BajaNomad - I should know better! Cops and expensive tow

I should know better! Cops and expensive tow

vandy - 12-16-2011 at 04:49 PM

So my truck sprang a fountainous gasoline leak over the fuel tank while at the beach in Los Frailes.

I glommed a ride in a van back to the hot springs to grab my car and some tools to fix the truck.

The VAN then died about 50 feet from the paved road. Some friendly cops stopped by and I asked them to call for a tow to Autopartes Bacho's in La Ribera, where I know a good mechanic next door.

An hour later, a tow shows up and we go the ten miles.

The bill: 1500 pesos

I really should have known better. I could easily have hopped a ride to Bacho's and gotten a tow with a rope...or asked the price before the van was loaded.

Anyway, the mechanico and his electrician friend had the van straightened out in no time for less than 1/3 of the tow.

In case you wanted to know: My truck had its fuel pump replaced a while ago in Miraflores, and they put the assembly back c-ckeyed ignoring the arrows that showed proper alignment, then "stretched" the fuel hoses to fit. I spent the last two mornings on the beach removing and re-installing the tank in the wonderful blowing sand while 12 gallons of gas languished in various pots and pans.

The van had its motor out a while ago in San Jose, and the coolant hose (way back behind the motor) was not connected properly. Then a ground wire shook loose, stalling the motor, although it would still crank. Good thing too, what with no water in the system.

All problems (except the cops" call for the tow) were directly attributable to poor workmanship while the vehicles were out of the owners' sight.

How many times will I have to say "NEVER AGAIN!" ?

woody with a view - 12-16-2011 at 04:54 PM

sounds like the Mexico i love.

everyone seems to be an expert! some are, some might be one day, and some just want to look like one.....

vandy

captkw - 12-16-2011 at 05:13 PM

I think the old days when car's where cars where simple,,the y could get um going,,today is a different story as you have different system and tool's and you really need to study to stay on top of your game/repair skill's and today you really can't getaway with shortcut's,,,Vandy are you the guy that loaned me a scan tool last winter ????? Keith & lil tasha :cool:

[Edited on 12-17-2011 by captkw]

[Edited on 12-17-2011 by captkw]

Woooosh - 12-16-2011 at 05:15 PM

Mexicans don't want to disappoint you so they will say they can do something or that they can fix something, even if they know they can't or won't. It's the spirit of welcoming and hospitality. It has nothing to do with taking your money, damaging your property or potentially causing you physical harm.

:saint:

Having said that, I add that the ingenuity of Mexicans and their lack of fear in the face of an electronic/technological repair is inspiring. They can "fix" most anything or bring it back to life for a short time again at least (with a 30 day guarantee too). Some of the goofs are funny, but I've had more wins, a few laughs- and they have saved me some money. I wouldn't get my truck worked on down here because that's a safety issue to me. My friends that bring their Jeeps down for work always get a good deal and then have to redo it right- and they still come back for more. Part of the charm I guess.

[Edited on 12-17-2011 by Woooosh]

vgabndo - 12-16-2011 at 06:54 PM

One of the best "TRIES" I can remember was many years ago in my bubble top van just south of San Quintin, I stopped at a Quaker State place to get the oil change I was too impatient to get in the states. I'm squatting at the edge of the pit and two guys are under the van and one sticks fingers into the outflowing oil, smells it and in gloom says "Ummmm, gasolina!" I guess my disbelief was so complete that they both burst out laughing, but I have a hunch that if I had taken the hook.......

I edit that. Those two hard working guys had a great sense of humor and for an instant they stopped my heart. And I STILL smile when I tell the story. Amistad! Fraternidad. They likely wouldn't have taken a thing they didn't earn. Sorry Jesse.

[Edited on 12-17-2011 by vgabndo]

Leo - 12-16-2011 at 06:58 PM

Woosh is right; Mexicans can't say NO, I can't.

dtbushpilot - 12-16-2011 at 08:36 PM

1500 pesos....a little more than a hundred bucks for a tow truck to make a call out to your location and tow you to the mechanic of your choice? How much would you expect to pay for that in the states? Doesn't sound out of line to me....but it does sound like everybody else that worked on your stuff let you down...just sayin....dt

captkw - 12-16-2011 at 08:57 PM

VANDY,,as a master mech/Electrical specialist,,I can tell ya with confindence,,It dosnt matter if you are their,,watching or not !! good work, will alway's be good work and marginal work will add to more problem's,grief,breakdown's and cost's. aka ..no free- lunch in any type of repair,your house,car,boat,,how about air------- get my drift? glad ya got it fixed and back on the road,,AND I use that term lously when in baja,,my other home,,when I say road,,LOL..driving the baja hwy (1) is like flying on a 727,,,,hour's of boredom with ,moment's of shear terror !! K&T :lol:

[Edited on 12-17-2011 by captkw]

Woooosh - 12-16-2011 at 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dtbushpilot
1500 pesos....a little more than a hundred bucks for a tow truck to make a call out to your location and tow you to the mechanic of your choice? How much would you expect to pay for that in the states? Doesn't sound out of line to me....but it does sound like everybody else that worked on your stuff let you down...just sayin....dt

250 pesos should have covered it. The police weren't giving the AAA Auto Club Free tow...

