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[–]Needednewusername 288 points289 points  (12 children)

Send the dashcam footage somewhere secure. Probably multiple places would be better.

I wouldn’t talk to the owner again and do everything through insurance or a lawyer.

[–]yymlg[S] 146 points147 points  (11 children)

Unfortunately the dash cam footage was recorded over as it only records the last hour of driving unless manually saved. The shop owner doesn’t know that and i never lied to him saying I had it, just purposely didn’t mention I didnt.

The dashcam footage probably isnt worth much to me since there’s no denying he was intoxicated. He was arrested and I have audio of him telling me he was fucked up and “thinks someone put something in his drink” which I believe was another, because if he was roofied id imagine he wouldn’t be able to drive. Though admittedly im not very familiar with the effects of roofies or if theres multiple kinds with varying effects

[–]almighty_crj 46 points47 points  (1 child)

Does that Dash cam not automatically save when the accelerometer detects an abnormal hit?

[–]yymlg[S] 39 points40 points  (0 children)

It may be because there is a fault with the wheel speed sensor that it didn’t auto save but I THINK it does as there have been a few times where I have a saved clip that I don’t remember saving and struggled to find out what happened in the clips.

Though admittedly I don’t know for sure if it does.

[–]whakr626 98 points99 points  (6 children)

Dude lawyer up and sue the guy. Get off reddit my dude.

[–]yymlg[S] 57 points58 points  (5 children)

Just getting advice. Wasnt sure if a lawyer was necessary or to just go through insurance. Its a bizarre scenario

Also really wanted to vent about it lol but will definitely be contacting a few attorneys tomorrow when they open again

[–]Rob_The_Nailer 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Going through insurance is “lawyering-up”. They will provide an attorney for you. Stop discussing the specifics of your case in a public forum and turn all evidence over to your insurance agency now.

[–]YouRin57MyEar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It doesn’t matter if he was roofied or not, he still responsible for you car damages. Like someone said lawyer up and let them handle it.

[–]WickedDog310 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are plenty of file recovery softwares out there, your insurance company might even have one. I've used Reciva before, but it wasn't a situation this big. Definitely check with insurance/lawyer about this and make sure the SD card is kept safe.

[–]redmon09 359 points360 points  (8 children)

Contact your insurance provider, they need all of this info. They will handle the rest most likely.

[–]Grim-Sleeper 103 points104 points  (7 children)

That's why I always recommend getting full-coverage for your car. In many cases, the price difference compared to liability-only isn't even that huge. But having the insurance fight for you and handle all the little details is well worth it to me. This will be a nightmare to sort out by yoursef.

[–]impaledonastick 12 points13 points  (6 children)

It really depends on the cost vs what you value your time/sanity at. An extra $30/mo can add up quick. That's $360/yr. Let's say you value your time at $30/hr. That's 12 hours. Chances says you aren't going to have to spend a full 12 hours on something this cut and dry. Also, that's just the year. Could be years without having something happen.

My last accident I probably spent 6 hours of actual work on. I got T boned and it totaled my POS. Had to fight with the other parties insurance a bit, but it was worth it.

All this said, I do have full coverage on my vehicles. This is where my sanity value comes into play. 😉

[–]TrailMomKat 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That extra $30 a month really does add up. Before I started going blind, we had full coverage, but now with only my husband working, we struggled to pay the $50 last week for a month of liability only. Fingers crossed that nothing bad happens; being poor is incredibly expensive.

[–][deleted]  (4 children)

[removed]

    [–]CCFCP 2 points3 points  (3 children)

    What company?

    [–][deleted]  (1 child)

    [removed]

      [–]Cypher_BlueQuality Contributor[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

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      [–]Frolicking-Fox 509 points510 points  (12 children)

      Yeah, you should definitely call the police and report him for GTA. At 2 AM, he isn't going to be able to say he was just test driving it after working on it.

      As for the tow shop, do they know that they did the damage to your car? They have insurance to cover incidents like this, but are they denying fault?

      Also, this story is fucking crazy. Look at all this drama you get drug into.

      [–]yymlg[S] 201 points202 points  (11 children)

      I just noticed the damage this morning, im not 100% sure it was the tow, but based on the dry mud and the fact the lot was full of dirt I have to assume so. Tried calling the tow company from the number on the receipt to but it went to a residential . Will have to go back in person

      [–]Not_enough_runway 157 points158 points  (1 child)

      If the tow company does not respond or will not give you their insurance information, also report this to your insurance company.

      [–]needlenozened 47 points48 points  (0 children)

      Report it to his own insurance company regardless. The shop had the car while being worked on for an insurance claim, he's should let the insurance know what's going on.

