Barnes Auto & Towing Inc

Barnes Towing is unethical. They towed my car from a lot that had a closed down restaurant on Franklin street. I was charged $150 (cash only!) to get my car back, when an ordinary tow service, for a broken car, would have charged less than $50. These people, in effect, stole at least $100 from me in this predatory practice. Do not patronize companies that do this. A simple tow at the usual rate would be enough to deter parking in these spaces. Scalping for a service that was not requested in the first place is criminal. Stay away from Barnes! more

5 months ago the transmission in my 1993 Ford Ranger went out on me. When this happened I was stranded on the side of I-40 and called them because they were a business close to my house. The next day I was called and told that it was my clutch that was out and the repair would be about $900.00. After some debate I decided to go ahead with the repair as this was my only vehicle. I called and gave Barnes the go ahead to replace the clutch. The next day, after tearing apart the clutch, they called to inform me that it was also my transmission that needed to be replaced and now it was going to cost $2200.00. After expressing my shock and disappointment, as well as the financial burden this now created, they offered to find a "buyer" for the truck. I was already into them for towing and tearing apart my truck so after those charges were settled I stood to gain nothing if I allowed them to "sell" it. I decided to fix the truck and started saving my money. I again gave Barnes the go ahead to fix the transmission. A few days later they called and said they had found me a used transmission with only 19,000 miles. It sounded like good news-boy was I wrong. Finally the time came to reclaim my vehicle. When I got there and paid my bill I asked was there anything I needed to know. They said no and handed me my keys. Imagine my surprise when I started my truck and it sounded like a race car. When I asked about this new development I was rudely told that the exhaust was rusty and they knocked it loose while working on the tranny. What's worse is they said they couldn't or wouldn't fix it. WHAT?!? They admitted breaking it but because it had some rust it was my problem. I swallowed my anger and left. I drove the 5 miles home and parked. 30 minutes later when I went to drive to the store I could not engage the transmission at all without turning off the engine. I immediately returned to Barnes where they "adjusted" the clutch and told me it would need to be driven a few days to bleed the clutch. Drive it and bring it back if it doesn't get better. It didn't. Again to Barnes only to be told it still needed to be driven to bleed the clutch the rest of the way. "Sometimes it takes several hundred miles" I was told. Finally, after getting the exhaust fixed at my expense, and after several return trips to Barnes I was told that my original repair didn't include a clutch master cylinder and if that was replaced my shifting problems would subside. Guess what, that did take care of the shifting problem, unfortunately now I have a leak somewhere in the transmission. I noticed it the very same day I picked up my truck after the master cylinder was installed and returned to have it repaired. First I was told it was an oil leak. I knew this was not the case because I was not losing oil and oil is not red like transmission fluid. They tightened a few bolts and sent me on my way. When I got home I put a container under the transmission to verify the leak had stopped. It hadn't. I left the truck parked for the weekend and went back on Monday to show them the evidence of the leak. They agreed that it was leaking and to bring it back when I could leave it for the day. I took it last Thursday 2/8. They kept the truck all day and when I picked it up they said they had tightened a few more bolts on top of the transmission and were sure the leak had stopped. Friday morning more evidence of the leak appeared. Back to Barnes only to be told the owner was out of town for the weekend and he would call me on Monday. Monday came and went. Today, Tuesday, I finally called them. I got the owner, Jaffe, on the phone. He told me "he was going to go home and think about it last night" but forgot. He then had the audacity to say "I'll fix it but not for free." Looks like court for him and me. DON'T DO IT! more

It was hired by a "property owner" who owns a parking lot reserved for restaurants (not his restaurants). This company indicated that they received the "property owner's" call to tow the cars that park improperly. Unfortunately, I am one of them. Then when I returned to the car, my car was hooked already. Here are the situations I have: 1) The guy who said he is the property owner could not ID himself as the owner and could not indicated who asked him to call the tow. Then he was hiding behind this tow company and just let the truck driver deal with me. I had to argue with them for a while. Then they threaten me to tow the car but still they were without a clear identification of themselves. The truck driver only showed me a signature that authorized the towing. The truck driver kept saying that he was called to tow the car but I have to deal with the owner. 2) They hooked up the car improperly. If they tow my 4x4 only by lifting the rear end and tow it in backward direction, my car is ruined. The gear was still in P. Then I had to pay them $150 fee to release my car. My doubts are: 1) Did they overcharge me? Why did they overcharge? 2) Did they hook up the car in the wrong way so you have to pay them to get ride of the trouble? I might park improperly, but the way the handled business is wrong. Think about it before you call them. more