I started the bidding at $275. The faces in front of me went instantly from melancholy to downright sullen and FU’ish. Low end dealers, auto recyclers, crushers par excellence, this was an impound lot sale. A final howling call for the dead, the dying, and the DUI’s. In the past few months I had started the bidding at $100. But the tow company’s finances had taken a cliff deep dive (they lost the county contract). With one of his regular wreckers already being used for spare parts. The owner was clearly on the ropes. You know what? The strategy worked . . . and . . .
I really had nothing to do with it. Most of the regulars had already known the owner back when he was a driver for another outfit. Gregarious, nice, a dirty mind, he has all the right combinations of a successful tow operator. Rod had received the very last tow permit in the county and opened up his place of packed dirt and sparse gravel about ten years ago. Since that time there have been continuous cat fights and new contracts stripped and re-neg’d on a yearly basis that effectively made it a ricksaw styled, feast or famine business. You have a county contract? You can win. But only if you also subsidize it with apartment contracts, strip malls and various other developments. If not, the belt must become as tight as a tightwad’s.
While I started my bid calling, I opened my left hand and motioned towards the once running hauler being scrounged for spares. The regulars knew and the bidding expectations were adjusted. In the future, this favor will result in other favors being given for the ‘regulars’ who bid up and stood up for the fellow. In the car business, you always remember those who help you.
Boy does this ring true. I used to be a tow truck driver. My boss was an honorable man despite all the stereotypes that exist. He had all sorts of side projects to make ends meet. And the local contract politics were cut-throat. Feast or famine is right.
Nice gesture!
When I was just starting out I was dispatched to buy a dozen machinery trailers. A cash-strapped supplier offered them to me for well under cost, just to keep the lights on. I raced back to the boss sure I would receive a medal. The boss told me to find out their dead cost and pay that amount. He had known hard times and could not allow himself to profit from another’s misfortune.
I never forgot my boss’ compassion.
Good for you Mr Lang…..The world needs more
buisness men like yourself.
Whats to be gained by kicking a man when
he is down?
Mr. Lang, you posses empathy, a characteristic as rare as barn-find Hemi Cudas in today’s individuals.
I too acquired a keen sense of empathy during my upbringing. It is wasted on most people. But certainly not all. As you have demonstrated.
Hate to sounds like the cynic, but how many times did that guy say, “I don’t care,” to someone’s sob story after he had towed their car? How many times had he sold off some minimum wage guy’s only means of transportation to pay “storage fees”?
Tow truck drivers are vultures picking the bones of the dregs of humanity. Their business model is to profit off the poor schlub who can’t afford to get his car out of hock right away. Those guys deserve zero compassion.
Looks like two, or maybe three,
1967/1968 Cougars on that trailer in the photo. Where is this junkyard?
I’m with 70 Chevelle SS454.
They’ll tow your ass if you’re 5 minutes late on a parking payment, and if you give them any lip, won’t hesitate to pull a giant screwdriver out and threaten to stab you with it.
Sorry, f**k him. I won’t kick him when he’s down, but I wouldn’t extend my hand out either.
A) Good on you Steven Lang. There ought to be more people in the world like you.
B) What kind of truck is that in the photo? I like it – not that I need another restoration project just now.
C) I never can understand why there have to be a certain number of tow permits. What happened to fee competition in the market place?
I’m guessing the tow truck in the picture is about a 35 or 36 GMC
You need to have the physical space (zoning has to be on your side), the resources (both human and physical), and the experience to make it work. You can always start off on your own like a lot of repo folks do. But I wouldn’t recommend it. A proper operation will also have very expensive bonding and insurance… which I think is appropriate given the dynamics of that business.
The ‘good’ was really for the fellow. He deserved the pick me up after being body-slammed by the county.
I’m not interested in getting into the business.
I understand the requirements for bonding, insurance, and having space to put cars. But even if one had all that, he might still not be able to get a permit. That I don’t go along with.
I agree with you on that.
I attended a county impound sale…..once. Most of the cars sold for between $25-$50 dollars, because that’s all they were worth — one car had a tree growing out of the driver’s seat. The cars that may have had any value were stolen. Stolen?, you say. Yup. Stolen by the auctioneer and his partners in crime. You see, the decent cars were started at ridiculously low prices. Before the auctioneer even got his last word out, a hand shot up, the bid was accepted, and bidding was closed. No real bidder got to bid on any of the decent cars. When I pointed this out to the auctioneer, I was told to shut my fucking face or the cops would be called to arrest me. Fuck tow truck operators, fuck county impound actions, and fuck humanity in general.
Looks like two, or maybe three,
1967/1968 Cougars on that trailer in the photo. Where is this junkyard?
I believe that is a picture from West Coast Classic Cougars. I don’t know if it’s an actual photo of their operation or not, but I’ll see if I can find out, as the owner posts on a Cougar website I frequent.