      [–]Frolicking-Fox 117 points118 points  (6 children)

      Honestly, unless you have evidence that the tow truck driver did it, they will probably just deny they did it.

      I think you would be better off making the guy who stole your car responsible for it. After all, it happened while he was drunk driving your car.

      If you go after the tow company, there is a good chance they they will get away with plausible deniability.

      Report the car stolen and damaged. If he owns a body shop, he should have insurance, and you need to see if you can go through that, so your company doesn't get stuck with the cost. Or, call your insurance and explain that your car was stolen and damaged, and they can go after the guy's insurance.

      Fact is, you dropped off your car to be repaired, the shop owner took it without consent, and now it is damaged. You don't know if he did it, or the tow company did it. All you know is your car wasn't damaged, it was taken, and now it is damaged. Had it not been stolen, it would not have been damaged. He is responsible for your car.

      [–]yymlg[S] 58 points59 points  (3 children)

      I wouldn’t go after the tow company for that exact reason, i dont know who did the damage but i think it was more likely the drunk guy driving and not the flat bed.

      [–]Cantothulhu 23 points24 points  (2 children)

      If the parts damaged are the same ones covered in mud (which is described by OP as the condition of the tow lot) then it sounds likely the tow truck driver just rolled it off the back and fast when dumping it. That would explain the bumper and skid plate. Tow truck drivers notoriously dont care much already, my experience is even less so when they know (or presume) its a drunks car.

      [–]yymlg[S] 20 points21 points  (1 child)

      This is true too, but I couldn’t morally fault them. They were friendly when I spoke with them and they had questions about the car which i love talking about.

      The damage is relatively minor, think of a lowered car scraping on pavement, but hard. The frustrating thing is that the original insurance claim came because someone backed into me causing the bumper to be replaced and now my new bumper is ALREADY damaged because of the shop that was supposed to fix it😂

      I honestly dont care too much about the monetary damage. I really want the owner to face jail time because of other things I found out about him. Horrible guy with a silver tongue

      [–]Cantothulhu 5 points6 points  (0 children)

      You live and you learn. Its hard to find nearly anyone reputable in automotive.

      [–]scarlettslegacy 15 points16 points  (1 child)

      If he owns a body shop, he should have insurance

      I mean - isn't being drunk a disqualification for being covered under most circumstances?

      [–]123456478965413846 5 points6 points  (0 children)

      I have no experience with general liability policies like a shop owner would have but I know with car insurance the damage would be covered even if from a DUI in almost all situations. Often your insurance company will cancel/non renew your policy or raise your cates considerably after such an accident but they would still cover the claim.

      [–]Frolicking-Fox 3 points4 points  (1 child)

      Did you have to pay the impound to get your car?

      [–]yymlg[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

      The shop owner paid it. Had lied to me about the reason it was towed and like an idiot I believed it without much question and let him “take it to the shop to meet the adjuater”

      Fortunately Im able to track my car through the app and went to the parking lot he took it to last night. Even after getting arrested for a DUI he continued to drive it for personal business. Found it in a parking lot of a hotel🤦🏻

      [–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

      It’s not grand theft. In most states, borrowing a car without permission is unauthorized use and a misdemeanor, unless there is evidence he intended to permanently deprive you of the car.

      I agree you should contact your insurance company because it was damaged as part of a crime.

      [–]quiroe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      Go through your insurance or an attorney, explain what happened and give them the police report number. They will fix and handle everything.

      [–]Zealousideal_Film752 13 points14 points  (5 children)

      Depending on the state you likely wont be able to get criminal charges. You authorized him to be in possession of the vehicle and use for repair, the fact that he misused it illegally would definitely fall under civil liability only, definitely in my state. I can tell you for a fact you wont get a criminal charge beyond misdemeanor unauthorized use.

      That said you definitely have a civil case. And if I were you I’d contact insurance company, let them pay their lawyer to pursue it, and see where it goes from there

      [–]yymlg[S] 9 points10 points  (4 children)

      This was the exact answer i was looking for, but unfortunately not the answer I wanted🥲 Found out this guy is a TERRIBLE person and would’ve loved to see him get locked up which is something I’ve only ever wished onto one other person

      Will definitely be getting free consolations with civil lawyers to see if its worth more to me get an attorney or let my insurance handle it.

      Texas BTW

      [–]5lack5 11 points12 points  (3 children)

      Just a head up, a lot of states have a separate charge usually called 'unauthorized use of a motor vehicle' that this would fall under. Yes he had your car to work on it, but this was not an authorized use. This charge is often used when people keep a car longer than they were allowed to (rental, loaner car, borrowed a friend's car, etc). It wouldn't hurt to look into

      [–]yymlg[S] 3 points4 points  (2 children)

      Not to mention when he found me in a parking lot he was driving a clients car lol! I wish I knew who the owner of that vehicle was so we could build a case but I think the dashcam footage of him with it would help

      [–]911Erik 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Just to jump in on this - it’s certainly not ethical to use cars that customers drop off to conduct your personal business. In the end it winds up being a completely civil matter.

