okay so in a short glance im suing the tow company its been since July 2006 till now and we are now getting ready for a jury trial in dec… the only damages they are admiting to, is the transfer case thats it…im trying to sue for the cars worth, mitsubishi released 1,000 evo 8 mr edditions in the usa during its only production year of 2005, only 13 to the state of MN… how do u prove your cars worth, a limited eddition at that??? im stumped guys i really got screwed here i would like people to honestly help me out.
please answer a couple of questions. (p.s) damages are at the bottom
how much would u spend to purchase my car with these damages?
is this car worth restoring (money wise) or do you believe the damages done will lead to other problems in the future?
Damages (i have already posted this part)
I currently own a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 Mitsubishi Racing Eddition (Evo 8 MR). one fine summer day a company impounded my car, now the tow truck driver thought this was a regular lancer (fwd) supposed to my evo (awd…turbo…and just a whole lot more…) which he proceeded to tow this vehicle as a FWD car (front wheels up, back wheels down) he did this for id say 10 15 miles, at 55-60 mph. my question is what could be wronge? i know the transfercase was blown out, but the whole clutch assembly also needed to be replaced. ever since the car feels as is if the brakes and steering colume are fighting themselves. i’ve had my rotors lathed (SP) twice both front and rear. i’ve went through 8 tires and 2 rims with in 6 months or so, and it feels RWD when Im not on tarmack.
you need independant proof that the car was in pristine shape before the tow. (hopefully you had it serviced before the tow, and the mechanic would certify that?)
you need several mechanical estimates to show an unbiased proof of complete repair costs.
you need a really, really, really good mechanic to be honest with you after seeing the damage to let you know what (as you put it) “could” go wrong down the rod with the car. i am not sure this could be done with an actual inspection and test drive.
as far as the “special” value of the car, i am not sure that is a valid point since it is so new.
i would assume KBB does price comparisons. the car IS repairable (provided you get a good mechanic) and you can restore mechanical things to “new” condition. so your argument that the car has less value, even when repaired, would not be a valid argument. (at least in concern to the towing comany)
personally if i had a car that had gone through 8 sets of tires, and i kept driving it, i would have solved this dilemma a long time ago!
ok, well first off if you want to be successful in court you need to learn to write and speak standard English. I’m not insulting you here, but judges and juries tend to sway toward the older crowd, and we ancient fogeys tend to get annoyed w1th 1337 5p34k and SMS shorthand.
Second, to get its value you need to find similar examples for sale, or get it appraised. With the rarity of your car, getting it appraised will probably be necessary.
As for the steering / brakes, they weren’t damaged by the tow truck driver towing it like a RWD car in all likelihood. However, the fact that he towed it like a RWD car can be an indicator of his incompetence - - i.e. “If he’s such a thundering moron as to tow an AWD car like a RWD car, what ELSE doesn’t he know about towing?”
sorry i mis spelled…
you need a really, really, really good mechanic to be honest with you after seeing the damage to let you know what (as you put it) “could” go wrong down the road with the car. i am not sure this could be done without an actual inspection and test drive.
w1th 1337 5p34k and SMS shorthand LOL
roflmao
You had also better be prepared for all scenerios in court; have reams of documents to prove your case and watch your back as if this towing company is that bad; its going to get nasty in court.
They are correct that the older crowd gets better treatment; gets away with alot; etc by Judges as they feel these fine upstanding citizens couldnt possibly have done this so you are already up against alot.
IMHO, you’ve not only got an uphill battle to win full replacement cost for the vehicle, you’ll need a sherpa to scale that mountain!
You have a right to be made whole. That means putting your car back to the point it was at prior to the towing damage. It’s a huge stretch to say that that is not possible and the car is totaled based on your description of the problems.
You also need to show true damages. I wouldn’t want to rely on an estimate. If at all possible, fix the car and then you’ll have PROOF of what was damaged AND you’ll not have left anything out. What if your crack mechanic’s estimate misses something?
With the tarmac comment, 8 tires, 2 rims, and the clutch comment, let me ask this.
Are you racing this vehicle on a road or slalom course?
silly me. i didn’t realize that this is a street racer, and has been severely beat up on.
i rescind everthing i said, and good luck to you to try to get a towing company to rebuild your little race car.
next time give all the info about your car, especially when you use it for racing, before you cry wolf for input!
You should be asking advice of your lawyer, not of us. The law is not our area of expertise. Our well meaning answers could easily and unintentionally do damage to your case.
cappy208. Usually the people who are street racers do not own a few sets of rims.
Typically they do Auto-X which are held typically in parking lots which a set of cones closely placed you must drive as fast as possible (speed normally <30MPH) without hitting any. They also have another Auto-X which is on grass or field (more fun!) the same but not pavement.
In answer to your two questions;
- Personally, I wouldn’t spend ANY money to purchase the car in its current condition. I believe it has been seriously damaged and will cost an enormous amount of money to repair.
2.Only you can decide whether or not the car is “worth” restoring. Despite its rarity, right now it’s just a used car, and a damaged one at that. The EVO may or may not be worth money in the future. Only time will tell. The real question is, “How much is it worth to YOU?”