This business recently "rescued" our car after an accident and charged me a ridiculous fee for it's later retrieval. My 21 year old daughter was in a snowy road related, single car accident about three miles from our home (and mechanic). When she called, we gave her instructions to wait for us to use AAA to have the vehicle towed for free to our mechanic. In the meantime a sheriff's deputy arrived on the scene and called in a tow company on his own. That company was Vaughn's.
Both the deputy and the driver from Vaughn's pressured my daughter to go along with this, providing assurances that insurance would cover the cost, and it would be "no problem" to have the car moved later. No one asked whether we had collision or a towing rider on our insurance (we do not since it is an old car). I think the police officer was trying to be helpful by expediting the towing, and he was very kind to my daughter and gave her a lift home. But the car was not blocking the road, and my daughter knew the home owners and was warm, so I question the urgency.
When we called Vaughn's the next day to arrange for the car to be moved they quoted us a price of over $613 and we had to pay in cash. They close their gate at 5 p.m. and are not open weekends, and were set to continue to charge another $25 a day to "store" the vehicle on an open field so I hustled to arrange to have it moved right away. They also charge $125 if you want access "after hours," even though they advertise themselves as a 24 hour towing service.
When I inquired as to why they charge so much I was given a list of expensive charges that included a $275 tow (for about 5 miles), a $175 "recovery" to get the car "off the tree." It says exactly that on my invoice, and the driver confirmed this in person. I checked with my daughter and she told me she was not "on" the tree but the corner of the car came to rest "against" the tree and the tree was not in the way of the tow. I have also seen pictures of the accident, and been to the accident site to look at the direction of the tracks and I can confirm that the several inch diameter tree is not snapped off, nor was it in the way for extraction. Speaking later with others in the automotive business, I can confirm they consider this BS.
Vaughn's also wanted $75 for a "clean-up" but my daughter told me that she saw the police officer pick up a little plastic, and when we went back later we picked up more ourselves. The home owners also told me that they moved back the railroad tie back in place themselves. The Vaughn's driver confirmed with the person at his reception there was in fact no "clean-up." So they dropped that charge. There remained a $50 fee for "storage" for the approximately 30 hours it was on their lot for a single overnight. It came to $500 plus tax. Cash. When I told them I wasn't using insurance to pay the women at their window rounded the charge down to $500 even.I asked if these fees were typical in our area (they are not - I checked) and they assured me that they were, and that their cash policy was about people putting stops on checks. I can understand why. When the AAA driver arrived he told that people are often an hour in Vaughn's office (I assume arguing).
The Vaughn's driver had further tried to discourage me from removing our vehicle, offering to waive the weekend storage fee and assuring me the car was a wreck. My mechanic was spitting mad when he heard this and told me that Vaughn's has a terrible reputation, and called their tow prices "legalized theft." Perhaps the effort to convince me the car was a wreck was an attempt at a second scam to get me to sign over the title? I have contacted the local Sheriff's office and intend to file further complaints with the Better Business Bureau. Please don't get involved with Vaughn's Auto Repair in Amherst, Ohio. read more