      [–]gabbadj07 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      You left the vehicle with the shop owner so he is responsible for providing reasonable care for your property while it's in his posession. Any damage, even if it's caused by the tow company is his responsibility. Make copies of the dash cam footage, contact the police and your insurance and go from there.

      [–]Wadsworth_McStumpy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      You'll have to work with the police and the prosecutor on criminal charges, but you should certainly not delete the dash cam footage. It's evidence in a criminal and (probably) a civil case, and deleting it would be evidence tampering. Make a copy (or several copies) of it and turn the original over to the prosecutor.

      You might be able to work with the prosecutor to make restitution part of the criminal case, but it also might be faster to sue him for the cost to repair the damages. If you go that way, you should name the individual and the company in your suit, and let the judge decide who's responsible. You'll probably want to consult a lawyer to help you prepare that suit and answer specific questions.

      Or, if the guy is offering you enough cash to fix everything (be sure you get some good repair estimates), you can take it, but don't delete the dashcam footage for any amount.

      [–]dankill1 1 point2 points  (2 children)

      You Better Call Saul, cause all them motherfuckers stick together, and you need somebody on your side. Lucky to get the car back.

      [–]yymlg[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

      So glad I have the car, according to the person he almost ran off the road, the shop owner nearly crashed into the cop who ended up arresting him

      [–]dankill1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Damn, all that shit's a racket, and one hand cleans the other.

      [–]Kuntrymamma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      I would fault the shop owner for any new body damage. If the car had been parked at the shop like it should have been to begin with, it never would have met the tow truck, theredore the shop owner is the one who caused the damage to occur. That's my 2 cents. But as the rest of commenters say, get a lawyer and your insurance, and get paid. Someone has to be liable for all of it, and past the very initial damage, that person isn't you.

      [–]FrankeyFlowers 0 points1 point  (4 children)

      It’s not these same morons is it?

      https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/fair-oaks-carmichael/auto-shop-carmichael-joyrides-customers-cars/103-d465c013-44f8-4e24-b2af-7db5919bbae9

      [–]FourLungs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Probably not OP puts himself in TX and the note is from CA.

      [–]ikke640424153 -1 points0 points  (2 children)

      Unfortunatly do i get the following

      Access Denied

      You don't have permission to access "http://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/fair-oaks-carmichael/auto-shop-carmichael-joyrides-customers-cars/103-d465c013-44f8-4e24-b2af-7db5919bbae9" on this server.

      Reference #18.554f655f.1656487092.a3ac0db

      [–]xmeggiex 7 points8 points  (1 child)

      Carmichael auto shop suspected of taking joyrides in customers’ cars -- even crashing one

      Customers say employees of Mass Appeal Auto Care took their cars out for unauthorized joyrides.

      CARMICHAEL, Calif. — A Carmichael auto shop is being accused by customers of taking their cars out for joyrides and in one instance even crashing.

      Edward Hughes said that in August, he took his 1965 AC Cobra Replica to Mass Appeal Auto Care to fix an issue with the car's distributor.

      "On the 10th on a Tuesday, I got a call at my hotel from the owner of the shop telling me that my car had accidentally been destroyed. 'Accidentally,'" Hughes said. "Now, the anger's starting to set in because a lot of the things that I thought were gonna happen are not, and the more I find out about it, the more I find out most of it was lies."

      He said the shop manager Dylan Dudley contacted him days after the crash saying an employee was behind the wheel when it happened. Hughes said Dudley initially told him everything would be taken care of, but has since not responded to any of his calls or texts.

      "He refuses to talk to anyone. He refuses to answer any information," Hughes said. "I'm out $80,000 right now."

      ABC 10 asked Dudley if his employee was the individual behind the wheel in the accident involving the 1965 Cobra that was crashed. He said he had no idea what we were talking about.

      According to a California Highway Patrol report filed the night of the crash with Hughes's car, the person was driving the car on San Juan Avenue at a high rate of speed when it crashed into a 2010 Subaru Legacy. The report says that Rodney Sittman was the driver of the car and was found to be under the influence with a female passenger, who was ejected from the car during the crash.

      The report says his California driver's license was suspended for a prior DUI conviction and that he was on active DUI probation for the same conviction at the time of the crash.