:lol:

[Edited on 12-17-2011 by Woooosh]

captkw - 12-16-2011 at 09:16 PM

YA,think,,I have driven that section amany,many time and It's not that Bloody far,,,one fav spot's to camp and leave my livingston on the hook,,is the very end of cobo pumo (south) great fishing in the winter.. sshh :lol:

CaboRon - 12-17-2011 at 06:39 AM

Quote:

No charge with AAA

UnoMas - 12-17-2011 at 08:27 AM

The LAST time I had mechanic work done in Baja the alternator went out and I took it to the mechanic. He replaced it and I picked the car up later. A few miles down the road the pulley came off the water pump, he had pried against the pulley to release the tension on the serpentine belt, he did not know the proper and easy way to do it.
I went back to the place where the repair was done and he turned both palms toward the sky and shrugged his shoulders, a classic and typical response, Baja warrantee :lol:

I now do all my own repairs.

The tow cost would be about $100.00 in the U.S. so they knew you had little options but a fair price if in the middle of no where :tumble:

Bob and Susan - 12-17-2011 at 08:36 AM

i think the "price is right"...

i had the police call me a tow truck a few years back...
he got me "out of harms way" in tj...thank god

that driver got me a tow across the border to a dealer...

when you're in trouble...take the assistance

john68 - 12-17-2011 at 11:22 AM

if you have AAA in the States and you got a receipt for the tow, they may reimburse you. Colorado AAA reimbursed me last year for getting an automobile key replaced in BCS.

BajaBlanca - 12-17-2011 at 06:51 PM

Those AAA stories are great. way to go ...

Ramon - 12-18-2011 at 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
sounds like the Mexico i love.

everyone seems to be an expert! some are, some might be one day, and some just want to look like one.....

Sounds like most Forums!

BAJACAT - 12-18-2011 at 08:23 AM

I got stuck in Punta Banda, on a 4runner,wasn't 4x4, the tow truck show up, I never ask for a price and the chrge me &110 dollars . i almost made it to the pavement when got stuck...he pull me for about 12 feet.
Afther that I only buy 4wheel drive vehicles...

Bajatripper - 12-18-2011 at 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by UnoMas

The tow cost would be about $100.00 in the U.S. so they knew you had little options but a fair price if in the middle of no where :tumble:

Hundred bucks for a tow of ten miles in the US? Really?

DENNIS - 12-18-2011 at 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajatripper

Hundred bucks for a tow of ten miles in the US? Really?

That would probably be a conservative estimate. AAA pays for a lot of them and who doesn't mind gouging an insurance company?

durrelllrobert - 12-18-2011 at 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajatripper

Hundred bucks for a tow of ten miles in the US? Really?

yep, last year on my way home from Canada, my Yukon broke down on I15 just 8 miles north of Idaho Falls and it cost $125 to get towed into town.

DENNIS - 12-18-2011 at 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by durrelllrobert

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajatripper

Hundred bucks for a tow of ten miles in the US? Really?

yep, last year on my way home from Canada, my Yukon broke down on I15 just 8 miles north of Idaho Falls and it cost $125 to get towed into town.

What the hey....doctors make 50 bucks an hour so why shouldn't tow truck drivers?
Occupy AAA............ :lol:

Bajatripper - 12-19-2011 at 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by durrelllrobert

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajatripper

Hundred bucks for a tow of ten miles in the US? Really?

yep, last year on my way home from Canada, my Yukon broke down on I15 just 8 miles north of Idaho Falls and it cost $125 to get towed into town.

My Compadre had a vehicle stolen from work up in Washington State. The vehicle was stripped and torched and left under a freeway bridge along a river. My Compadre's brother owns his own tow truck so when they got the call to come down to see the vehicle, they came in the tow truck, about twenty five miles from their home. When they got there, a tow truck called by the highway patrol had already hooked up the truck and there was nothing they could do about it. It cost him $850 dollars to pay off the tow company and they kept the burnt out carcass, too. The wrecking yard was about ten miles away.

Alm - 12-31-2011 at 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vandy
... a tow shows up and we go the ten miles.

The bill: 1500 pesos

I didn't try myself, but doesn't Good Sam cover tow in Baja for extra few bucks a year? I understand they tow for free if you phoned and requested a tow through their operator, or they reimburse you later - up to a certain limit of course.