To Tow Or Not To Tow

After an accident, if your vehicle can’t be driven safely, you’ll need to get it towed. Even if the car’s engine is intact, broken headlights, brake lights, tire damage, alignment and miscellaneous hanging parts are obvious reasons to get a tow. The last thing you need is to get into or cause another accident. Remember, it’s not your lucky day.

The tow truck operator may decide to take your car to the police impound. You can say NO. Find out the cost of towing and tell the tow truck driver where you want your car taken.

One option is to have your car towed to a repair shop that you’ve dealt with before, or to a reputable chain of body shops. You can also get your car towed back to your residence and decide later what to do. Some body shops will come out to your place to provide estimates and have their own tow truck to bring your car to their shop.

You may want to ask the police to recommend a tow truck company. The best solution is to buy a roadside membership with a national firm.

Under no circumstance should you blindly accept a tow truck driver's recommendations of where to take your car. There are tow truck operators who receive a commission from body shops to deliver your car to them. Then you’re stuck in that body shop’s compound. Once your car gets there, you can be billed storage fees of $600 to $700 for a couple of days. If you don't pay the storage fees, your car will not be released.

Some tow truck operators have been known to give the driver money to take their car to a particular shop. It's illegal to do that, and getting your car repaired properly is probably not going to be in your favor.

The bottom line is to have a garage in mind before you get into an accident. Before you read any further, take a moment right now to figure out where you would want your car towed.