is one hell of a car, and what we get for the crazy low price is astounding. This is my sixth Corvette, and the value and performance are beyond words. Incidentally, I went to graduate school in Cleveland (which I do not recommend) just up the road from you. The weather and winters drove me away. Again, thank you. Hopefully,I will never need to use the tow hook and this trim device, but it is a good insurance policy. Take care
Lessons Learned From My Breakdown Yesterday
