This is a detailing of the buyback process that we dealt with recently so that others will have a heads up should they have to contend with a big company buyback of any kind. No big surprise here:  you are a number – a VIN number to be exact. To be fair, others’ experiences may be different, but this is a synopsis of ours.

A little history…

When we bought the truck in 2011, we were ecstatic. It was an exciting day. It was a 4wd flatbed and would allow us to do calls in places we had previously had to call in others to assist, or get stuck trying to do it ourselves. Mind you, we’ve been creative and mostly managed, but this was a cool tool to have!

It soon became apparent that it had front end issues. At 4,000 miles + / – we had to replace the brand new tires. The truck never [...]

The mission is to collect as much food and toys as possible between now and the New Year to help avert as much hunger in the community as possible. Times are tough. Making those times a bit easier is the goal of all of us here at Totman's.

TOYS FOR TOTS – For your convenience, we have an official Toys for Tots drop box in our Belmont office right on Route 3, across from Maritime Farms! We would love to fill it for local kids who may not see anything for Christmas otherwise. Cutoff date is December 17. We are open 8:30 – 5:00 M-F.

Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas.

(NOTE: all pictures and content Copyright 1994 – 2015 Totman Enterprises. Absolutely no copying or use without express WRITTEN consent of Totman Enterprises.)

(Sorry no pics available for this one.)

Late one night I was called out to change a tire by an auto club. I drove all the way out there at 1:30 or 2:00 am. Got there and could not find the car. Looked all over. Called the auto club and went back to the base.

No sooner did I get home and the auto club called back saying the customer was at the location I’d just been to. So I went back and sure enough, right where I’d parked previously to call the auto club, here’s the vehicle!

I pulled up to the car, got out and talked to the woman who was driving. There were two women and a man in the vehicle, women in the front, man in the back.

[...]

Upon pulling up on the scene, to our surprise, the vehicle well into the ditch was a hearse. It had plowed through the snowbank, not gone over it, so was good and stuck.

Many people appear to be unaware that there is a law (Title 29-A §2054) in Maine that requires drivers to move over to a non-adjacent lane or if not possible, to use prudent speed to pass safely, emergency vehicles INCLUDING wreckers working on the side of the road to load or extricate vehicles from various undesirable positions along roadsides here in Maine.

We have had many unpleasant experiences dealing with drivers who either don’t know there is such a law or could care less about the safety of those people working on the side of the road. We have made every attempt to ensure that our drivers and vehicles are visible in any kind of weather. Our uniforms are in compliance with State and Federal law requiring ANSI Class 3 level for emergency personnel working on the roadside, we have reflective lettering on our trucks and emergency lights and beacons on our trucks. These measures [...]

(originally published on waldo.villagesoup.com Feb 23, 2011)

There have been several stories across the Maine press recently about Maine’s “Move Over” law, so I thought I would add a personal perspective from someone who can “walk the talk” so to speak. The law was originally created to protect police and other emergency and roadside personnel from inattentive drivers. It is only in the last few years that this law (Title 29-A §2054) was expanded to cover tow truck drivers, and for good reason.

Tow truck operators are some of those people who are willing to go out in any kind of weather, any time of day or night, to help YOU when you need it. When you get a flat tire, run out of gas, lock yourself out of your car, slide into a ditch, get stuck on flat ground on ice or worse, if you crash your car, THEY are out there making sure [...]

That depends.

If your vehicle is older than 1995, NO. If it’s 1995 or newer, YES.

What does a Maine title look like? (see below)

DO NOT TRY TO SELL US A CAR WITHOUT APPROPRIATE TITLE! You need to be the titled owner of the vehicle to sell it – this is Maine law.

 

SNOW TIRES HELP PREVENT ACCIDENTS!

It is time to put those snow tires on. Before you know it (don’t blink!) you will wake up to a light blanket of snow and hopefully won’t say, “Oh geez! I forgot to get those tires changed!” and have to slip slide to work or worse, slide off the road.

About 50% of the accidents that we get in the winter are because people don’t outfit their cars properly. Check your tires – make sure they have good tread and have the correct amount of air in them. Remember that the air in your tires contracts and expands depending on the temperature. In cold weather you may need to add a little more air to make sure you have the recommended tire pressure because in the cold the air contracts.

It is imperative that you outfit your car for the winter. Of course, we will come and [...]

(NOTE: all pictures and content Copyright 1994 – 2024 Totman Enterprises. Absolutely no copying or use without express WRITTEN consent of Totman Enterprises.)

This guy was driving down the road, coming around a sharp bend on a “foggy” night (he thinks it was foggy anyway) at a high rate of speed and failed to negotiate a 90-degree corner completely and went straight. Went straight over the guy’s lawn (airborne as he came off the road), accelerated as he landed, tore up the guy’s lawn, took out an 8″ apple tree, sent the tree flying over 100 feet, then jumped the septic system, went through the woods between two trees just barely wide enough to fit the vehicle, crushing in both sides of the vehicle, causing the car to start to spin as he flew over a 4-foot wall, while taking out several good-sized trees as he continued through the woods and landed about 20 feet [...]