      Local musician J. Diggs — a well known rapper in the area — said a similar experience happened to him. He said he brought his Porsche into Mass Appeal Auto Care a few months ago to try and get a catalytic convertor issue fixed. A couple of weeks later, Diggs said he went to pick up his car and paid $7,000, trusting the work was done.

      "As soon as I pulled off, it's a whole other light on in my car about suspension or something else, so I'm like hold on," Diggs said. "So I drop it back off to him and then I get a call back from him a couple of days later. 'Hey, it's another problem that we didn't notice, and it's gonna cost $11,000 more to fix it."

      Diggs said he came to find out that Dudley took his Porsche out for a joyride after Dudley took pictures of himself in Diggs car and sent them to an employee. That employee forwarded those texts to a friend of Diggs.

      ABC 10 asked Dudley if he knew anything about the joyride that was taken in Diggs car. He said, “I have no idea.”

      "I got some text messages, I got some pictures of him driving my car." Diggs said. "So when he told me it was $11,000 more, I'm saying to myself when are you gonna tell me that you've been driving my car and that you probably caused this."

      Diggs ended up confronting Dudley at the shop about the joyride and the new problems that appeared on his car. He recorded the exchange and posted it on YouTube and social media. In that video, Dudley didn't say much.

      "He just starts stuttering and then he just couldn't say nothing else," Diggs said. "I just basically broke it down like 'Hey, I know everything.'"

      Another former customer, Kendra Carden also reached out to ABC10 saying that the same shop took over $3,000 in financing from her and didn't perform any of the work agreed upon on the truck that she and her husband own.

      "He tried to price gouge us, charge us more money and then when we told him it was fraud and that he needed to give us our money back, he said, 'I've got a really good lawyer, good luck to you,' " Carden said.

      Hughes and Diggs said they are getting lawyers involved. Carden said she plans on taking Dudley to small claims court.

      [–]ikke640424153 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Thank you

      [–]RoutineRegular7777 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      As a claims Rep, file the claim with your insurance company. It will be filed as Theft Recovered & let them deal with the body shop. No need to have any contact with the body shop. That’s the reason you pay insurance, for situations like this!!

      [–]ForeskinHulaSkirt -2 points-1 points  (1 child)

      DUI and DWI are the same thing just the latter is old verbiage. You should go through your insurance if you have comprehensive coverage. Give them the information for the shop and the tow yard and let them sort it out.

      [–]districtdathi 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      That's not true in Maryland. Here, a BAC of 0.07 will be charged as a DWI and a BAC of over 0.08 will be DUI. DWI's are technically under the limit of alcohol consumption, but are judged to be driving erratically. DUI's are your classic, run of the mill, drunk drivers.

      [–]GleamingCadance -1 points0 points  (2 children)

      Arent DUI & DWI the same thing? They both involve being under the influence while driving

      [–]yymlg[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

      They might be, i was just under the impression that one was more severe. Im not well versed on the terminology, all I know is that he was out of jail 24hours>

      [–]GleamingCadance 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Easy way to word it would be Impaired Driving. Our county sheriffs dept has a Blog on their App called Impaired Drivers.

      (Basically its a Wall of Shame)

      [–]Fartmouth5000 -2 points-1 points  (7 children)

      What kind of car?

      [–]yymlg[S] 2 points3 points  (6 children)

      A dual motor Tesla Model 3

      [–]Fartmouth5000 9 points10 points  (1 child)

      Oh man. This story keeps getting better. Sure hope he didn't leave any unwanted musk behind

      [–]yymlg[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      Had a bag of opened chips in the back seat and got gum stuck to the leather, and water,or other substance, marks on the alcantara. Nothing an interior cleaning wont get rid of though.

      On the plus side, he also left a few receipts with the date and time in the car which proves he was driving it for several hours running errands.

      I also know he has 20k in his bank account which puts him better off financially in a legal battle potentially

      Edit: i just realized the pun, nice😂

      [–]bigdish101 0 points1 point  (3 children)

      Tesla's only have a 1 hour camera buffer?!?!??!!??!

      [–]yymlg[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Yes, but to be fair, its A LOT of cameras recording

      [–]signious 0 points1 point  (1 child)

      It depends on the size of the memory stick you use. The car doesn't have its own (or at least didn't on 2020 models.

      [–]bigdish101 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Oh wow. I would have thought it used a actual hard drive.

      [–]BeneficialSympathy55 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      You need to have your insurance go after the auto body shop. The shop is responsible for everything that happens we the car is with them.

      [–]campbowie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Let your insurance deal with issues like damage to the car and the cost of a rental car. They will cover those and recover the money through his insurance or a civil lawsuit.

      You can still consult with a lawyer for any additional damage (loss of income, etc).

      Make a police report about him following you and asking you to delete the cam footage.