if I parked in a legal spot for a legal amount of time, and the city then came along and made it illegal without notice and then towed my car and damaged it, I would file suit.
Good luck with that in a commonwealth.
People sue commonwealths all the time.
But it’s a lot more difficult.
“I’ve parked the car in a good spot only to have the city post no parking signs afterwards and tow soon after that.”
@BillRussell sounds like you’re here in DC.
Exactly this happened to me downtown ~25 years ago.
Now I park in an hourly lot or take the subway.
@circuitsmith and @BillRussell I had the same thing happen to me on the University campus when I was a graduate student. At 7:00 a.m. I parked in a legal place. Sometime during the day, some parking places, including the one where I had parked, was rezoned. When I came out at 5:30 p.m. my car was gone–it had been towed. It was a financial hardship at the time to pay the charges, but. I didn’t have the time to fight the University.
IMHO, there is no parking situation worse than that on college and university campuses. On the campus where I taught for 44 years, I had my Aerostar minivan laid up because the engine had to be replaced. The dealer furnished me a loaner from his lot, but told me he might want to exchange it for another car if he had a customer for the first loaner. The parking office wanted me to put a permanent decal on the windshield. After I explained the situation for the third time, I was sold a temporary pass for $15 good for 10_days, even though I paid $100 for my annual parking pass. After. 10 days, my Aerostar wasn’t ready, so I went back to renew the pass. I was,treated very rudely and the office staff member snapped at me and said,“When will your car be fixed?”. I gave her the telephone number of the Ford dealership and said"Call the dealer’s service department and ask them that question… I would also like to know the answer".
Boston and “responsible municipalities” don’t go together.
Give the city towing company a call, maybe they regularly use a flatbed for subaru and similar tows.
They subcontract it to a number of private outfits, which vary from year to year.
One would be hopeful they know how to tow cars without risking damage for which they would be liable.
At the very least, I would suggest replacing your drivetrain fluids, because of heat-related wear to your tranny and your diff. Any damage has probably already been done.
If you routinely park where your car is likely to be towed, I’d suggest buying a car that can be flat-towed (towed with all wheels down) or towed with the non-drive wheels down ;-\ This is kind of academic, because an improper tow can damage a manual transmission (and engine) with the gear engaged, or an automatic.
Can your car be “flat-towed?” I would suggest looking at websites maintained by RV magazines (they know the latest), and by checking directly with the manufacturers. Don’t check with your dealer, because they are not likely to know accurately, but check with the manufacturer, and don’t rely on information you find posted on a blog.
There’s plenty of great misinformation out there about flat-towing, which is exaggerated by occasional drivetrain changes made by manufacturers. Years ago, automatic Subarus could be flat towed, but not any more. Our older Ford Escape hybrid can be flat towed, but only if you avoid certain auxiliary braking systems, and newer ones cannot be.
CORRECTION: If Bill Russell is correct, newer Subarus can be flat-towed although I would check to see how long you can do this. It will almost certainly have to be put into neutral, or towed with the key in the ignition, so Subaru’s ability to be flat towed wouldn’t do you much good. Some manufacturers used to recommend starting your towed vehicle after driving a certain distance. I would still check with the RV industry too since they know which vehicles their subscribers can tow, and have a vested interest in giving good info.
Owners manual says subaru’s can be flat towed or in a flat bed truck.
2015 Forester manual
Using a flat-bed truck
This is the best way to transport your vehicle. Use the following procedures to ensure safe transportation.
- Shift the select lever into the “P” position for CVT models. Shift the shift lever into the “1st” position for MT models.
- Apply the parking brake firmly.
- Secure the vehicle onto the carrier properly with safety chains. Each safety chain should be equally tightened and care must be taken not to pull the chains so tightly that the suspension bottoms out.
Towing with all wheels on the ground
- Release the parking brake and put the transmission in the “N”/neutral position.
- The ignition switch should be in the “ACC” position while the vehicle is being towed.
- Take up slack in the towline slowly to prevent damage to the vehicle.
“P” position for CVT models, presumably this is AFTER it is loaded on the truck. No information about how to get it on the truck.
Re: flat towing, I get the impression that this is reserved for short distances, although that is not stated.
ignition switch should be in the “ACC” position ?? anyone know why??
Barkydog: “One would be hopeful they know how to tow cars without risking damage for which they would be liable”
The problem is proof. I gather the damage may not be immediately obvious (back to my original question).
The reason to have the ignition switch in the ACC position is to have the steering wheel unlocked. The steering system has to be free to allow the front wheels to track the tow vehicle. If you are using a tow bar, the front wheels will caster to track the tow vehicle. If you are using a towline, a second driver will have to steer the front wheels to track the tow vehicle.
Researcher: thanks, I should have realized that, except I didn’t think that the ACC position unlocked the steering. My last car (Passat) didn’t have an ACC position.
The “ackerman” principle any race car driver can tell the inside of a turn is not as long as the arc on the outside,my crew chiefs love Subarus,but thats another story,when AWD is electric I predict a lot of these peculiar AWD problems will disappear,how do the towing thieves get in your car to put it in the correct gear to start with?Some of this crap smacks of pettiness and grudge,dont tow the car if its not endangering anything,send the owner one warning then a ticket(the govt cant employ everyone, at UVA they have a Nazi that drives around with a reader on a vehicle that automatically tells you if a vehicle has a parking permit or not,I think a lot of these places could eliminate parking grief(admittedly a good source of revenue) by running shuttle buses and having remote parking lots-that would actually give the ticket writers honest employment(bus drivers-not control freaks.