Our school car park has become a dumping ground for old cars for some reason. It's important to get them removed quickly, as they are often in bad condition and can be dangerous for the kids and their families, as well as taking up a lot of our car parking spaces. We have a towing service that removes the cars from our car park quickly so that we can free up the spaces. This blog talks about the processing of getting cars towed off site and how to choose a towing service that is responsive to your needs as a school or business.
Towing abandoned cars
4 Tips to Help You Control Expenditure on Towing Services
Bessie Adams
Towing services/roadside assistance is one of those things like insurance: you hope you'll never need it, but it's good to have in case you ever do. There are many ways to ensure that you're protected in case your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Without prior planning, however, you may end up spending a lot more on towing and roadside assistance than you needed to. Below are some tips and tricks to help you spend as little as possible and yet get your much-needed protection in case of breakdown.
1. Do you have free cover?
If your car is new or certified pre-owned (CPO), it may come with free towing/roadside assistance services for some time. If you're still within this time period, take advantage of the services by calling the manufacturer's dealer closest to you. In addition, your auto-insurance policy could include terms about roadside assistance. Carefully read through the terms of your policy so that you're aware what you can and can't get from it to avoid unnecessary expenditure.
2. Shop around
Once your free cover period lapses, it's up to you to find your own towing services. Just like insurance, you don't want to start hunting for it once you're already in trouble and have little choice. A few months before your coverage lapses, go online to see what options you have for towing coverage. You can look at online car membership forums to see reviews about towing services around where you live.
Call in to individual companies and get quotes about plans – be sure to get details on membership benefits and requirements, towing distance limits, allowable number of callouts as well as services that are not covered. Determine the charges on extra services not covered under your membership plan should they be needed. Use this information to compare and choose the best cover/plan.
3. Do not over-cover yourself
Avoid getting sucked in to extra features and benefits that you won't need. Important services include unlimited annual callouts if you have an older vehicle and assistance in events other than car breakdown, such as loss of keys. It may be hard to know how much assistance you need at the outset, but after a year (when plans typically lapse), you're better placed to make an assessment. Don't go for unlimited coverage if you've called in just once or twice a year in the past or hardly ever make long trips; downgrade to a more basic plan.
4. Don't tow far
Regardless of where you are, try to tow your car the shortest distance possible. If you're in a new place, you can call your insurer to find out the closest authorized dealership/mechanic where your vehicle can be taken depending on your location and ask to be towed there. For minor repairs, look for the nearest mechanic – they can make enough repairs to get you back on the road and you can then take the car to your regular mechanic for comprehensive check-up and repair.
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